After the Lord had spoken these things to Job, he ¹  said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My anger is stirred up ²  against you and your two friends, because you have not spoken about me what is right, ³  as my servant Job has.

So now take ¹  seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job will intercede ²  for you, and I will respect him, ³  so that I do not deal with you ⁴  according to your folly, ⁵  because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.” ⁶ 

For the music director; a well-written song ²  by David. It was written when Doeg the Edomite went and informed Saul: “David has arrived at the home of Ahimelech.” ³  Why do you boast about your evil plans, ⁴  O powerful man? God’s loyal love protects me all day long! ⁵ 

A man who is all alone with no companion, ¹  he has no children nor siblings; ²  yet there is no end to all his toil, and he ³  is never satisfied with riches. He laments, ⁴  “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself ⁵  of pleasure?” ⁶  This also is futile and a burdensome task! ⁷ 

I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: ¹  to eat and drink, ²  and find enjoyment in all their ³  hard work ⁴  on earth ⁵  during the few days of their life which God has given them, for this is their reward. ⁶ 

then I discerned all that God has done: ¹  No one really comprehends what happens ²  on earth. ³  Despite all human ⁴  efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp ⁵  it. ⁶  Even if ⁷  a wise person claimed ⁸  that he understood, he would not really comprehend ⁹  it.

At that time tribute will be brought to the Lord who commands armies, by a people that are tall and smooth-skinned, a people that are feared far and wide, a nation strong and victorious, whose land rivers divide. ¹  The tribute ²  will be brought to the place where the Lord who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion. ³ 

“At that time,” ¹  says the Lord who commands armies, “the peg fastened into a solid place will come loose. It will be cut off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off.” ²  Indeed, ³  the Lord has spoken.

This is what the Lord says: “The profit ¹  of Egypt and the revenue ²  of Ethiopia, along with the Sabeans, those tall men, will be brought to you ³  and become yours. They will walk behind you, coming along in chains. ⁴  They will bow down to you and pray to you: ⁵  ‘Truly God is with ⁶  you; he has no peer; ⁷  there is no other God!’”

This is what the Lord, the protector ¹  of Israel, their Holy One, ²  says to the one who is despised ³  and rejected ⁴  by nations, ⁵  a servant of rulers: “Kings will see and rise in respect, ⁶  princes will bow down, because of the faithful Lord, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.”

“Shout for joy, O barren one who has not given birth! Give a joyful shout and cry out, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one are more numerous than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.

Indeed, the coastlands ¹  look eagerly for me, the large ships ²  are in the lead, bringing your sons from far away, along with their silver and gold, to honor the Lord your God, ³  the Holy One of Israel, ⁴  for he has bestowed honor on you.

Hear the word of the Lord, you who respect what he has to say! ¹  Your countrymen, ²  who hate you and exclude you, supposedly for the sake of my name, say, “May the Lord be glorified, then we will witness your joy.” ³  But they will be put to shame.

When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. ¹  You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods. ² 

Yes, ¹  the Lord has this to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground, you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning; just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted, you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives. ² 

The Lord says, ¹  “Listen, ²  nation of Israel! ³  I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you. It will be a nation that was founded long ago and has lasted for a long time. It will be a nation whose language you will not know. Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.

“So then, Jeremiah, ¹  when your people ²  ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ tell them, ‘It is because you rejected me and served foreign gods in your own land. So ³  you must serve foreigners ⁴  in a land that does not belong to you.’

All of this is because ¹  the Lord who rules over all ²  has said: ‘Cut down the trees around Jerusalem and build up a siege ramp against its walls. ³  This is the city which is to be punished. ⁴  Nothing but oppression happens in it. ⁵ 

I have listened to them very carefully, ¹  but they do not speak honestly. None of them regrets the evil he has done. None of them says, “I have done wrong!” ²  All of them persist in their own wayward course ³  like a horse charging recklessly into battle.

(9:1) I wish I had a lodging place in the desert where I could spend some time like a weary traveler. ¹  Then I would desert my people and walk away from them because they are all unfaithful to God, a congregation ²  of people that has been disloyal to him. ³