“Next to the border of Judah from the east side to the west will be the allotment you must set apart. It is to be eight and a quarter miles ¹  wide, and the same length as one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west; the sanctuary will be in the middle of it.

He was accompanied by ten leaders, one from each of the Israelite tribes, each one a family leader among the Israelite clans. ¹ 

Zerah the Cushite marched against them with an army of 1,000,000 ¹  men and 300 chariots. He arrived at Mareshah,

Then ¹  the winepress was stomped ²  outside the city, and blood poured out of the winepress up to the height of horses’ bridles ³  for a distance of almost two hundred miles. ⁴ 

The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the leaders ¹  of the Israelite clans:

The Lord speaks; ¹  many, many women spread the good news. ² 

For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise; he is more awesome than all gods. ¹ 

Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten. ¹ 

But the Lord ¹  struck down some of the people of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord; he struck down 50,070 ²  of the men. The people grieved because the Lord had struck the people with a hard blow.

But some wicked men ¹  said, “How can this man save us?” They despised him and did not even bring him a gift. But Saul said nothing about it. ² 

(5:1) As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, ¹  seemingly insignificant ²  among the clans of Judah – from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf, ³  one whose origins ⁴  are in the distant past. ⁵ 

Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ The second man ¹  replied, ‘A hundred measures ²  of wheat.’ The manager ³  said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁴ 

Who ¹  can count ²  the dust ³  of Jacob, Or number ⁴  the fourth part of Israel? Let me ⁵  die the death of the upright, ⁶  and let the end of my life ⁷  be like theirs.” ⁸ 

When Phinehas the priest and the community leaders and clan leaders who accompanied him heard the defense of the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites, ¹  they were satisfied. ² 

Gideon ¹  said to him, “But Lord, ²  how ³  can I deliver Israel? Just look! My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my family.” ⁴ 

He had 700 royal wives ¹  and 300 concubines; ²  his wives had a powerful influence over him. ³ 

He will rescue ¹  me and protect me from those who attack me, ²  even though ³  they greatly outnumber me. ⁴ 

The Beloved to Her Lover: Make haste, my beloved! Be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.

I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar and his troops, who want to kill them. But later on, people will live in Egypt again as they did in former times. I, the Lord, affirm it!” ¹ 

But the one who had received one talent went out and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money in it.