I say, “I wish I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and settle in a safe place!

Then observers will say, “Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded! Yes indeed, there is a God who judges in the earth!”

The clouds poured down rain; the skies thundered. Yes, your arrows flashed about.

But it is said of Zion’s residents, “Each one of these was born in her, and the sovereign One makes her secure.”

Yes, throughout all our days we experience your raging fury; the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh.

but when the hot wind blows by, it disappears, and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.

They swayed and staggered like a drunk, and all their skill proved ineffective.

The Lord deserves praise in Zion – he who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!

A slanderer will not endure on the earth; calamity will hunt down a violent man and strike him down.

If only you will respond to my rebuke, then I will pour out my thoughts to you and I will make my words known to you.

That is why I came out to meet you, to look for you, and I found you!

If the righteous are recompensed on earth, how much more the wicked sinner!

These sayings also are from the wise: To show partiality in judgment is terrible:

The wind goes to the south and circles around to the north; round and round the wind goes and on its rounds it returns.

The Teacher says: I discovered this while trying to discover the scheme of things, item by item.

This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth, and it is a great burden to me:

The Beloved to Her Lover: Oh, how handsome you are, my lover! Oh, how delightful you are! The lush foliage is our canopied bed;

I, the Lord, say: ‘That is how I will deal with this city and its citizens. I will make it like Topheth.

Moreover, the Lord says, “Both the prophets and priests are godless. I have even found them doing evil in my temple!

‘Call on me in prayer and I will answer you. I will show you great and mysterious things which you still do not know about.’