it is you, ¹  O king! For you have become great and strong. Your greatness is such that it reaches to heaven, and your authority to the ends of the earth.

Now the main point of what we are saying is this: ¹  We have such a high priest, one who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ² 

and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” It was so.

The ¹  sky ²  above your heads will be bronze and the earth beneath you iron.

For he looks to the ends of the earth and observes everything under the heavens.

who teaches us ¹  more than ²  the wild animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’

O Lord, the heavens ¹  praise your amazing deeds, as well as your faithfulness in the angelic assembly. ² 

The heavens belong to the Lord, ¹  but the earth he has given to mankind. ² 

Instead we will do everything we vowed we would do. ¹  We will sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the goddess called the Queen of Heaven ²  just as we and our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders previously did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and had no troubles. ³ 

Because of ¹  our God’s tender mercy ²  the dawn ³  will break ⁴  upon us from on high

Suddenly ¹  a vast, heavenly army ²  appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Look!” he said. ¹  “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain ¹  bread from heaven for you, and the people will go out ²  and gather the amount for each day, so that I may test them. ³  Will they will walk in my law ⁴  or not?

Huram also said, “Worthy of praise is the Lord God of Israel, who made the sky and the earth! He has given David a wise son who has discernment and insight and will build a temple for the Lord, as well as a royal palace for himself. ¹ 

Then listen from your heavenly dwelling place and answer all the prayers of the foreigners. ¹  Then all the nations of the earth will acknowledge your reputation, ²  obey ³  you like your people Israel do, and recognize that this temple I built belongs to you. ⁴ 

Oded, a prophet of the Lord, was there. He went to meet the army as they arrived in Samaria and said to them: “Look, because the Lord God of your ancestors was angry with Judah he handed them over to you. You have killed them so mercilessly that God has taken notice. ¹ 

It read: “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: ‘The Lord God of the heavens has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build for him a temple in Jerusalem ¹  in Judah. May the Lord your God energize you who belong to his people, so you may be able to go back there!” ² 

For as the skies are high above the earth, so his loyal love towers ¹  over his faithful followers. ² 

“Ask for a confirming sign from the Lord your God. You can even ask for something miraculous.” ¹ 

I will darken all the lights in the sky over you, and I will darken your land, declares the sovereign Lord.