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In God's Garden
In God's Garden

Chapter II

Chapter 2 of In God's Garden is here in full — 478 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for In God's Garden
Context Illustration Reading 1/95 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.
'Why, oh why didst Thou leave me so long, dear Lord?' she cried.
'I never left thee,' His voice said quietly.
'But where wert Thou, Lord, when all was so dark and evil?' she humbly asked.
'I was in thy heart,' replied the voice; 'didst thou not hate the evil thoughts?
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
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In God's Garden

Chapter II

Chapter 2 of In God's Garden is here in full — 478 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/95 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.
/æt læst wʌn naɪt æz ʃiː leɪ ˈsɑːbɪŋ ɪn dɪˈsper ˈsʌdənli ðə ˈiːvəl θɔːts left hɜːr ənd ˌɪnˈsted ʃiː felt ðæt kraɪst wɑːz nɪr ənd ðæt hiː bent ˈtendərli ˈoʊvər hɜːr/
Line 2
'Why, oh why didst Thou leave me so long, dear Lord?' she cried.
/waɪ oʊ waɪ dɪdst ðaʊ liːv miː soʊ lɔːŋ dɪr lɔːrd ʃiː kraɪd/
Line 3
'I never left thee,' His voice said quietly.
/aɪ ˈnevər left ðiː hɪz vɔɪs sed ˈkwaɪətli/
Line 4
'But where wert Thou, Lord, when all was so dark and evil?' she humbly asked.
/bʌt wer wɜːrt ðaʊ lɔːrd wen ɔːl wɑːz soʊ dɑːrk ənd ˈiːvəl ʃiː ˈhʌmbli æskt/
Line 5
'I was in thy heart,' replied the voice; 'didst thou not hate the evil thoughts?
/aɪ wɑːz ɪn ðaɪ hɑːrt rɪˈplaɪd ðə vɔɪs dɪdst ðaʊ nɑːt heɪt ðə ˈiːvəl θɔːts/

Learner Dictionary

These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.

Christ noun US /kraɪst/

a teacher and prophet born in Bethlehem and active in Nazareth; his life and sermons form the basis for Christianity (circa 4 BC - AD 29)

From this reading “At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.”

despair noun US /dɪˈsper/

a state in which all hope is lost or absent

From this reading “At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.”

didst auxiliary verb US /dɪdst/

an old form of “did”, used with “thou”

From this reading “'Why, oh why didst Thou leave me so long, dear Lord?' she cried.”

hate noun US /heɪt/

the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action

From this reading “'I was in thy heart,' replied the voice; 'didst thou not hate the evil thoughts?”

humbly adverb US /ˈhʌmbli/

in a humble manner

From this reading “'But where wert Thou, Lord, when all was so dark and evil?' she humbly asked.”

sobbing noun US /ˈsɑːbɪŋ/

convulsive gasp made while weeping

From this reading “At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.”

tenderly adverb US /ˈtendərli/

with tenderness; in a tender manner

From this reading “At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.”

wert auxiliary verb US /wɜːrt/

an old form of “were”, used with “thou”

From this reading “'But where wert Thou, Lord, when all was so dark and evil?' she humbly asked.”

Word partnerships in these lines

English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.

Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.

dear Lord adjective + noun

In this reading “'Why, oh why didst Thou leave me so long, dear Lord?' she cried.”

in despair preposition + noun

In this reading “At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.”

All words in this reading · 58

Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.

Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class

From this reading 'But where wert Thou, Lord, when all was so dark and evil?' she humbly asked.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

askedverbUS /æskt/

past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody

From this reading 'But where wert Thou, Lord, when all was so dark and evil?' she humbly asked.

AtprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

bentnounUS /bent/

a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading 'But where wert Thou, Lord, when all was so dark and evil?' she humbly asked.

ChristnounUS /kraɪst/

a teacher and prophet born in Bethlehem and active in Nazareth; his life and sermons form the basis for Christianity (circa 4 BC - AD 29)

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

criedverbUS /kraɪd/

inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry

From this reading 'Why, oh why didst Thou leave me so long, dear Lord?' she cried.

darknounUS /dɑːrk/

absence of light or illumination

From this reading 'But where wert Thou, Lord, when all was so dark and evil?' she humbly asked.

dearadjectiveUS /dɪr/

dearly loved

From this reading 'Why, oh why didst Thou leave me so long, dear Lord?' she cried.

despairnounUS /dɪˈsper/

a state in which all hope is lost or absent

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

didstauxiliary verbUS /dɪdst/

an old form of “did”, used with “thou”

From this reading 'Why, oh why didst Thou leave me so long, dear Lord?' she cried.

evilnounUS /ˈiːvəl/

morally objectionable behavior

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

feltverbUS /felt/

mat together and make felt-like

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

hatenounUS /heɪt/

the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action

From this reading 'I was in thy heart,' replied the voice; 'didst thou not hate the evil thoughts?

HepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

heartnounUS /hɑːrt/

the locus of feelings and intuitions

From this reading 'I was in thy heart,' replied the voice; 'didst thou not hate the evil thoughts?

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

HisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading 'I never left thee,' His voice said quietly.

humblyadverbUS /ˈhʌmbli/

in a humble manner

From this reading 'But where wert Thou, Lord, when all was so dark and evil?' she humbly asked.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading 'I never left thee,' His voice said quietly.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

insteadadverbUS /ˌɪnˈsted/

in place of, or as an alternative to

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

lastadjectiveUS /læst/

immediately past

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

layverbUS /leɪ/

put into a certain place or abstract location

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

leaveverbUS /liːv/

go away from a place

From this reading 'Why, oh why didst Thou leave me so long, dear Lord?' she cried.

leftnounUS /left/

location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

longadjectiveUS /lɔːŋ/

primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified

From this reading 'Why, oh why didst Thou leave me so long, dear Lord?' she cried.

LordnounUS /lɔːrd/

terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God

From this reading 'Why, oh why didst Thou leave me so long, dear Lord?' she cried.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading 'Why, oh why didst Thou leave me so long, dear Lord?' she cried.

nearadverbUS /nɪr/

near in time or place or relationship

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

neveradverbUS /ˈnevər/

not ever; at no time in the past or future

From this reading 'I never left thee,' His voice said quietly.

nightnounUS /naɪt/

the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading 'I was in thy heart,' replied the voice; 'didst thou not hate the evil thoughts?

ohnounUS /oʊ/

a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region

From this reading 'Why, oh why didst Thou leave me so long, dear Lord?' she cried.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

quietlyadverbUS /ˈkwaɪətli/

with low volume

From this reading 'I never left thee,' His voice said quietly.

repliedverbUS /rɪˈplaɪd/

inflected form of “reply” — react verbally

From this reading 'I was in thy heart,' replied the voice; 'didst thou not hate the evil thoughts?

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading 'I never left thee,' His voice said quietly.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading 'Why, oh why didst Thou leave me so long, dear Lord?' she cried.

sobbingnounUS /ˈsɑːbɪŋ/

convulsive gasp made while weeping

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

suddenlyadverbUS /ˈsʌdənli/

happening unexpectedly

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

tenderlyadverbUS /ˈtendərli/

with tenderness; in a tender manner

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

theepronounUS /ðiː/

an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person

From this reading 'I never left thee,' His voice said quietly.

ThoupronounUS /ðaʊ/

an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person

From this reading 'Why, oh why didst Thou leave me so long, dear Lord?' she cried.

thoughtsnounUS /θɔːts/

plural of “thought” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

thydeterminerUS /ðaɪ/

an old word for “your”, speaking to one person

From this reading 'I was in thy heart,' replied the voice; 'didst thou not hate the evil thoughts?

voicenounUS /vɔɪs/

the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech

From this reading 'I never left thee,' His voice said quietly.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading At last one night, as she lay sobbing in despair, suddenly the evil thoughts left her, and instead she felt that Christ was near and that He bent tenderly over her.

wertauxiliary verbUS /wɜːrt/

an old form of “were”, used with “thou”

From this reading 'But where wert Thou, Lord, when all was so dark and evil?' she humbly asked.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading 'But where wert Thou, Lord, when all was so dark and evil?' she humbly asked.

whereconjunctionUS /wer/

in or at the place that

From this reading 'But where wert Thou, Lord, when all was so dark and evil?' she humbly asked.

WhynounUS /waɪ/

the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”

From this reading 'Why, oh why didst Thou leave me so long, dear Lord?' she cried.

Chapter 2 of In God's Garden by Amy Steedman holds 478 sentences, grouped into 96 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.

What does chapter 2 of In God's Garden contain?

Chapter 2 holds 478 sentences of In God's Garden, unabridged, divided into 96 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 2 of In God's Garden by Amy Steedman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 478 sentences, grouped into 96 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.

How do I study chapter 2 of In God's Garden?

Work through the 96 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 96 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.

Can chapter 2 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 2 can be played aloud in United States English.

Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.

Questions about reading In God's Garden

Common questions about reading In God's Garden by Amy Steedman on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of In God's Garden?

Yes. All 1413 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36674 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of In God's Garden is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #36674, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does In God's Garden take to read?

About 117 minutes of reading across 283 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read In God's Garden section by section

How to work through In God's Garden section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 3 chapters of In God's Garden to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in In God's Garden

Words and structures a reader meets early in In God's Garden, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Garden
A word that appears in the opening chapter of In God's Garden; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Planted
A word that appears in the opening chapter of In God's Garden; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Himself
A word that appears in the opening chapter of In God's Garden; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Beautiful
A word that appears in the opening chapter of In God's Garden; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.