My mother, I wish I had never been born! The whole land opposes me. They fight against me. I haven’t made loans to anyone. And I haven’t borrowed anything. But everyone curses me anyway.

我的母亲哪，我有祸了！因你生我作为遍地相争相竞的人。我素来没有借贷与人，人也没有借贷与我，人人却都咒骂我。

我的母亲哪，我有祸了！因你生我作全地争相指控的人。我素来没有借贷给人，人也没有借贷给我，人人却都咒骂我。

我的母亲哪，我有祸了！因你生我作全地争相指控的人。我素来没有借贷给人，人也没有借贷给我，人人却都咒骂我。

母亲啊，我真不幸，因为你生了我这个跟全犹大争论、激辩的人。我没有向人借贷，也没有借贷给人，然而人人都咒骂我。

我母亲哪！我有祸了，因为你生了我，这个跟全地相争相斗的人。我从没有借钱给人，也没有向人借钱，可是人人都咒骂我。

我的母親哪，我有禍了！因你生我作為遍地相爭相競的人。我素來沒有借貸與人，人也沒有借貸與我，人人卻都咒罵我。

我的母親哪，我有禍了！因你生我作全地爭相指控的人。我素來沒有借貸給人，人也沒有借貸給我，人人卻都咒罵我。

我的母親哪，我有禍了！因你生我作全地爭相指控的人。我素來沒有借貸給人，人也沒有借貸給我，人人卻都咒罵我。

母親啊，我真不幸，因為你生了我這個跟全猶大爭論、激辯的人。我沒有向人借貸，也沒有借貸給人，然而人人都咒罵我。

我母親哪！我有禍了，因為你生了我，這個跟全地相爭相鬥的人。我從沒有借錢給人，也沒有向人借錢，可是人人都咒罵我。

我母親哪，我有禍了，你生了我做對遍地吵鬧紛爭的人！我素來沒有拿錢借給人來取利息，人也沒有拿錢借給我來取利，然而人人都咒罵我。

我母歟、禍哉我也、爾之生我、為全地喜爭好競之人、我未貸金於人、人亦未貸金於我、然彼皆詛我、

耶利米曰、哀哉我母、何為產我、為通國之人所攻、我未貸眾以金、眾未貸我以金、藉權子母、而人莫不詛予。

先知自言曰、哀哉、我母何為生我、通國之人攻我、而與我爭、我未貸金於人、人亦未貸金於我、而人莫不詛我、

Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth, a man with whom the whole land strives and contends! I have neither lent nor borrowed, yet everyone curses me.

Woe is me, my mother, that you bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land! I have not lent, nor have I borrowed, yet all of them curse me.

Then I said,“ What sorrow is mine, my mother. Oh, that I had died at birth! I am hated everywhere I go. I am neither a lender who threatens to foreclose nor a borrower who refuses to pay— yet they all curse me.”

Woe is me, my mother, that you gave birth to me, a man who incites dispute and conflict in all the land. I did not lend or borrow, yet everyone curses me.

Woe to me, my mother, that you have given birth to me As a man of strife and a man of contention to all the land! I have not lent, nor have people lent money to me, Yet everyone curses me.

Woe is me, my mother, That you have borne me, A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent for interest, Nor have men lent to me for interest. Every one of them curses me.

Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have not lent, neither have men lent to me; yet every one of them doth curse me.

Woe is me, my mother, that you gave birth to me, a man who incites dispute and conflict in all the land. I did not lend or borrow, yet everyone curses me.

Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury;[ yet] every one of them doth curse me.

I said,“ Oh, mother, how I regret that you ever gave birth to me! I am always starting arguments and quarrels with the people of this land. I have not lent money to anyone and I have not borrowed from anyone. Yet all of these people are treating me with contempt.”

Woe is me, my mother, that you have borne me, a man of strife, and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have not lent, neither have men lent to me; yet every one of them curses me.

“ Suppose you lend money to one of my people among you who is in need. Then do not treat it like a business deal. Do not charge any interest at all.

You tricked me, Lord, and I was tricked. You overpowered me and won. People make fun of me all day long. Everyone laughs at me.Every time I speak, I cry out. All you ever tell me to talk about is fighting and trouble. Your message has brought me nothing but dishonor. It has made me suffer shame all day long.

Today I have made you like a city that has a high wall around it. I have made you like an iron pillar and a bronze wall. Now you can stand up against the whole land. You can stand against the kings and officials of Judah. You can stand against its priests and its people.They will fight against you. But they will not win the battle over you. I am with you. I will save you,” announces the Lord.

They lend their money to poor people without charging interest. They don’t accept money to harm those who aren’t guilty. Anyone who lives like that will always be secure.

I will make you like a wall to them. I will make you like a strong bronze wall. The people will fight against you. But they will not overcome you. I am with you. I will save you,” announces the Lord.

After a while, Job opened his mouth to speak. He cursed the day he had been born.He said,“ May the day I was born be wiped out. May the night be wiped away when people said,‘ A boy is born!’May that day turn into darkness. May God in heaven not care about it. May no light shine on it.May gloom and total darkness take it back. May a cloud settle over it. May blackness cover it up.May deep darkness take over the night I was born. May it not be included among the days of the year. May it never appear in any of the months.May no children ever have been born on that night. May no shout of joy be heard in it.May people say evil things about that day. May people ready to wake the sea monster Leviathan say evil things about that day.May its morning stars become dark. May it lose all hope of ever seeing daylight. May it not see the first light of the morning sun.It didn’t keep my mother from letting me be born. It didn’t keep my eyes from seeing trouble.“ Why didn’t I die when I was born? Why didn’t I die as I came out of my mother’s body?Why was I placed on her knees? Why did her breasts give me milk?If all of that hadn’t happened, I would be lying down in peace. I’d be asleep and at rest in the grave.I’d be with the earth’s kings and rulers. They had built for themselves places that are now destroyed.I’d be with princes who used to have gold. They had filled their houses with silver.Why wasn’t I buried like a baby who was born dead? Why wasn’t I buried like a child who never saw the light of day?In the grave, sinful people don’t cause trouble anymore. And there tired people find rest.Prisoners also enjoy peace there. They don’t hear a slave driver shouting at them anymore.The least important and most important people are there. And there the slaves are set free from their owners.“ Why should those who suffer ever be born? Why should life be given to those whose spirits are bitter?Why is life given to those who long for death that doesn’t come? Why is it given to those who would rather search for death than for hidden treasure?Why is life given to those who are actually happy and glad when they reach the grave?Why is life given to a man like me? God hasn’t told me what will happen to me. He has surrounded me with nothing but trouble.Sighs have become my food every day. Groans pour out of me like water.What I was afraid of has come on me. What I worried about has happened to me.I don’t have any peace and quiet. I can’t find any rest. All I have is trouble.”

Son of man, do not be afraid of them or of what they say. Do not be afraid, even if thorns and bushes are all around you. Do not be afraid, even if you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say. Do not be terrified by them. They always refuse to obey me.You must give them my message. They might listen, or they might not. After all, they refuse to obey me.

They brought them to the judges.“ These men are Jews,” her owners said.“ They are making trouble in our city.They are suggesting practices that are against Roman law. These are practices we can’t accept or take part in.”The crowd joined the attack against Paul and Silas. The judges ordered that Paul and Silas be stripped and beaten with rods.

A curse given for no reason is like a wandering bird or a flying sparrow. It doesn’t go anywhere.

The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat. He said,“ There is still one other man we can go to. We can ask the Lord for advice through him. But I hate him. He never prophesies anything good about me. He only prophesies bad things. His name is Micaiah. He’s the son of Imlah.”“ You shouldn’t say bad things about him,” Jehoshaphat replied.

Ahab said to Elijah,“ My enemy! You have found me!”“ I have found you,” he answered.“ That’s because you gave yourself over to do evil things. You did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

When he saw Elijah, he said to him,“ Is that you? You are always stirring up trouble in Israel.”“ I haven’t made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied.“ But you and your father’s family have. You have turned away from the Lord’ s commands. You have followed gods that are named Baal.

It seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of a parade. We are like people sentenced to die in front of a crowd. We have been made a show for the whole creation to see. Angels and people are staring at us.We are fools for Christ. But you are so wise in Christ! We are weak. But you are so strong! You are honored. But we are looked down on!Up to this very hour we are hungry and thirsty. We are dressed in rags. We are being treated badly. We have no homes.We work hard with our own hands. When others curse us, we bless them. When we are attacked, we put up with it.When others say bad things about us, we answer with kind words. We have become the world’s garbage. We are everybody’s trash, right up to this moment.

Don’t charge your own people any interest. Don’t charge them when they borrow money, food or anything else.You can charge interest to people from another country. But don’t charge your own people. Then the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. He will bless you in the land you are entering to take as your own.

Then Simeon blessed them. He said to Mary, Jesus’ mother,“ This child is going to cause many people in Israel to fall and to rise. God has sent him. But many will speak against him.

Blessed are you when people hate you, when they have nothing to do with you and say bad things about you, and when they treat your name as something evil. They do all this because you are followers of the Son of Man.

But here is what I tell you. Love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you.

May the day I was born be cursed! May the day I was born to my mother not be blessed!May the man who brought my father the news be cursed! He’s the one who made my father very glad. He said,“ You have had a baby! It’s a boy!”May that man be like the towns the Lord destroyed without pity. May that man hear loud weeping in the morning. May he hear a battle cry at noon.He should have killed me in my mother’s body. He should have made my mother my grave. He should have let her body stay large forever.Why did I ever come out of my mother’s body? I’ve seen nothing but trouble and sorrow. My days will end in shame.

One day he called them together. He also called others who were in the same kind of business.“ My friends,” he said,“ you know that we make good money from our work.You have seen and heard what this fellow Paul is doing. He has talked to large numbers of people here in Ephesus. Almost everywhere in Asia Minor he has led people away from our gods. He says that the gods made by human hands are not gods at all.Our work is in danger of losing its good name. People’s faith in the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be weakened. Now she is worshiped all over Asia Minor and the whole world. But soon she will be robbed of her greatness.”When they heard this, they became very angry. They began shouting,“ Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

But we want to hear what your ideas are. We know that people everywhere are talking against those who believe as you do.”

But the people of Israel do not want to listen to you. That is because they do not want to listen to me. All the Israelites are very stubborn.But I will make you just as stubborn as they are.I will make you very brave. So do not be afraid of them. Do not let them terrify you, even though they refuse to obey me.”

“ Then people will hand you over to be treated badly and killed. All nations will hate you because of me.

How terrible it is for me to live in the tents of the people of Meshek! How terrible to live in the tents of the people of Kedar!I have lived too long among those who hate peace.

Paul entered the synagogue. There he spoke boldly for three months. He gave good reasons for believing the truth about God’s kingdom.But some of them wouldn’t listen. They refused to believe. In public they said evil things about the Way of Jesus. So Paul left them. He took the believers with him. Each day he talked with people in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

“ Brothers will hand over brothers to be killed. Fathers will hand over their children. Children will rise up against their parents and have them put to death.You will be hated by everyone because of me. But anyone who remains strong in the faith will be saved.When people attack you in one place, escape to another. What I’m about to tell you is true. You will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

Do not charge them interest of any kind. Instead, have respect for God. Then those who have become poor can continue to live among you.

But they couldn’t find them. So they dragged Jason and some other believers to the city officials.“ These men have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted.“ Now they have come here.Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all disobeying Caesar’s commands. They say there is another king. He is called Jesus.”When the crowd and the city officials heard this, they became very upset.

They may curse me. But may you bless me. May those who attack me be put to shame. But may I be filled with joy.

Some men and their wives cried out against their Jewish brothers and sisters.Some of them were saying,“ There are now many of us. We have many sons and daughters. We have to get some grain so we can eat and stay alive.”Others were saying,“ We’re being forced to sell our fields, vineyards and homes. We have to do it to buy grain. There isn’t enough food for everyone.”Still others were saying,“ We’ve had to borrow money. We needed it to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards.We belong to the same family lines as the rest of our people. Our children are as good as theirs. But we’ve had to sell them off as slaves. Some of our daughters have already been made slaves. But we can’t do anything about it. That’s because our fields and vineyards now belong to others.”I heard them when they cried out. And I was very angry when I heard what they were saying.