And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” ¹ 

I fear for you that my work for you may have been in vain.

“Whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you took no delight in.

All the people were seeing ¹  the thundering and the lightning, and heard ²  the sound of the horn, and saw ³  the mountain smoking – and when ⁴  the people saw it they trembled with fear ⁵  and kept their distance. ⁶ 

You are to take all the fat that covers the entrails, and the lobe ¹  that is above the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and burn them ²  on the altar.

Then you are to take them from their hands and burn ¹  them ²  on the altar for a burnt offering, for a soothing aroma before the Lord. It is an offering made by fire to the Lord.

Then the priest will take a handful of the grain offering as its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water.

Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished ¹  and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, ²  I concluded: ³  “All these ⁴  achievements and possessions ⁵  are ultimately ⁶  profitless ⁷  – like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained ⁸  from them ⁹  on earth.”

So I thought to myself, “The fate of the fool will happen even to me! ¹  Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively ²  wise?” ³  So I lamented to myself, ⁴  “The benefits of wisdom ⁵  are ultimately ⁶  meaningless!”

You ¹  do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? ²  For you are a puff of smoke ³  that appears for a short time and then vanishes.

Then the Lord rained down ¹  sulfur and fire ²  on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. ³ 

He built high places for all his foreign wives so they could burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods. ¹ 

I loathe ¹  it; ²  I do not want to live forever; leave me alone, ³  for my days are a vapor! ⁴ 

For the company of the godless is barren, ¹  and fire ²  consumes the tents of those who accept bribes. ³ 

Fire resides in his tent; ¹  over his residence burning sulfur is scattered.

‘Surely our enemies ¹  are destroyed, and fire consumes their wealth.’

O Lord God, invincible warrior! ¹  How long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you? ² 

Making a fortune ¹  by a lying tongue is like ²  a vapor driven back and forth; ³  they seek death. ⁴ 

The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. ¹  How does that benefit him? ² 

Look, all of them are nothing, ¹  their accomplishments are nonexistent; their metal images lack any real substance. ²