See my pain and suffering! Forgive all my sins!

ז (Zayin) Remember my impoverished and homeless condition, which is a bitter poison.

They turn the needy from the pathway, and the poor of the land hide themselves together.

He will defend the oppressed among the people; he will deliver the children of the poor and crush the oppressor.

ר (Resh) See my pain and rescue me! For I do not forget your law.

Listen to this, you who trample the needy, and do away with the destitute in the land.

He named the second child Ephraim, saying, “Certainly God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

If I am guilty, woe to me, and if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head; I am full of shame, and satiated with my affliction.

when they prayed: “Have mercy on me, Lord! See how I am oppressed by those who hate me, O one who can snatch me away from the gates of death!

I will be happy and rejoice in your faithfulness, because you notice my pain and you are aware of how distressed I am.

How will they respond to the messengers of this nation? Indeed, the Lord has made Zion secure; the oppressed among his people will find safety in her.

to keep the poor from getting fair treatment, and to deprive the oppressed among my people of justice, so they can steal what widows own, and loot what belongs to orphans.

ט (Tet) Her menstrual flow has soiled her clothing; she did not consider the consequences of her sin. Her demise was astonishing, and there was no one to comfort her. She cried, “Look, O Lord, on my affliction because my enemy boasts!”

So it was annulled that very day, and then the most afflicted of the flock who kept faith with me knew that that was the word of the Lord.

If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, and he rebuked you last night.”

So I began to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter, the most afflicted of all the flock. Then I took two staffs, calling one “Pleasantness” and the other “Binders,” and I tended the flock.