“‘But the person ¹  who acts defiantly, ²  whether native-born or a resident foreigner, insults ³  the Lord. ⁴  That person ⁵  must be cut off ⁶  from among his people.

I will punish those people who have violated their covenant with me. I will make them like the calf they cut in two and passed between its pieces. ¹  I will do so because they did not keep the terms of the covenant they made in my presence. ² 

You were watching as ¹  a stone was cut out, ²  but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its iron and clay feet, breaking them in pieces.

There the fire will consume ¹  you; the sword will cut you down; it will devour ²  you like the young locust would.Multiply yourself ³  like the young locust; multiply yourself like the flying locust!

then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two, ¹  and assign him a place with the unfaithful. ² 

One of the high priest’s slaves, ¹  a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, ²  said, “Did I not see you in the orchard ³  with him?” ⁴ 

tell them how the water of the Jordan stopped flowing ¹  before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the water of the Jordan stopped flowing. ²  These stones will be a lasting memorial for the Israelites.”

Below his roots dry up, and his branches wither above.

He has cut out channels ¹  through the rocks; his eyes have spotted ²  every precious thing.

Do not long for the cover of night to drag people away from their homes. ¹ 

You have cut short his youth, ¹  and have covered him with shame. (Selah)

He has taken away my strength in the middle of life; ¹  he has cut short my days.

Now when they heard this, they became furious ¹  and wanted to execute them. ² 

I wish those agitators ¹  would go so far as to ²  castrate themselves! ³ 

For by now I could have stretched out ¹  my hand and struck you and your people with plague, and you would have been destroyed ²  from the earth.

In fact, days are coming when I will remove your strength ¹  and the strength ²  of your father’s house. There will not be an old man in your house!

So they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual, ¹  mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood. ² 

In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel’s territory. ¹  Hazael attacked their eastern border. ² 

Rely ¹  on the Lord! Obey his commands! ²  Then he will permit you ³  to possess the land; you will see the demise of evil men. ⁴ 

They surrounded me like bees. But they disappeared as quickly ¹  as a fire among thorns. ²  Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.