Study Desk

And it is good for people to submit at an early age to the yoke of his discipline:

Let them lie face down in the dust, for there may be hope at last.

For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever.

For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.

Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins?

We are filled with fear, for we are trapped, devastated, and ruined."

You heard me when I cried, "Listen to my pleading! Hear my cry for help!"

Pay them back, Lord , for all the evil they have done.

The parched tongues of their little ones stick to the roofs of their mouths in thirst. The children cry for bread, but no one has any to give them.

The people who once ate the richest foods now beg in the streets for anything they can get. Those who once wore the finest clothes now search the garbage dumps for food.

Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger. Starving, they waste away for lack of food from the fields.

The Lord himself has scattered them, and he no longer helps them. People show no respect for the priests and no longer honor the leaders.

We looked in vain for our allies to come and save us, but we were looking to nations that could not help us.

Our enemies were swifter than eagles in flight. If we fled to the mountains, they found us. If we hid in the wilderness, they were waiting for us there.

We have to pay for water to drink, and even firewood is expensive.

We hunt for food at the risk of our lives, for violence rules the countryside.

The garlands have fallen from our heads. Weep for us because we have sinned.

For Jerusalem is empty and desolate, a place haunted by jackals.

Why do you continue to forget us? Why have you abandoned us for so long?

When the beings moved, the wheels moved. When the beings stopped, the wheels stopped. When the beings flew upward, the wheels rose up, for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.