I will make human beings more scarce than pure gold, and people more scarce ¹  than gold from Ophir.

Now the boy Samuel continued serving the Lord under Eli’s supervision. ¹  Word from the Lord was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent.

There is gold, and an abundance of rubies, but ¹  words of knowledge ²  are like ³  a precious jewel.

You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet ¹  with perfumed oil.

(For rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person perhaps someone might possibly dare to die.) ¹ 

The city possesses ¹  the glory of God; its brilliance is like a precious jewel, like a stone of crystal-clear jasper. ² 

by knowledge its rooms are filled with all kinds of precious and pleasing treasures.

What the king is asking is too difficult, and no one exists who can disclose it to the king, except for the gods – but they don’t live among mortals!” ¹ 

How difficult it is for me to fathom your thoughts about me, O God! ¹  How vast is their sum total! ² 

A bribe works like ¹  a charm ²  for the one who offers it; ³  in whatever he does ⁴  he succeeds. ⁵ 

They are like ¹  valleys ²  stretched forth, like gardens by the river’s side, like aloes ³  that the Lord has planted, and like cedar trees beside the waters.

“How often ¹  is the lamp of the wicked extinguished? How often does their ²  misfortune come upon them? How often does God apportion pain ³  to them ⁴  in his anger?

Don’t set foot too frequently ¹  in your neighbor’s house, lest he become weary ²  of you and hate you.

For he does not think ¹  much about the fleeting ²  days of his life because God keeps him preoccupied ³  with the joy he derives from his activity. ⁴ 

How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine; the fragrance of your perfume is better than any spice!

The Maidens to The Beloved: Why is your beloved better than others, ¹  O most beautiful of women? Why is your beloved better than others, that you would command us in this manner?

I take no delight ¹  when they offer up to me ²  frankincense that comes from Sheba or sweet-smelling cane imported from a faraway land. I cannot accept the burnt offerings they bring me. I get no pleasure from the sacrifices they offer to me.’ ³ 

He says, “I will build myself a large palace with spacious upper rooms.” He cuts windows in its walls, panels it ¹  with cedar, and paints its rooms red. ² 

Even before they burned the fat, the priest’s attendant would come and say to the person who was making the sacrifice, “Hand over some meat for the priest to roast! He won’t take boiled meat from you, but only raw.” ¹ 

Then Mary took three quarters of a pound ¹  of expensive aromatic oil from pure nard ²  and anointed the feet of Jesus. She ³  then wiped his feet dry with her hair. (Now the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfumed oil.) ⁴