He had a son named Saul, a handsome young man. There was no one among the Israelites more handsome than he was; he stood head and shoulders above all the people.

These are the final words of David: “The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man raised up as the ruler chosen by the God of Jacob, ¹  Israel’s beloved ²  singer of songs:

Throughout each and every province where the king’s edict and law were announced ¹  there was considerable ²  mourning among the Jews, along with fasting, weeping, and sorrow. ³  Sackcloth and ashes were characteristic ⁴  of many.

I will bow down toward your holy temple, and give thanks to your name, because of your loyal love and faithfulness, for you have exalted your promise above the entire sky. ¹ 

You will stumble and fall, you proud city; no one will help you get up. I will set fire to your towns; it will burn up everything that surrounds you.” ¹ 

ס (Samek) All who passed by on the road clapped their hands to mock you. ¹  They sneered and shook their heads at Daughter Jerusalem. “Ha! Is this the city they called ²  ‘The perfection of beauty, ³  the source of joy of the whole earth!’?” ⁴ 

He will attack ¹  mighty fortresses, aided by ²  a foreign deity. To those who recognize him he will grant considerable honor. He will place them in authority over many people, and he will parcel out land for a price. ³ 

In the future ¹  the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; ²  it will be more prominent than other hills. ³  People will stream to it.

For the Lord who rules over all says to me that for his own glory ¹  he has sent me to the nations that plundered you – for anyone who touches you touches the pupil ²  of his ³  eye.

So I ¹  began to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter, the most afflicted ²  of all the flock. Then I took two staffs, ³  calling one “Pleasantness” ⁴  and the other “Binders,” ⁵  and I tended the flock.

He continued, ¹  “I tell all of you the solemn truth ²  – you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” ³ 

I tell you the solemn truth, ¹  we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but ²  you people ³  do not accept our testimony. ⁴ 

“I tell you the solemn truth, ¹  the one who hears ²  my message ³  and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, ⁴  but has crossed over from death to life.

I tell you the solemn truth, ¹  a time ²  is coming – and is now here – when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

Jesus replied, ¹  “I tell you the solemn truth, ²  you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted. ³ 

Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹  it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven.

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹  unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, ²  you have no life ³  in yourselves.

“I tell you the solemn truth, ¹  the one who does not enter the sheepfold ²  by the door, ³  but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.

I tell you the solemn truth, ¹  unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself alone. ²  But if it dies, it produces ³  much grain. ⁴ 

I tell you the solemn truth, ¹  the person who believes in me will perform ²  the miraculous deeds ³  that I am doing, ⁴  and will perform ⁵  greater deeds ⁶  than these, because I am going to the Father.