Everything was verified by number and by weight, and the total weight was written down at that time.

However, due to your abundant mercy you did not do away with them altogether; you did not abandon them. For you are a merciful and compassionate God.

The temple attendants were living on Ophel, and Ziha and Gishpa were over them.

Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in King Ahasuerus’ royal palace.

“Why does God give light to one who is in misery, and life to those whose soul is bitter,

When they are scorched, they dry up, when it is hot, they vanish from their place.

My body is clothed with worms and dirty scabs; my skin is broken and festering.

If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression and be cheerful,’

It is higher than the heavens – what can you do? It is deeper than Sheol – what can you know?

he lived in ruined towns and in houses where no one lives, where they are ready to crumble into heaps.

Will there be an end to your windy words? Or what provokes you that you answer?

men who were carried off before their time, when the flood was poured out on their foundations?

“Why are times not appointed by the Almighty? Why do those who know him not see his days?

There are those who rebel against the light; they do not know its ways and they do not stay on its paths.

“As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made my life bitter –

“O that I could be as I was in the months now gone, in the days when God watched over me,

“As soon as the ear heard these things, it blessed me, and when the eye saw them, it bore witness to me,

They detest me and maintain their distance; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

“Surely one does not stretch out his hand against a broken man when he cries for help in his distress.

Be careful that no one entices you with riches; do not let a large bribe turn you aside.