Here is a tragedy I have observed under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity:

Listen! My love is approaching.
Look! Here he comes,
leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying:

Who should I send?
Who will go for Us?

I said:

Here I am. Send me.

Here I am with the children the Lord has given me to be signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of Hosts who dwells on Mount Zion.

Therefore I moan like the sound of a lyre for Moab,
as does my innermost being for Kir-heres.

What are you doing here? Who authorized you to carve out a tomb for yourself here, carving your tomb on the height and cutting a crypt for yourself out of rock?

For he says: “Law after law, law after law,
line after line, line after line,
a little here, a little there.”

Then the word of the Lord came to them:
“Law after law, law after law,
line after line, line after line,
a little here, a little there,”
so they go stumbling backward,
to be broken, trapped, and captured.

You nations, come here and listen;
you peoples, pay attention!
Let the earth hear, and all that fills it,
the world and all that comes from it.

Say to the cowardly:
“Be strong; do not fear!
Here is your God; vengeance is coming.
God’s retribution is coming; He will save you.”

Zion, herald of good news,
go up on a high mountain.
Jerusalem, herald of good news,
raise your voice loudly.
Raise it, do not be afraid!
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”

I was the first to say to Zion:
Look! Here they are!
And I gave a herald of good news to Jerusalem.

So now what have I here”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“that My people are taken away for nothing?
Its rulers wail”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“and My name is continually blasphemed all day long.

Therefore My people will know My name;
therefore they will know on that day
that I am He who says:
Here I am.”

But come here,
you sons of a sorceress,
offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute!

At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer;
when you cry out, He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you get rid of the yoke among you,
the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,

“I was sought by those who did not ask;
I was found by those who did not seek Me.
I said: Here I am, here I am,
to a nation that was not called by My name.

This is what the Lord says:

What fault did your fathers find in Me
that they went so far from Me,
followed worthless idols,
and became worthless themselves?

Moreover, you will be led out from here
with your hands on your head
since the Lord has rejected those you trust;
you will not succeed even with their help.

Return, you faithless children.
I will heal your unfaithfulness.
“Here we are, coming to You,
for You are the Lord our God.

Why are we just sitting here?
Gather together; let us enter the fortified cities
and perish there,
for the Lord our God has destroyed us.
He has given us poisoned water to drink,
because we have sinned against the Lord.

Therefore, here is what the Lord says concerning the people of Anathoth who want to take your life. They warn, “You must not prophesy in the name of Yahweh, or you will certainly die at our hand.”

For this is what the Lord says concerning Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in place of his father Josiah: “He has left this place—he will never return here again,

As for me, here I am in your hands; do to me what you think is good and right.

Within two years I will restore to this place all the articles of the Lord’s temple that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took from here and transported to Babylon.

Watch! I am going to bring them from the northern land.
I will gather them from remote regions of the earth—
the blind and the lame will be with them,
along with those who are pregnant and those about to give birth.
They will return here as a great assembly!

How long will you turn here and there,
faithless daughter?
For the Lord creates something new in the land—
a female will shelter a man.

King Zedekiah said, “Here he is; he’s in your hands since the king can’t do anything against you.”

So the king commanded Ebed-melech, the Cushite, “Take from here 30 men under your authority and pull Jeremiah the prophet up from the cistern before he dies.”

Therefore, I will wail over Moab.
I will cry out for Moab, all of it;
he will moan for the men of Kir-heres.

Therefore, My heart moans like flutes for Moab, and My heart moans like flutes for the people of Kir-heres. And therefore, the wealth he has gained has perished.

Yet, I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the last days.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
The judgment on Moab ends here.

Then say, ‘In the same way, Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the disaster I am bringing on her. They will grow weary.’”

The words of Jeremiah end here.

ס Samek“Stay away! Unclean!” people shouted at them.
“Away, away! Don’t touch us!”
So they wandered aimlessly.
It was said among the nations,
“They can stay here no longer.”

He said to me: “Son of man, eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.”

He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing here, more detestable things that the house of Israel is committing, so that I must depart from My sanctuary? You will see even more detestable things.”

He said to me, “Go in and see the terrible and detestable things they are committing here.”

And He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it not enough for the house of Judah to commit the detestable things they are practicing here, that they must also fill the land with violence and repeatedly provoke Me to anger, even putting the branch to their nose?

He spoke to me: “Son of man, look with your eyes, listen with your ears, and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for you have been brought here so that I might show it to you. Report everything you see to the house of Israel.”

The Chaldeans spoke to the king (Aramaic begins here): “May the king live forever. Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream with visions in his mind as he was lying in his bed. He wrote down the dream, and here is the summary of his account.

and said, “I am here to tell you what will happen at the conclusion of the time of wrath, because it refers to the appointed time of the end.

He is here:
the One who forms the mountains,
creates the wind,
and reveals His thoughts to man,
the One who makes the dawn out of darkness
and strides on the heights of the earth.
Yahweh, the God of Hosts, is His name.

Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you right here in the house of Israel. The land cannot endure all his words,

The best of them is like a brier;
the most upright is worse than a hedge of thorns.
The day of your watchmen,
the day of your punishment, is coming;
at this time their panic is here.

“This is what the Lord of Hosts says: If you walk in My ways and keep My instructions, you will both rule My house and take care of My courts; I will also grant you access among these who are standing here.

You are to tell him: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Here is a man whose name is Branch; He will branch out from His place and build the Lord’s temple.

If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t He do much more for you—you of little faith?

Suddenly they shouted, “What do You have to do with us, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here!

Here is My Servant whom I have chosen,
My beloved in whom My soul delights;
I will put My Spirit on Him,
and He will proclaim justice to the nations.

The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s proclamation; and look—something greater than Jonah is here!

The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look—something greater than Solomon is here!

And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!

And prompted by her mother, she answered, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter!”

“But we only have five loaves and two fish here,” they said to Him.

“Bring them here to Me,” He said.

I assure you: There are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good for us to be here! If You want, I will make three tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and rebellious generation! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.”

“Because of your little faith,” He told them. “For I assure you: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

Then about five he went and found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing?’

So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.

Then He replied to them, “Don’t you see all these things? I assure you: Not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down!”

“If anyone tells you then, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Over here!’ do not believe it!

“In the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him.’

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He told the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

Then He said to them, “My soul is swallowed up in sorrow —to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with Me.”

He is not here! For He has been resurrected, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay.

And looking about at those who were sitting in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!

Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t His sisters here with us?” So they were offended by Him.

His disciples answered Him, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to fill these people?”

Then He said to them, “I assure you: There are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God come in power.”

Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it’s good for us to be here! Let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—

and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a young donkey tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here.

If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here right away.’”

Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down!”

“Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah! Look—there!’ do not believe it!

Then they came to a place named Gethsemane, and He told His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”

Then He said to them, “My soul is swallowed up in sorrow —to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake.”

“Don’t be alarmed,” he told them. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been resurrected! He is not here! See the place where they put Him.

So he took Him to Jerusalem, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.

Then He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Doctor, heal yourself. So all we’ve heard that took place in Capernaum, do here in Your hometown also.’”

But He knew their thoughts and told the man with the paralyzed hand, “Get up and stand here.” So he got up and stood there.

Late in the day, the Twelve approached and said to Him, “Send the crowd away, so they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find food and lodging, because we are in a deserted place here.”

I tell you the truth: There are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

As the two men were departing from Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it’s good for us to be here! Let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.

Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and rebellious generation! How long will I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and look—something greater than Solomon is here!

The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s proclamation, and look—something greater than Jonah is here!

Do you think that I came here to give peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!

At that time some Pharisees came and told Him, “Go, get out of here! Herod wants to kill You!”

“So the slave came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his slave, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame!’

When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger!

‘Your brother is here,’ he told him, ‘and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

“‘Son,’ Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony.

Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’

no one will say, ‘Look here!’ or ‘There!’ For you see, the kingdom of God is among you.”

They will say to you, ‘Look there!’ or ‘Look here!’ Don’t follow or run after them.

“And another came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina. I have kept it hidden away in a cloth