They returned and reported to Joshua, ¹  “Don’t send the whole army. ²  About two or three thousand men are adequate to defeat Ai. ³  Don’t tire out the whole army, for Ai is small.” ⁴ 

Some who survive in battle will return to the land of Judah from the land of Egypt. But they will be very few indeed! ¹  Then the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will know whose word proves true, ²  mine or theirs.’

If grape pickers came to pick your grapes, would they not leave a few grapes behind? ¹  If robbers came at night, would they not pillage only what they needed? ² 

After ¹  a few days, ²  the younger son gathered together all he had and left on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered ³  his wealth ⁴  with a wild lifestyle.

But he does not agree with this, his mind does not reason this way, ¹  for his goal is to destroy, and to eliminate many nations. ² 

Out of those places you will hear songs of thanksgiving ¹  and the sounds of laughter and merriment. I will increase their number and they will not dwindle away. ²  I will bring them honor and they will no longer be despised.

(Now Bethany was less than two miles ¹  from Jerusalem, ² 

Their inheritance must be apportioned ¹  by lot among the larger and smaller groups.

Now ¹  after some days, when he returned to Capernaum, ²  the news spread ³  that he was at home.

For ¹  John baptized with water, but you ²  will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

and after taking some food, his strength returned. For several days ¹  he was with the disciples in Damascus,

that ¹  by revelation the divine secret ²  was made known to me, as I wrote before briefly. ³ 

Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, ¹  bear with my message of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you briefly.

For no one knows what is best for a person during his life ¹  – during the few days of his fleeting life – for ²  they pass away ³  like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth. ⁴ 

I thought deeply ¹  about the effects of ²  indulging ³  myself ⁴  with wine (all the while ⁵  my mind was guiding me ⁶  with wisdom) ⁷  and the effects of ⁸  behaving foolishly, ⁹  so that I might discover what is profitable for people to do on earth during the few days of their lives.

I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: ¹  to eat and drink, ²  and find enjoyment in all their ³  hard work ⁴  on earth ⁵  during the few days of their life which God has given them, for this is their reward. ⁶ 

None of the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah. Though they long to return and live there, none of them shall return except a few fugitives.’” ¹ 

The more years there are, ¹  the more you may make its purchase price, and the fewer years there are, ²  the less you must make its purchase price, because he is only selling to you a number of years of ³  produce.

Even though the invading Syrian army was relatively weak, the Lord handed over to them Judah’s very large army, ¹  for the people of Judah ²  had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. The Syrians ³  gave Joash what he deserved. ⁴ 

For they disciplined us for a little while as seemed good to them, but he does so for our benefit, that we may share his holiness.