The Lover to His Beloved: ¹  I went down to the orchard of walnut trees, ²  to look for the blossoms of the valley, ³  to see if the vines had budded or if the pomegranates were in bloom.

I will weep for the grapevines of Sibmah just like the town of Jazer weeps over them. ¹  Their branches once spread as far as the Dead Sea. ²  They reached as far as the town of Jazer. ³  The destroyer will ravage her fig, date, ⁴  and grape crops.

You will also know that your children ¹  will be numerous, and your descendants ²  like the grass of the earth.

Or speak ¹  to the earth ²  and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea declare to you.

then let thorns sprout up in place of wheat, and in place of barley, weeds!” ¹  The words of Job are ended.

Come! Witness the exploits ¹  of the Lord, who brings devastation to the earth! ² 

They ate all the vegetation in their land, and devoured the crops of their fields. ¹ 

When the hay is removed and new grass appears, and the grass from the hills is gathered in,

For this reason what they have made and stored up, they carry over the Stream of the Poplars.

But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered.

But he said, ‘No, since in gathering the weeds you may uproot the wheat with them.

He ¹  answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.

As ¹  the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age.

When the sun came up it was scorched, and because it did not have sufficient root, ¹  it withered.

Other seed fell on rock, ¹  and when it came up, it withered because it had no moisture.

Other seed fell among the thorns, ¹  and they grew up with it and choked ²  it.

But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is useless and about to be cursed; ¹  its fate is to be burned.

For the fields of Heshbon are dried up, as well as the vines of Sibmah. The rulers of the nations trample all over its vines, which reach Jazer and spread to the desert; their shoots spread out and cross the sea.

So he overthrew those cities and all that region, ¹  including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew ²  from the ground.

They will eat the meat the same night; ¹  they will eat it roasted over the fire with bread made without yeast ²  and with bitter herbs.