The second choir was proceeding ¹  in the opposite direction. I followed them, along with half the people, on top of the wall, past the Tower of the Ovens to the Broad Wall,

When these things had been accomplished ¹  and the rage of King Ahasuerus had diminished, he remembered ²  Vashti and what she had done and what had been decided ³  against her.

After this Job lived 140 years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.

Next, I decided to consider ¹  wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. ²  For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king ³  has already done?

So I loathed all the fruit of ¹  my effort, ²  for which I worked so hard ³  on earth, ⁴  because ⁵  I must leave it ⁶  behind ⁷  in the hands of my successor. ⁸ 

So I perceived there is nothing better than for people ¹  to enjoy their work, ²  because that is their ³  reward; for who can show them what the future holds? ⁴ 

yet a fool keeps on babbling. ¹  No one knows what will happen; who can tell him what will happen in the future? ² 

Draw me ¹  after you; let us hurry! ²  May the king ³  bring ⁴  me into his ⁵  bedroom chambers! ⁶  The Maidens ⁷  to the Lover: We will ⁸  rejoice and delight in you; ⁹  we will praise your love more than wine. The Beloved to Her Lover: How rightly the young women adore you!

My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. ¹  Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the window, peering through the lattice.

I will reestablish honest judges as in former times, wise advisers as in earlier days. ¹  Then you will be called, ‘The Just City, Faithful Town.’”

You ¹  will hear a word spoken behind you, saying, “This is the correct ²  way, walk in it,” whether you are heading to the right or the left.

this is what the Lord says about him: ¹  “The virgin daughter Zion ²  despises you – she makes fun of you; daughter Jerusalem shakes her head after you. ³ 

“Look, the grief I experienced was for my benefit. ¹  You delivered me ²  from the pit of oblivion. ³  For you removed all my sins from your sight. ⁴ 

Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols. ¹  Indeed, ²  you depart from me ³  and go up and invite them into bed with you. ⁴  You purchase favors from them, ⁵  you love their bed, and gaze longingly ⁶  on their genitals. ⁷ 

We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord; we turned back from following our God. We stir up ¹  oppression and rebellion; we tell lies we concocted in our minds. ² 

I spread out my hands all day long to my rebellious people, who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable, and who did what they desired. ¹ 

“As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards, ¹  those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice ²  – they will all be destroyed together,” ³  says the Lord.

This is what the Lord says: “What fault could your ancestors ¹  have possibly found in me that they strayed so far from me? ²  They paid allegiance to ³  worthless idols, and so became worthless to me. ⁴ 

“How can you say, ‘I have not made myself unclean. I have not paid allegiance to ¹  the gods called Baal.’ Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom! ²  Think about the things you have done there! You are like a flighty, young female camel that rushes here and there, crisscrossing its path. ³ 

Do not chase after other gods until your shoes wear out and your throats become dry. ¹  But you say, ‘It is useless for you to try and stop me because I love those foreign gods ²  and want to pursue them!’