King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, more than what she had brought him. ¹  Then she left and returned ²  to her homeland with her attendants.

Now the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the prophets are in complete agreement that the king will succeed. ¹  Your words must agree with theirs; you must predict success!” ² 

Now the king of Syria had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight common soldiers or high ranking officers; ¹  fight only the king of Israel!”

Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son ¹  of Iddo ²  prophesied concerning the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem ³  in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.

Our adversaries also boasted, ¹  “Before they are aware or anticipate ²  anything, we will come in among them and kill them, and we will bring this work to a halt!”

But the thought of striking out against ¹  Mordecai alone was repugnant to him, for he had been informed ²  of the identity of Mordecai’s people. ³  So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai) ⁴  who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

In rage the king arose from the banquet of wine and withdrew to the palace garden. Meanwhile, Haman stood to beg Queen Esther for his life, ¹  for he realized that the king had now determined a catastrophic end for him. ² 

The godly ¹  perish, but no one cares. ²  Honest people disappear, ³  when no one ⁴  minds ⁵  that the godly ⁶  disappear ⁷  because of ⁸  evil. ⁹ 

But you, Lord, know all about me. You watch me and test my devotion to you. ¹  Drag these wicked men away like sheep to be slaughtered! Appoint a time when they will be killed! ² 

So the Lord ¹  will hand the people of Israel ²  over to their enemies ³  until the time when the woman in labor ⁴  gives birth. ⁵  Then the rest of the king’s ⁶  countrymen will return to be reunited with the people of Israel. ⁷ 

The tax collector, however, stood ¹  far off and would not even look up ²  to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful ³  to me, sinner that I am!’ ⁴ 

But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give ¹  to the poor, and if ²  I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!”

Now he came again to Cana ¹  in Galilee where he had made the water wine. ²  In ³  Capernaum ⁴  there was a certain royal official ⁵  whose son was sick.

Now a large crowd of Judeans ¹  learned ²  that Jesus ³  was there, and so they came not only because of him ⁴  but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead.

Then ¹  the church throughout Judea, Galilee, ²  and Samaria experienced ³  peace and thus was strengthened. ⁴  Living ⁵  in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, the church ⁶  increased in numbers.

So they slipped ¹  the anchors ²  and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the linkage ³  that bound the steering oars ⁴  together. Then they hoisted ⁵  the foresail ⁶  to the wind and steered toward ⁷  the beach.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, ¹  but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings.

But for now ¹  I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother, ²  coworker and fellow soldier, and your messenger ³  and minister ⁴  to me in my need. ⁵ 

At the same time pray ¹  for us too, that ²  God may open a door for the message ³  so that we may proclaim ⁴  the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ⁵ 

But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters ¹  loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning ²  for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.