Then ¹  would I speak and not fear him, but it is not so with me. ² 

Only in two things spare me, ¹  O God, ²  and then I will not hide from your face:

So I will pull your skirt up over your face and expose you to shame like a disgraced adulteress! ¹ 

She said, “The Philistines are here, ¹  Samson!” He woke up ²  and thought, ³  “I will do as I did before ⁴  and shake myself free.” But he did not realize that the Lord had left him.

A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not plainly ¹  reveal myself to your ancestor’s ²  house when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh?

I also amassed silver and gold for myself, as well as valuable treasures ¹  taken from kingdoms and provinces. ²  I acquired male singers and female singers for myself, and what gives a man sensual delight ³  – a harem of beautiful concubines! ⁴ 

This is what the Lord, your protector, ¹  says, the one who formed you in the womb: “I am the Lord, who made everything, who alone stretched out the sky, who fashioned the earth all by myself, ² 

I acted for the sake of my reputation, ¹  so that I would not be profaned before the nations among whom they lived, ²  before whom I revealed myself by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ³ 

When ¹  I was with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia fully supplied my needs. ²  I ³  kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so.

and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ ¹  decrees the Lord, ²  ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,

My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him ¹  and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.”

I thought, ¹  ‘Now the Philistines will come down on me at Gilgal and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt obligated ²  to offer the burnt offering.”

Praised be your good judgment! May you yourself be rewarded ¹  for having prevented me this day from shedding blood and taking matters into my own hands!

Therefore, the sovereign Lord who commands armies, ¹  the powerful ruler of Israel, ²  says this: “Ah, I will seek vengeance ³  against my adversaries, I will take revenge against my enemies. ⁴ 

“‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says to them: Look, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

For how ¹  were you treated worse than the other churches, except that I myself was not a burden to you? Forgive me this injustice!

Then I will raise up for myself a faithful priest. He will do what is in my heart and soul. I will build for him a secure dynasty ¹  and he will serve my chosen one for all time. ² 

“I have been inactive ¹  for a long time; I kept quiet and held back. Like a woman in labor I groan; I pant and gasp. ² 

But even if it were ¹  true that I have erred, ²  my error ³  remains solely my concern!

I find delight ¹  in your statutes; I do not forget your instructions. ²