Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of Matri was chosen by lot. At last Saul son of Kish was chosen by lot. But when they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found.

So it happened that the Jews who were living near them came and warned us repeatedly ¹  about all the schemes ²  they were plotting ³  against us.

“Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! ¹  Let the nations find renewed strength! Let them approach and then speak; let us come together for debate! ² 

They say, ‘Keep to yourself! Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’ These people are like smoke in my nostrils, like a fire that keeps burning all day long.

and the chamber which faces north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. These are the descendants of Zadok, from the descendants of Levi, who may approach the Lord to minister to him.”

“For the day of the Lord ¹  is approaching ²  for all the nations! ³  Just as you have done, so it will be done to you. You will get exactly what your deeds deserve. ⁴ 

Thus Jesus no longer went ¹  around publicly ²  among the Judeans, ³  but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, ⁴  and stayed there with his disciples.

Thus many of the Jewish residents of Jerusalem ¹  read this notice, ²  because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the notice was written in Aramaic, ³  Latin, and Greek.

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” ¹  (that is, the word of faith that we preach),

Blessed is the one who reads the words of this ¹  prophecy aloud, ²  and blessed are ³  those who hear and obey ⁴  the things written in it, because the time is near! ⁵ 

No man from the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a physical flaw may step forward ¹  to present the Lord’s gifts; he has a physical flaw, so he must not step forward to present the food of his God.

Then he said to Korah and to all his company, “In the morning the Lord will make known who are his, and who is holy. He will cause that person ¹  to approach him; the person he has chosen he will cause to approach him.

Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, ¹  my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” ² 

When someone approached to bow before him, Absalom ¹  would extend his hand and embrace him and kiss him.

He has made his people victorious, ¹  and given all his loyal followers reason to praise – the Israelites, the people who are close to him. ²  Praise the Lord!

They will enter my sanctuary, and approach my table to minister to me; they will keep my charge.

Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, ¹  they caught sight of Jesus walking on the lake, ²  approaching the boat, and they were frightened.

Look, this town ¹  over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. ²  Let me go there. ³  It’s just a little place, isn’t it? ⁴  Then I’ll survive.” ⁵ 

When he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became extremely angry. ¹  He threw the tablets from his hands and broke them to pieces at the bottom of the mountain. ² 

Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke: ‘Among the ones close to me I will show myself holy, ¹  and in the presence of all the people I will be honored.’” ²  So Aaron kept silent.