They refused to listen
and did not remember Your wonders
You performed among them.
They became stiff-necked and appointed a leader
to return to their slavery in Egypt.
But You are a forgiving God,
gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love,
and You did not abandon them.

But they were disobedient and rebelled against You.
They flung Your law behind their backs
and killed Your prophets
who warned them
in order to turn them back to You.
They committed terrible blasphemies.

But as soon as they had relief,
they again did what was evil in Your sight.
So You abandoned them to the power of their enemies,
who dominated them.
When they cried out to You again,
You heard from heaven and rescued them
many times in Your compassion.

You warned them to turn back to Your law,
but they acted arrogantly
and would not obey Your commands.
They sinned against Your ordinances,
which a person will live by if he does them.
They stubbornly resisted,
stiffened their necks, and would not obey.

You were patient with them for many years,
and Your Spirit warned them through Your prophets,
but they would not listen.
Therefore, You handed them over to the surrounding peoples.

These are the heads of the province who stayed in Jerusalem (but in the villages of Judah each lived on his own property in their towns—the Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and descendants of Solomon’s servants—

because they did not meet the Israelites with food and water. Instead, they hired Balaam against them to curse them, but our God turned the curse into a blessing.

but I warned them, “Why are you camping in front of the wall? If you do it again, I’ll use force against you.” After that they did not come again on the Sabbath.

Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples but could not speak Hebrew.

But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command that was delivered by his eunuchs. The king became furious and his anger burned within him.

Memucan said in the presence of the king and his officials, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king, but all the officials and the peoples who are in every one of King Ahasuerus’s provinces.

For the queen’s action will become public knowledge to all the women and cause them to despise their husbands and say, ‘King Ahasuerus ordered Queen Vashti brought before him, but she did not come.’

The entire royal staff at the King’s Gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded this to be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage.

Esther’s female servants and her eunuchs came and reported the news to her, and the queen was overcome with fear. She sent clothes for Mordecai to wear so he could take off his sackcloth, but he did not accept them.

If you keep silent at this time, liberation and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s house will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.”

That day Haman left full of joy and in good spirits. But when Haman saw Mordecai at the King’s Gate, and Mordecai didn’t rise or tremble in fear at his presence, Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.

“What’s more,” Haman added, “Queen Esther invited no one but me to join the king at the banquet she had prepared. I am invited again tomorrow to join her with the king.

Then Mordecai returned to the King’s Gate, but Haman, overwhelmed, hurried off for home with his head covered.

The Jews in Susa assembled again on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed 300 men in Susa, but they did not seize any plunder.

The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces assembled, defended themselves, and got rid of their enemies. They killed 75,000 of those who hated them, but they did not seize any plunder.

But the Jews in Susa had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. They rested on the fifteenth day of the month, and it became a day of feasting and rejoicing.

But when the matter was brought before the king, he commanded by letter that the evil plan Haman had devised against the Jews return on his own head and that he should be hanged with his sons on the gallows.

But stretch out Your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering was very intense.

May its morning stars grow dark.
May it wait for daylight but have none;
may it not see the breaking of dawn.

who wait for death, but it does not come,
and search for it more than for hidden treasure,

But now that this has happened to you,
you have become exhausted.
It strikes you, and you are dismayed.

The lion may roar and the fierce lion growl,
but the fangs of young lions are broken.

A figure stood there,
but I could not recognize its appearance;
a form loomed before my eyes.
I heard a quiet voice:

I have seen a fool taking root,
but I immediately pronounced a curse on his home.

But mankind is born for trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.

For He crushes but also binds up;
He strikes, but His hands also heal.

How painful honest words can be!
But what does your rebuke prove?

But now, please look at me;
would I lie to your face?

When I lie down I think:
When will I get up?
But the evening drags on endlessly,
and I toss and turn until dawn.

Remember that my life is but a breath.
My eye will never again see anything good.

The eye of anyone who looks on me
will no longer see me.
Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.

Why not forgive my sin
and pardon my transgression?
For soon I will lie down in the grave.
You will eagerly seek me, but I will be gone.

But if you earnestly seek God
and ask the Almighty for mercy,

since we were born only yesterday and know nothing.
Our days on earth are but a shadow.

He leans on his web, but it doesn’t stand firm.
He grabs it, but it does not hold up.

Yes, I know what you’ve said is true,
but how can a person be justified before God?

He doesn’t let me catch my breath
but soaks me with bitter experiences.

Then I would speak and not fear Him.
But that is not the case; I am on my own.

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I wish I had never existed
but had been carried from the womb to the grave.

But if only God would speak
and declare His case against you,

But a stupid man will gain understanding
as soon as a wild donkey is born a man!

But the sight of the wicked will fail.
Their way of escape will be cut off,
and their only hope is their last breath.

But I also have a mind;
I am not inferior to you.
Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about?

But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;
ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.

But you coat the truth with lies;
you are all worthless doctors.

But a man dies and fades away;
he breathes his last—where is he?

For then You would count my steps
but would not take note of my sin.

But as a mountain collapses and crumbles
and a rock is dislodged from its place,

But you even undermine the fear of God
and hinder meditation before Him.

If you were in my place I could also talk like you.
I could string words together against you
and shake my head at you.

I was at ease, but He shattered me;
He seized me by the scruff of the neck
and smashed me to pieces.
He set me up as His target;

My eyes have grown dim from grief,
and my whole body has become but a shadow.

But come back and try again, all of you.
I will not find a wise man among you.

I cry out: “Violence!” but get no response;
I call for help, but there is no justice.

I call for my servant, but he does not answer,
even if I beg him with my own mouth.

But I know my living Redeemer,
and He will stand on the dust at last.

His bones may be full of youthful vigor,
but will lie down with him in the grave.

though he cherishes it and will not let it go
but keeps it in his mouth,

He swallows wealth but must vomit it up;
God will force it from his stomach.

But their prosperity is not of their own doing.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me!

But they both lie in the dust,
and worms cover them.

But it was He who filled their houses with good things.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me!

But He is unchangeable; who can oppose Him?
He does what He desires.

Without clothing, they wander about naked.
They carry sheaves but go hungry.

They crush olives in their presses;
they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.

He gives them a sense of security, so they can rely on it,
but His eyes watch over their ways.

These are but the fringes of His ways;
how faint is the word we hear of Him!
Who can understand His mighty thunder?

he may heap it up, but the righteous will wear it,
and the innocent will divide up his silver.

He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;
when he opens his eyes, it is gone.

Food may come from the earth,
but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire.

But where can wisdom be found,
and where is understanding located?

But God understands the way to wisdom,
and He knows its location.

But now they mock me,
men younger than I am,
whose fathers I would have refused to put
with my sheep dogs.

I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;
when I stand up, You merely look at me.

But when I hoped for good, evil came;
when I looked for light, darkness came.

I walk about blackened, but not by the sun.
I stood in the assembly and cried out for help.

But when he saw that the three men could not answer Job, he became angry.

But it is a spirit in man
and the breath of the Almighty
that give him understanding.

But Job has not directed his argument to me,
and I will not respond to him with your arguments.

But now, Job, pay attention to my speech,
and listen to all my words.

But He finds reasons to oppose me;
He regards me as His enemy.

But I tell you that you are wrong in this matter,
since God is greater than man.

For God speaks time and again,
but a person may not notice it.

But if you have something to say, answer me;
speak, for I would like to justify you.

but caused the poor to cry out to Him,
and He heard the outcry of the afflicted.

But when God is silent, who can declare Him guilty?
When He hides His face, who can see Him?
Yet He watches over both individuals and nations,

But no one asks, “Where is God my Maker,
who provides us with songs in the night,

There they cry out, but He does not answer,
because of the pride of evil men.

But now, because God’s anger does not punish
and He does not pay attention to transgression,

Yes, God is mighty, but He despises no one;
He understands all things.

He does not keep the wicked alive,
but He gives justice to the afflicted.

He does not remove His gaze from the righteous,
but He seats them forever with enthroned kings,
and they are exalted.

But if they do not obey,
they will cross the river of death
and die without knowledge.