Zerah the Cushite marched against them with an army of 1,000,000 ¹  men and 300 chariots. He arrived at Mareshah,

But there is little hope for you ever doing good, you who are so accustomed to doing evil. Can an Ethiopian ¹  change the color of his skin? Can a leopard remove its spots? ² 

Ebed Melech ¹  called down to Jeremiah, “Put these rags and worn-out clothes under your armpits to pad the ropes. ²  Jeremiah did as Ebed Melech instructed. ³ 

An Ethiopian, Ebed Melech, ¹  a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put ²  in the cistern. While the king was holding court ³  at the Benjamin Gate,

Then the king gave Ebed Melech the Ethiopian the following order: “Take thirty ¹  men with you from here and go pull the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.”

¹ Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against ²  Moses because of the Cushite ³  woman he had married ⁴  (for he had married an Ethiopian woman).

So ¹  he got up ²  and went. There ³  he met ⁴  an Ethiopian eunuch, ⁵  a court official of Candace, ⁶  queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasury. He ⁷  had come to Jerusalem to worship, ⁸ 

“Go ¹  and tell Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, ‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, “I will carry out against this city what I promised. It will mean disaster and not good fortune for it. ²  When that disaster happens, you will be there to see it. ³ 

The land of buzzing wings is as good as dead, ¹  the one beyond the rivers of Cush,

From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, ¹  those who pray to me ²  will bring me tribute.

Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go and tell the king what you have seen.” After bowing to Joab, the Cushite ran off.

Then the eunuch said ¹  to Philip, “Please tell me, ²  who is the prophet saying this about – himself or someone else?” ³ 

Now as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water! What is to stop me ¹  from being baptized?” ² 

Then the Cushite arrived and said, ¹  “May my lord the king now receive the good news! The Lord has vindicated you today and delivered you from the hand of all who have rebelled against you!” ² 

so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, both young and old. They will be in undergarments and barefoot, with the buttocks exposed; the Egyptians will be publicly humiliated. ¹ 

Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any more, but ¹  went on his way rejoicing. ²