The Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him in bronze chains. He became a grinder in the prison.

But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “The only way I will make a treaty with you is if you let me gouge out the right eye of every one of you and in so doing humiliate all Israel!”

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 

Disaster is within it; violence ¹  and deceit do not depart from its public square.

If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into hell. ¹ 

And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to have ¹  two eyes and be thrown into fiery hell. ² 

“If you lend money to any of ¹  my people who are needy among you, do not be like a moneylender ²  to him; do not charge ³  him interest. ⁴ 

Do not take interest or profit from him, ¹  but you must fear your God and your brother must live ²  with you.

Zedekiah’s sons were executed while Zedekiah was forced to watch. ¹  The king of Babylon ²  then had Zedekiah’s eyes put out, bound him in bronze chains, and carried him off to Babylon.

Even I and my relatives ¹  and my associates ²  are lending them money and grain. But let us abandon this practice of seizing collateral! ³ 

Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, ¹  and you will ask yourselves, ²  “Where is the scribe? Where is the one who weighs the money? Where is the one who counts the towers?” ³ 

Then he had Zedekiah’s eyes put out and had him bound in chains ¹  to be led off to Babylon.

If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! ¹  It is better to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have ²  two eyes and be thrown into hell,

Moreover, ¹  you have not brought us into a land that flows with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you think you can blind ²  these men? We will not come up.”

Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh the required amount of silver and gold, but to meet Pharaoh’s demands Jehoiakim had to tax the land. He collected an assessed amount from each man among the people of the land in order to pay Pharaoh Necho. ¹ 

I considered these things carefully ¹  and then registered a complaint with the wealthy ²  and the officials. I said to them, “Each one of you is seizing the collateral ³  from your own countrymen!” ⁴  Because of them I called for ⁵  a great public assembly.

He had Zedekiah’s eyes put out and had him bound in chains. ¹  Then the king of Babylon had him led off to Babylon and he was imprisoned there until the day he died.

Where then is your sense of happiness ¹  now? For I testify about you that if it were possible, you would have pulled out your eyes and given them to me!