So I was far wealthier than all my predecessors in Jerusalem, yet I maintained my objectivity:

So do not be excessively righteous or excessively wise; otherwise you might be disappointed.

Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool; otherwise you might die before your time.

Let your clothes always be white, and do not spare precious ointment on your head.

and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the life’s breath returns to God who gave it.

The Beloved: I was a wall, and my breasts were like fortress towers. Then I found favor in his eyes.

If the Lord who commands armies had not left us a few survivors, we would have quickly become like Sodom, we would have become like Gomorrah.

I hate your new moon festivals and assemblies; they are a burden that I am tired of carrying.

How tragic that the once-faithful city has become a prostitute! She was once a center of justice, fairness resided in her, but now only murderers.

For you will be like a tree whose leaves wither, like an orchard that is unwatered.

The powerful will be like a thread of yarn, their deeds like a spark; both will burn together, and no one will put out the fire.

Those remaining in Zion, those left in Jerusalem, will be called “holy,” all in Jerusalem who are destined to live.

By day it will be a shelter to provide shade from the heat, as well as safety and protection from the heavy downpour.

I will sing to my love – a song to my lover about his vineyard. My love had a vineyard on a fertile hill.

At that time a man will keep alive a young cow from the herd and a couple of goats.

With bow and arrow men will hunt there, for the whole land will be covered with thorns and briers.

The light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One will become a flame; it will burn and consume the Assyrian king’s briers and his thorns in one day.

The splendor of his forest and his orchard will be completely destroyed, as when a sick man’s life ebbs away.

Here is a message about Damascus: “Look, Damascus is no longer a city, it is a heap of ruins!

“At that time Jacob’s splendor will be greatly diminished, and he will become skin and bones.