Bible in 90 Days

8 O that thou were like my brother, that nursed the breasts of immi (my mother)! Then, if I should find thee outside, I would kiss thee; yea, and no one would look down on me.

² I would lead thee, and bring thee into bais immi [see 3:4]. Thou wouldest instruct me; I would cause thee to drink of spiced yayin and the nectar of my pomegranate.

³ His left hand should be under my rosh, and his right hand embrace me.

⁴ I charge you, O banot Yerushalayim, that ye arouse nor awake HaAhavah (the Love) till it pleases [i,e., until its own time, see 2:7; 3:5] .

⁵ Who is this that cometh up from the midbar, leaning upon her beloved? Under the tapuach (apple tree) I awakened thee; it was there thy em conceived thee; there she who brought thee forth conceived thee.

⁶ Set me as a chotam (seal) upon thine lev, as a chotam upon thine zero’a (arm); for ahavah is strong as mavet (death); kinah (jealousy) as unyielding as Sheol; the flames thereof are flames of eish, the flame of Hashem.

⁷ Mayim rabbim (many waters) cannot quench HaAhavah, neither can the floods drown it; if a man would give all the wealth of his bais for ahavah, it would be utterly scorned.

⁸ We have an achot ketannah (little sister), and she hath as yet no breasts. What shall we do for achoteinu (our sister) in the day when she shall be spoken for?

⁹ If she be a chomah (wall), we will build upon her a pinnacle of kesef; and if she be a delet (door), we will enclose her with panels of cedar.

¹⁰ I am a chomah (wall), and my breasts, like migdalot; then was I in his eyes like one that findeth shalom.

¹¹ Sh’lomo had a kerem (vineyard) at Baal-Hamon; he gave over the kerem (vineyard) unto caretakers; each had to pay a thousand pieces of kesef for the p’ri (fruit) thereof.

¹² My kerem (vineyard), which is mine, is at my own disposal [see 7:13 (12)]; thou, O Sh’lomo, the thousand are for thee, and two hundred for those that tend the p’ri thereof!

¹³ Thou that dwellest in the ganim (gardens), the chaverim are listening for thy voice; cause me to hear it.

¹⁴ Make haste, dodi (my beloved), and be thou like to a gazelle or a young deer upon the mountains where spices grow.

1 Now it came to pass in the yamim when HaShofetim (the Judges) ruled, that there was a ra’av (famine) in the land. And a certain ish (man) of Beit-Lechem Yehudah went to sojourn in the sadei Moav, he, and his isha (wife), and his two banim (sons).

² And the shem (name) of the ish (man) was Elimelech, and the shem (name) of his isha (wife) Naomi, and the shem of his two banim Machlon and Kilyon, Ephrathites of Beit-Lechem Yehudah. And they came into the sadei Moav, and continued there.

³ And Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left (alive) and her two banim.

⁴ And they took them wives of the nashim (women) of Moav; the shem (name) of the one was Orpah, and the shem (name) of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about eser shanim (ten years).

⁵ And Machlon and Kilyon died also both of them; and the isha was left (alive), surviving with neither her yeladim nor her ish.

⁶ Then she arose with her kallot, that she might make teshuvah (return) from the sadei Moav: for in the sadeh of Moav she had heard how that Hashem had visited His people in giving them lechem (bread).

⁷ Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two kallot with her; and they set on the derech (way, road) to make teshuvah (return) unto Eretz Yehudah.

⁸ And Naomi said unto her two kallot, Go, go back each to her beis em (mother’s house): may Hashem show chesed (lovingkindness) to you, as ye have dealt with hamesim (the dead ones), and with me.

⁹ Hashem grant you that ye may find menuchah (resting place), each of you in the bais of her ish. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.

¹⁰ And they said unto her, Surely we will make teshuvah (return) with thee unto thy people.

¹¹ And Naomi said, Turn back, my banot; why will ye go with me? Are there yet any more banim in my womb, that they may be your husbands?

¹² Turn back, my banot, go your way; for I am too old to have an ish. If I should say, I have tikvah, if I should have an ish halailah (tonight), and should also bear banim,

¹³ Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? Would ye stay from having ba’alim (husbands) for them? Nay, my banot; for it is more mar (bitter) for me than you, for the Yad Hashem has gone out against me.

¹⁴ And they lifted up their voice, and wept again; and Orpah kissed [cf Mt 26:49] her chamot; but Ruth clung unto her.

¹⁵ And she said, Hinei, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, and unto her g-ds; return thou after thy sister-inlaw.

¹⁶ And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy G-d shall be Elohai;

¹⁷ Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried. Hashem do so to me, and more also, if anything but HaMavet part thee and me.

¹⁸ When she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left urging her.

¹⁹ So they two went until they came to Beit-Lechem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beit-Lechem, that kol ha’ir (all the town) was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?

²⁰ And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi [Pleasant], call me Mara [Bitter]; for Shaddai hath dealt very bitterly with me.

²¹ I went away full and Hashem hath brought me back empty; why then call me Naomi, seeing Hashem hath testified against me, and Shaddai hath made me very bitter?

²² So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her kallah, with her, which returned out of the sadei Moav; and they came to Beit-Lechem in the beginning of katzir seorim (barley harvest).

2 And Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, an ish gibbor chayil, of the mishpochah of Elimelech; and shmo was Boaz.

² And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the sadeh, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I shall find chen (grace, favor). And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.

³ And she went, and came, and gleaned in the sadeh behind the kotzerim (harvesters, reapers); and it so happened that she came on a part of the sadeh belonging unto Boaz, who was of the mishpochah of Elimelech.

⁴ And, hinei, Boaz came from Beit-Lechem, and said unto the kotzerim, Hashem be with you. And they answered him, Yevarech’chah Adonoi (Hashem bless thee).

⁵ Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the kotzerim, Whose na’arah is this?

⁶ And the servant that was set over the kotzerim answered and said, It is the na’arah from Moav that came back with Naomi out of the sadeh of Moav.

⁷ And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the kotzerim among the omarim (sheaves); so she came, and hath worked steadily from the boker even until now, except for a short rest in the bais.

⁸ Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another sadeh, neither go from hence, but abide here close by my ne’arot;

⁹ Let thine eyes be on the sadeh that they do reap, and go thou after them; have I not charged the ne’arim that they shall not touch thee? And when thou art athirst, go unto the kelim (vessels), and drink of that which the ne’arim have drawn.

¹⁰ Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found chen (favor, grace) in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a nokhriyah (foreigner, alien)?

¹¹ And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shown me, all that thou hast done unto thy chamot since the mot (death) of thine ish; and how thou hast left thy av and thy em, and the eretz moledet, and art come unto an Am (people) which thou knewest not heretofore.

¹² Hashem recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of Hashem Elohei Yisroel, under Whose wings thou art come to seek refuge.

¹³ Then she said, Let me find chen (favor, grace) in thy sight, adoni; for that thou hast brought nachamah (comfort) to me, and for that thou hast spoken to the lev of thine shifcha, though I be not like unto one of thine shfakhot.

¹⁴ And Boaz said unto her, At et haokhel (mealtime) come thou hither, and eat of the lechem, and dip thy morsel in the chometz. And she sat beside the kotzerim; and he offered her roasted grain, and she did eat, and was filled, and had left over [shirayim].

¹⁵ And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his ne’arim, saying, Let her glean even among the omarim, and reproach her not;

¹⁶ And let fall also some [out from the omarim] of the handfuls on purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.

¹⁷ So she gleaned in the sadeh until the erev, and she threshed what she had gleaned; and it was about an ephah of seorim.

¹⁸ And she took it up, and went into the town; and her chamot saw what she had gleaned; and she brought forth, and gave to her the left over [shirayim] after she had been filled.

¹⁹ And her chamot said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned hayom (today)? And where did you work? Baruch be he who did take knowledge of thee. And she showed her chamot with whom she had worked, and said, Shem HaIsh with whom I worked hayom (today) is Boaz.

²⁰ And Naomi said unto her kallah, Baruch hu l’Hashem asher lo azav chasdo et haChayyim v’et haMesim (Blessed be he of Hashem who hath not abandoned his chesed to the living and to the dead). And Naomi said unto her, The man is karov unto us. MiGoaleinu hu (he is one of our kinsmen redeemers).

²¹ And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep close by my ne’arim, until they have ended kol HaKatzir that is mine.

²² And Naomi said unto Ruth her kallah, It is tov, my daughter, that thou go out with his ne’arot, because in someone else’s sadeh you might be harmed.

²³ So she kept close by the ne’arot of Boaz to glean unto the end of katzir haseorim and of katzir chittim; and dwelt with her chamot.

3 Then Naomi her chamot said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek manoach (a resting place) for thee, that it may be well with thee?

² And now is not Boaz our relative, with whose ne’arot thou wast? Hinei, he winnoweth haseorim halailah in the threshing floor.

³ Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the threshing floor; but make not thyself known unto the Ish, until he shall have done eating and drinking.

⁴ And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the makom (place) where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.

⁵ And she said unto her, Kol that thou sayest unto me I will do.

⁶ And she went down unto the threshing floor, and did according to kol that her chamot bade her.

⁷ And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his lev was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.

⁸ And it came to pass in the middle of the night, that the man was afraid, and turned himself; and, hinei, an isha lay at his feet!

⁹ And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid; spread therefore thy robe over thine amah (handmaid); for thou art a Go’el (Redeemer).

¹⁰ And he said, Berukhah at laHashem, my daughter; for thou hast showed more chesed in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not the bochurim, whether poor or rich.

¹¹ And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest; for kol sha’ar ami doth have da’as that thou art an aishes chayil (virtuous woman, Prov 31).

¹² And now it is true that I am thy Go’el; howbeit there is a Go’el karov mimeini (Redeemer nearer than I).

¹³ Tarry this night, and it shall be in the boker, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a Go’el, well; let him do the Go’el’s part; let him redeem you. But if he will not do the part of a Go’el to thee, then will I do the part of a Go’el to thee, as Hashem liveth. Lie down until HaBoker.

¹⁴ And she lay at his feet until HaBoker; and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that an isha came into the threshing floor.

¹⁵ Also he said, Bring the mitpachat (shawl) that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of seorim (barley) and laid it on her; and she went into the town.

¹⁶ And when she came to her chamot, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that HaIsh had done to her.

¹⁷ And she said, These six measures of seorim gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty-handed unto thy chamot (mother-in-law).

¹⁸ Then said she, Wait, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall; for HaIsh will not rest until the matter is settled HaYom.

4 Then went Boaz up to the sha’ar, and sat him down there; and, hinei, the Go’el of whom Boaz spoke came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! Turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.

² And he took a minyan of the zekenim of the town, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.

³ And he said unto the Go’el, Naomi, that is come again out of the sadeh of Moav, selleth a share of sadeh, which was achinu (our brother) Elimelech’s;

⁴ And I thought to advise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the zekenim of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it; but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it.

⁵ Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the sadeh of the hand of Naomi, thou must acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the eshet hamet (wife of the dead man), lahakim (to raise up, resurrect) the shem hamet upon his nachalah (inheritance).

⁶ And the Go’el said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own nachalah; redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.

⁷ Now this was the manner in former time in Yisroel concerning the geulah (redemption) and concerning the temurah (the substitute, exchange), for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his sandal, and gave it to his neighbor; and this was an attestation in Yisroel.

⁸ Therefore the Go’el said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his sandal.

⁹ And Boaz said unto the zekenim, and unto kol haAm, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Kilyon’s and Machlon’s, of the hand of Naomi.

¹⁰ Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Machlon, have I purchased to be my wife, lahakim (to raise up, resurrect) the shem hamet (name of the dead man) upon his nachalah, that the shem of the dead man be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the sha’ar of his place; ye are edim (witnesses) HaYom.

¹¹ And kol HaAm that were in the sha’ar, and the zekenim, said, We are edim. Hashem make the isha haba’ah (the woman coming, see Gn 3:15; Isa 7:14) into thine bais [i.e. Bais Dovid] like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the Bais Yisroel; and do thou worthily in Ephrat, and be famous in Beit-Lechem;

¹² And let thy bais be like the bais of Peretz, whom Tamar bore unto Yehudah, of the zera (Bereshis 22:18; Ga 3:16) which Hashem shall give thee of this na’arah.

¹³ So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his isha; and when he went in unto her, Hashem gave her conception, and she bore ben [see Isa 7:14].

¹⁴ And the nashim said unto Naomi, Baruch Hashem, which hath not left thee this yom without a Go’el. May shmo be famous in Yisroel.

¹⁵ And may he restore your nefesh and be a nourisher of thine old age; for thy kallah, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than shiva banim, hath born him.

¹⁶ And Naomi took the yeled, and laid him in her kheyk (bosom), and became omenet (nurse) unto it.

¹⁷ And the women her shchenim gave him a name, saying, There is a ben born to Naomi; and they called his name Oved; he is the father of Yishai, the father of Dovid.

¹⁸ Now these are the toldot of Peretz; Peretz fathered Chetzron,

¹⁹ And Chetzron fathered Ram, and Ram fathered Amminadav,

²⁰ And Amminadav fathered Nachshon, and Nachshon fathered Salmon,

²¹ And Salmon fathered Boaz, and Boaz fathered Oved,

²² And Oved fathered Yishai, and Yishai fathered Dovid.

1 How doth HaIr (the city, Yerushalayim) sit solitary, that was full of people! How is she become like an almanah (widow)! She that was great among the Goyim, and sarah (princess) among the provinces, how is she become a forced laborer!

² She weepeth bitterly in the lailah (night), and her tears are on her cheeks; among all her lovers she hath no Menachem (comforter); all her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies.

³ Yehudah is gone into the Golus (Exile) under affliction, and under great avodah (servitude); she dwelleth among the Goyim; she findeth no manoach (rest); all her rodefim (persecutors) overtook her in dire straits.

⁴ The darkhei Tziyon (approaches to Tziyon) do mourn, because none come to mo’ed (set feasts); all her she’arim (gates) are desolate; her kohanim sigh, her betulot (virgins) are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.

⁵ Her adversaries are now the rosh (supreme, master); her enemies prosper; for Hashem hath afflicted her because of the multitude of her peysha’im (transgressions); her olalim (little children) are gone into captivity before the enemy.

⁶ And from Bat Tziyon all her beauty has departed; her sarim (princes) are become like deer that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the rodef (persecutor, pursuer).

⁷ In the yamim (days) of her affliction and of her persecutions, Yerushalayim remembers all her pleasant things that she had miymei kedem (in the days of old), when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and there was no ozer (helper) for her; the adversaries saw her, and did mock at her downfall.

⁸ Yerushalayim hath grievously sinned; therefore she is niddah (unclean, Jewish woman’s untouchability during menstruation; Vayikra 15:19); all that honored her despise her, because they have seen her erom (nakedness); yea, she sigheth, and turneth away for shame.

⁹ Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her latter end; therefore she sank appallingly; she had no Menachem (comforter). O Hashem, behold my affliction; for the enemy hath triumphed.

¹⁰ The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her precious things; for she hath seen how the Goyim entered into her [Beis] Hamikdash, whom Thou didst command that they should not enter into Thy Kahal (congregation, community).

¹¹ All her people sigh, they seek lechem; they have given their precious things for bread to revive the nefesh; see, O Hashem, and consider that I am become despised.

¹² Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Consider, and see if there be any sorrow like my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith Hashem hath afflicted me in the Yom Charon Af (day of His fierce anger).

¹³ From above hath He sent eish into my atzamot (bones), and it prevaileth against them; He hath spread a net for my feet, He hath turned me back; He hath made me desolate and kol hayom (ever) languishing.

¹⁴ The yoke of my peysha’im hath been fastened by His hand; they [i.e., my sins] intertwine themselves and set upon my tzavar (neck); He hath made my strength to fall; Hashem hath delivered me into their hands, from whom I am not able to rise up.

¹⁵ Hashem hath taken away all my strong ones in my midst; He hath proclaimed a mo’ed (set time) against me to crush my young men; Hashem hath trodden the winepress for the Betulat Bat Yehudah.

¹⁶ For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with mayim, because the Menachem (comforter) that should refresh my nefesh is far from me; my children are desolate, because the enemy hath prevailed.

¹⁷ Tziyon stretcheth forth her hands, yet there is no Menachem (comforter) for her; Hashem hath commanded concerning Ya’akov, that his adversaries should be round about him; Yerushalayim is as a niddah (menstruous woman) among them.

¹⁸ Tzaddik is Hashem; for I have rebelled against His mouth; hear, I pray you, kol amim (all people), and behold my sorrow; my betulot and my bochurim are gone into captivity.

¹⁹ I called for my lovers, but they have deceived me; my kohanim and my zekenim gave up the ghost (i.e., expired) in HaIr (the City), while they sought okhel (food) to revive their nefashot.

²⁰ Consider, O Hashem how I am in distress; my bowels are troubled; mine lev is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled; without (i.e., outside), the cherev (sword) bereaveth, within (i.e., babayit, at home) it is like mavet (death).

²¹ They have heard that I sigh; there is no Menachem (comforter); all mine enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that Thou hast done it; Thou bringest the Yom Karata (the day that Thou has proclaimed), that they (all the peoples; see 1:18) may be like me.

²² Let all their wickedness come before Thee; and do unto them, as Thou hast done unto me for all my peysha’im; for my sighs are many, and my lev is faint.

2 How hath Adonoi covered Bat Tziyon with a cloud in His anger, and hurled down from Shomayim unto Eretz the tiferet Yisroel, and remembered not His hadom (footstool) in the Day of His Wrath!

² Adonoi hath swallowed up all the habitations of Ya’akov, and hath not pitied; He hath torn down in His Wrath the strongholds of Bat Yehudah; He hath brought them down to the ground; chillel (He hath defiled) the mamlachah and the sarim (princes) thereof.

³ He hath cut off in His fierce anger kol keren Yisroel; He hath drawn back His right hand from before the oyev, and He burned against Ya’akov like a flaming eish, which devoureth all around.

⁴ He hath bent His keshet (bow) like an oyev; He took His stand with His right hand as an adversary, and slaughtered all that were pleasant to the eye in the ohel Bat Tziyon; He poured out His fury like eish.

⁵ Adonoi was like an oyev; He hath swallowed up Yisroel, He hath swallowed up all her armonot (palaces); He hath destroyed His strongholds, and hath increased in Bat Yehudah mourning and lamentation.

⁶ And He hath violently destroyed His sukkah, as if it were of a gan (garden); He hath laid waste His Mo’ed; Hashem hath caused Mo’ed and Shabbos to be forgotten in Tziyon, and in the indignation of His anger hath spurned Melech and Kohen.

⁷ Adonoi hath cast off His Mizbe’ach, He hath disowned His Mikdash, He hath given up into the yad oyev the chomot armonot of hers; they have raised shouts in the Beis Hashem, as in the Yom Mo’ed.

⁸ Hashem hath purposed to destroy the Chomat Bat Tziyon; He hath stretched out a measuring line, He hath not withdrawn His hand from destroying; therefore He made the rampart and the chomah to lament; they languished together.

⁹ Her she’arim are sunk into the ground; He hath destroyed and broken her bars; her melech and her sarim (princes) are among the Goyim; the torah is no more; her nevi’im also find no chazon (vision) from Hashem.

¹⁰ The Ziknei Bat Tziyon sit upon the ground, and keep silence; they have cast up aphar upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the Betulot Yerushalayim hang down their heads to the ground.

¹¹ Mine eyes do fail from weepings, my insides are troubled, empty and poured upon ha’aretz, for the destruction of Bat Ami; because the olel and the infant swoon in the rechovot of the city.

¹² They say to their imahot, Where is grain and yayin? Say they when they swooned like the wounded in the rechovot Ir, when their nefesh ebbed away into the kheyk imahot of them.

¹³ What thing shall I say to thee? What thing shall I liken to thee, O Bat Yerushalayim? What shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O Betulat Bat Tziyon? For thy shever (destruction) is as gadol as the yam. Who can heal thee?

¹⁴ Thy nevi’im have seen false and worthless visions for thee; and they have not exposed thine avon, to ward off thy captivity; but have seen for thee mase’ot shav and madduchim (false and misleading burdens, oracles).

¹⁵ All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at Bat Yerushalayim, saying, Is this the Ir that men call Kelilat Yofi Masos L’Khol HaAretz (perfection in beauty, the joy of the whole earth)?

¹⁶ All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee; they hiss and gnash their teeth; they say, We have swallowed her up; certainly this is the Yom that we waited for; we have found, we have seen it.

¹⁷ Hashem hath done that which He had devised; He hath fulfilled His word that He decreed in the yemai kedem; He hath overthrown, and hath not pitied, and He hath caused thine oyev to gloat over thee, He hath exalted the keren of thine adversaries.

¹⁸ Their lev cried unto Adonoi, O Chomat Bat Tziyon, let tears run down like a river yomam valailah; give thyself no relief; let not thine eye rest.

¹⁹ Arise, cry out balailah; in the beginning of the night watches pour out thine lev like mayim before the face of Adonoi; lift up thy hands to Him for the nefesh of thy ollelim, that faint for hunger on every street corner.

²⁰ Look, Hashem, and consider to whom Thou hast done this. Shall the nashim eat their offspring, the children they have cared for? Shall the Kohen and the Navi be slain in the Mikdash Adonoi?

²¹ The na’ar and the zaken lie in the dust of the streets; my betulot and my bochurim are fallen by the cherev; Thou hast slain them in the Day of Thy Wrath; Thou hast slaughtered, and not pitied.

²² Thou hast summoned as in a Yom Mo’ed my terrors all around, so that in the Yom Af Hashem none escaped nor remained; those that I have swaddled and reared hath mine oyev consumed.

3 I am the gever that hath seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.

² He hath driven me away, and brought me into choshech, but not into ohr.

³ Surely against me is He turned; He turneth His yad against me kol hayom.

⁴ My basar and my ohr (skin) hath He made old; He hath broken my atzmot.

⁵ He hath set up seigeworks against me, and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.

⁶ He hath set me in dark places, like the mesei olam (long dead).

⁷ He hath hedged me about, that I cannot escape; He hath made my chain heavy.

⁸ Also when I cry and call out, He shutteth out my tefillah.

⁹ He hath barred my ways with hewn stone, He hath made my paths crooked.

¹⁰ He was unto me like a dov (bear) lying in wait, and like an aryeh in mistarim (hiding places).

¹¹ He hath turned aside the darkhei of mine, and pulled me in pieces; He hath made me desolate.

¹² He hath bent His keshet, and set me as a target for the khetz (arrow).

¹³ He hath caused the arrows of His quiver to enter into my organs.

¹⁴ I was a derision to kol ami; and their [mocking] song kol hayom.

¹⁵ He hath filled me with merorim (bitter herbs); He hath made me drunk with suffering.

¹⁶ He hath also broken my teeth with gravel, He hath covered me with aphar.

¹⁷ And Thou hast removed my nefesh far off from shalom; I forgot tovah (prosperity).

¹⁸ And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from Hashem;

¹⁹ Remember mine oni (affliction) and my misery, the sorrow and the trouble.

²⁰ My nefesh hath them still in remembrance, and is downcast in me.

²¹ This I recall to my lev, therefore have I hope:

²² Because of the chasdei Hashem we are not consumed, for His rachamim fail not.

²³ They are chadashim every boker; great is Thy faithfulness.

²⁴ Hashem is my chelek, saith my nefesh; therefore in hope will I wait for Him.

²⁵ Hashem is tov unto them that wait for Him, to the nefesh that seeketh Him.

²⁶ It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the Teshu’at Hashem.

²⁷ It is tov for a gever that he bear the ol (yoke) from his youth.

²⁸ He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because He hath laid it upon him.

²⁹ He putteth his mouth in the aphar; there may yet be tikvah.

³⁰ He offereth his lekhi (cheek) to him that striketh him; he is filled full with reproach [Isa 50:6].

³¹ For Adonoi will not cast off l’olam (forever);

³² But though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the rov chasadav (the multitude of His mercies).

³³ For He doth not afflict willingly nor bring grief to Bnei Ish.

³⁴ To crush under His feet kol asirei eretz (all the prisoners of the earth),

³⁵ To turn aside the mishpat gever (the right of a man) before the face of Elyon,

³⁶ To subvert a man in his cause, Adonoi approveth not.

³⁷ Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when Adonoi commandeth it not?

³⁸ Out of the mouth of Elyon proceedeth not hara’ot (the woe) and hatov (the good)?

³⁹ Why doth an adam chai (any man alive) complain, a gever for the punishment of his sins?

⁴⁰ Let us search and test derakheinu (our ways), and let us turn again to Hashem.

⁴¹ Let us lift up levavenu (our heart) with our hands unto El baShomayim.

⁴² We have transgressed and have rebelled; Atah lo salachta (Thou hast not pardoned, forgiven).

⁴³ Thou hast covered with af (anger), and pursued us; Thou hast slain, Thou hast not pitied.

⁴⁴ Thou hast covered Thyself with an anan, that our tefillah not pass through.

⁴⁵ Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse among the amim.

⁴⁶ Kol oyveinu (all our enemies) have opened their mouths against us.

⁴⁷ Pachad (terror) and a snare is come upon us, ruin and destruction.

⁴⁸ Mine eye runneth down with streams of mayim for the destruction of Bat Ami.

⁴⁹ Mine eye will flow down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission

⁵⁰ Till Hashem look down, and behold from Shomayim.

⁵¹ Mine eye affecteth mine nefesh because of all the banot of my city.

⁵² Mine enemies hunted me down, like a tzippor (bird), without cause.

⁵³ They have cut off my life in the bor (pit) and cast an even (stone) upon me.

⁵⁴ Mayim flowed over mine rosh; then I said, I am cut off.

⁵⁵ I called upon Thy Shem, Hashem, out of the lowest pit.

⁵⁶ Thou hast heard my voice; close not thine ear at my sighing, at my cry.

⁵⁷ Thou drewest near on the Yom that I called upon Thee; Thou saidst, Fear not.

⁵⁸ Adonoi, Thou hast pleaded the causes of my nefesh; Thou hast redeemed my life.

⁵⁹ Hashem, Thou hast seen my wrong; uphold my cause.

⁶⁰ Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their machsh’vot against me.

⁶¹ Thou hast heard their reproach, Hashem, and all their machsh’vot against me;

⁶² The whisperings of those that rose up against me, and their muttering against me kol hayom.

⁶³ Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; Ani (I) am their mocking song.

⁶⁴ Render unto them a gemul (recompence), Hashem, according to the work of their hands.

⁶⁵ Give them hardness of lev as thy curse unto them.

⁶⁶ Pursue in anger and destroy them from under HaShomayim of Hashem.

4 How has the zahav lost its luster! How is the most fine gold changed! The avnei kodesh are poured out on every street corner.

² The precious Bnei Tziyon, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the yotzer (potter)!

³ Even the jackals offer the breast; they nurse their young ones; the Bat Ami is become heartless, like the ostriches in the midbar.

⁴ The leshon of the nursing infant cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst; the olalim beg for lechem, and no man giveth it unto them.

⁵ They that did feed delicately are destitute in the chutzot; they that were brought up in purple lie on dunghills.

⁶ For the punishment of the iniquity of the Bat Ami is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands helped her.

⁷ Her nobles were purer than snow; they were whiter than cholov, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their appearance was of sapphire;

⁸ Their visage is blacker than soot; they are not known in the streets; their skin cleaveth to their atzmot; it is dried up, it is become like a stick.

⁹ They that are slain with the cherev are better than they that are slain with hunger; for these pine away, being pierced for want of the increase of the sadeh.

¹⁰ The hands of the pitiful nashim have cooked their own yeladim; they were their meat in the destruction of the Bat Ami.

¹¹ Hashem hath accomplished His fury; He hath poured out His charon af, and hath kindled an eish in Tziyon, and it hath devoured the yesodot thereof.

¹² The malkhei eretz, and all the inhabitants of the tevel (world), would not have believed that the adversary and the oyev should have entered into the sha’arei Yerushalayim.

¹³ For the sins of her Nevi’im, and the iniquities of her Kohanim, that have shed the dahm of the Tzaddikim in the midst of her,

¹⁴ They have groped about like ivrim (blind men) in the streets; they have defiled themselves with dahm, so that men dare not touch their garments.

¹⁵ They cried unto them, Go away; tamei (unclean)! Depart, depart, touch not; so they fled away and wandered. They said among the Goyim, They shall no more sojourn there.

¹⁶ The anger of Hashem hath scattered them; He will no more regard them; they respected not the persons of the Kohanim; they showed no favor to the Zekenim.

¹⁷ As for us, our eyes failed looking in vain for ezratenu (our help); from our towers we have watched for a nation that could not save us.

¹⁸ They stalk our steps, that we cannot go in our streets; kitzeinu (our end) is near, our yamim are numbered; for kitzeinu is come.

¹⁹ Our pursuers are swifter than the eagles of Shomayim; they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the midbar.

²⁰ The Moshiach of Hashem, who was our very life, was taken in their traps, of whom we said, Under his shadow [of protection] we shall live among the Goyim.

²¹ Rejoice and be glad, O Bat Edom, that dwellest in Eretz Uz; the kos (cup) also shall pass unto thee; thou shalt be drunk, and shalt be stripped naked.

²² The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O Bat Tziyon; He will no more prolong your Golus; He will visit thine iniquity, O Bat Edom; He will expose thy sins.

5 Remember, Hashem, what is come upon us; consider, and behold our reproach.

² Our nachalah is turned over to zarim, our batim (houses) to foreigners.

³ We are yetomim and fatherless, immoteinu are like almanot.

⁴ We must pay kesef for our own mayim; our wood is sold unto us.

⁵ Our necks are under persecution; we are weary, and have no rest.

⁶ We have submitted to the Mitzrayim, and to the Assyrians, to get enough lechem.

⁷ Avoteinu have sinned, and are no more; and we have borne their iniquities.

⁸ Avadim have ruled over us; there is none that doth deliver us out of their yad.

⁹ We get our lechem with the peril of our lives because of the cherev of the midbar.

¹⁰ Our skin was hot like an oven because we burn with ra’av (hunger, famine).

¹¹ They ravished the nashim in Tziyon, and the betulot in the towns of Yehudah.

¹² Sarim (princes) are hanged by their yad; the faces of Zekenim were not respected.

¹³ They took the bochurim to grind, and the ne’arim staggered under the wood.

¹⁴ The zekenim have ceased from the sha’ar, the bochurim from their music.

¹⁵ The joy of our heart is gone; mekholeinu (our dance) is turned into mourning.

¹⁶ The ateret is fallen from our head; woe unto us, for we have sinned!

¹⁷ For this our lev is faint; because of these things our eyes are dim.

¹⁸ Because of the Har Tziyon, which is desolate, the jackals prowl upon it.

¹⁹ Thou, Hashem, remainest forever;Thy throne from generation to generation.

²⁰ Why dost Thou forget us forever, and forsake us for so long?

²¹ Restore us, Hashem, to Thyself that we may return; renew yamenu (our days) as of old.

²² Unless Thou hast utterly rejected us and Thou art angry with us beyond measure.

1 Divrei Kohelet, Ben Dovid, Melech in Yerushalayim.

² Hevel havalim, saith Kohelet, hevel havalim; all is hevel.

³ What profit hath a man from all his amal (toil) which he hath toiled under the shemesh?

⁴ Dor v’dor, generations come and go, passing away; but ha’aretz remaineth l’olam.

⁵ The shemesh also ariseth, and the shemesh goeth down, and hasteth to its place, there to arise again.

⁶ The ruach (wind) goeth toward the darom (south), and turneth about unto the tzafon (north); it whirleth about continually, and the ruach returneth again according to its circuits.

⁷ All the neharot (rivers) run into the yam; yet the yam is not full; unto the place from whence the neharot come, thither they return to go again.

⁸ All things are wearisome; no ish can express it; the ayin is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ozen full with hearing.

⁹ The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done; and there is nothing chadash under the shemesh.

¹⁰ Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is chadash? L’olamim (ages ago), which were before us, it hath been already.

¹¹ There is no zichron (remembrance) of former things; neither shall there be with those who come after any zikaron (recollection) of things that are to come.

¹² I, Kohelet, was Melech over Yisroel in Yerushalayim.

¹³ And I set my lev to seek and search out by chochmah concerning all things that are done under Shomayim; what grievous task hath Elohim given to the bnei haAdam to be afflicted therewith.

¹⁴ I have seen all the ma’asim that are done under the shemesh; and, hinei, all is hevel and chasing after ruach (wind).

¹⁵ That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and chesron (that which is lacking) cannot be numbered.

¹⁶ I communed with mine own lev, saying, Hinei, I am come to greatness, even greater chochmah than all they that have been before me over Yerushalayim; yea, my lev had great experience of chochmah and da’as.

¹⁷ And I applied my lev to have da’as of chochmah, and to have da’as of holelot (madness) and sichlut (folly); I perceived that this also is striving after ruach (wind).

¹⁸ For in much chochmah (wisdom) is much ka’as (grief, vexation); and he that increaseth da’as increaseth mach’ov (sorrow).

2 I said in mine lev, Come now, I will test thee with simchah, therefore enjoy tov; and, hinei, this also is hevel.

² I said of laughter, It is mad; and of simchah, What doeth it accomplish?

³ I searched in mine lev to draw my basar on with yayin, my mind guiding me with chochmah; and to lay hold on sichlut (folly), till I might see what was tov for bnei haAdam, which they should do under Shomayim all the few days of their life.

⁴ I undertook me great works; I built me batim (houses); I planted me kramim (vineyards);

⁵ I made me ganot (gardens) and parks, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them;

⁶ I made me reservoirs of mayim, to water therewith the forest of trees tzomeiach (sprouting up);

⁷ I bought me avadim and shfakhot, and had bnei bayit (avadim born in my bais); also I had great possessions of herds and tzon more than all that were in Yerushalayim before me;

⁸ I amassed for me also kesef and zahav, and the treasure of melachim and of the provinces; I acquired for me men singers and women singers, and the delights of bnei haAdam, musical instruments of all kinds.

⁹ So I was great, and excelled more than all that were before me in Yerushalayim; also my chochmah remained with me.

¹⁰ And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my lev from any simchah; for my lev rejoiced in all my amal (labor); and this was my chelek (portion) for all my amal.

¹¹ Then I looked on kol ma’asim that my hands had wrought, and on the amal that I had labored to do; and, hinei, all was hevel and chasing after ruach, and there was no profit under the shemesh.

¹² And I turned myself to consider chochmah, and holelot, and sichlut; for what can the adam do who cometh after HaMelech? Even that which hath been done already.

¹³ Then I saw that chochmah excelleth sichlut, as far as ohr excelleth choshech.

¹⁴ The chacham (wise man) hath eyes in his rosh; but the kesil (fool) walketh in choshech; but I myself perceived also that the same mikreh (fortune) happeneth to them all.

¹⁵ Then said I in my lev, As the mikreh befalls the kesil, so also will the same mikreh befall me; and wherein have I then been of more chochmah? Then I said in my lev, This also is hevel.

¹⁶ For no zichron (remembrance) of the chacham—-no less the kesil—remains l’olam; seeing that in hayamim haba’im (the days to come) all shall be forgotten. How can the chacham die just like the kesil?

¹⁷ Therefore I hated HaChayyim (Life); because the ma’aseh that is wrought under the shemesh is grievous unto me; for all is hevel and chasing after ruach.

¹⁸ Yea, I hated all my amal for which I had toiled under the shemesh; because I must leave it unto the adam that shall occupy my place after me.

¹⁹ And who hath da’as whether he shall be a chacham or a kesil? Nevertheless shall he have shlitah (control, authority) over all my amal for which I have toiled, and have poured out my chochmah under the shemesh. This also is hevel.

²⁰ Therefore I turned aside to give up my lev to despair over all the wearisome amal with which I toiled under the shemesh.

²¹ For there is an adam whose amal is with chochmah, and da’as, and kishron (skill); yet to an adam that hath not worked for it he must leave it for his chelek. This also is hevel and a ra’ah rabbah.

²² For what hath adam for all his amal, and for all the striving of his lev, wherein he hath labored under the shemesh?

²³ For all his yamim are machovim (sorrows), and his travail ka’as (grief, vexation); yea, his lev taketh not rest balailah. This also is hevel.

²⁴ There is nothing better for adam, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his nefesh find satisfaction in his amal. Also this I saw; even this was from the Yad HaElohim.

²⁵ For who can eat, or who can find enjoyment without Hashem?

²⁶ For to the adam that is pleasing in His sight, Hashem gives chochmah, and da’as, and simchah; but to the choteh (sinner) Hashem giveth travail; Hashem giveth the work of gathering and storing up, that Hashem may give to him that pleases HaElohim. This also is hevel and chasing after ruach.

3 To every thing there is a zeman (time), and an et (season) for every matter under Shomayim;

² An et (season) to be born, and an et (season) to die; an et (season) to plant, and an et (season) to uproot that which is planted;

³ An et (season) to kill, and an et (season) to heal; an et (season) to tear down, and an et (season) to build up;

⁴ An et (season) to weep, and an et (season) to laugh; an et (season) to mourn, and an et (season) to dance;

⁵ An et (season) to throw stones away, and an et (season) to gather stones together; an et (season) to embrace, and an et (season) to refrain from embracing;

⁶ An et (season) to look for, and an et (season) to lose; an et (season) to keep, and an et (season) to throw away;

⁷ An et (season) to tear, and an et (season) to mend; an et (season) to keep silent, and an et (season) to speak;

⁸ An et (season) to love, and an et (season) to hate; an et (season) of milchamah, and an et (season) of shalom.

⁹ What profit hath the worker from his amal (labor)?

¹⁰ I have seen the occupation, which Elohim hath given to the bnei HaAdam to keep them occupied.

¹¹ Hashem hath made every thing yafeh in its et (season); also He hath set HaOlam in their lev, yet so that no adam can find out the ma’aseh that HaElohim hath done from the beginning to the end.

¹² I have da’as that there is nothing better for adam, than that they have simchah and do tov while they live.

¹³ And also that kol haAdam should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his amal. This is a gift of Elohim.

¹⁴ I have da’as that, all that HaElohim doeth will endure l’olam; nothing can be added to it, nor any thing taken from it; HaElohim doeth it, that men should fear before Him.

¹⁵ That which is hath been already; and that which is to be hath already been; and HaElohim will call that which is past to account.

¹⁶ And moreover I saw under the shemesh that in the Mekom Mishpat (place of judgment) resha (wickedness) was there; and in the Mekom Tzedek, resha (wickedness) was there.

¹⁷ I said in mine lev, HaElohim shall judge the tzaddik and the resha (wicked); for an et (season) for every matter and for every ma’aseh is there.

¹⁸ I said in mine lev, As for bnei haAdam, HaElohim tests them, that they might see that they themselves are like beheimah.

¹⁹ For bnei haAdam and beheimah share one and same mikreh (fortune); as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that the adam hath no advantage above the beheimah; for all is hevel.

²⁰ All go unto mekom echad; all are of the afahr (dust), and all return to the afahr again.

²¹ Who hath da’as of the ruach bnei haAdam that goeth upward, and the ruach habeheimah that goeth downward to ha’aretz [see 12:7]?

²² Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better than that the adam find simchah in his ma’asim; for that is his chelek; for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?