He built the Upper Gate to the Lord’s temple and did a lot of work on the wall in the area known as Ophel. ¹ 

I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is demanding ¹  and extensive, and we are spread out on the wall, far removed from one another.

I realize that everything has its limits, but your commands are beyond full comprehension. ¹ 

And let the king’s decision which he will enact be disseminated ¹  throughout all his kingdom, vast though it is. ²  Then all the women will give honor to their husbands, from the most prominent to the lowly.”

He will demand a tenth of your seed and of the produce of your vineyards and give it to his administrators ¹  and his servants.

When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s extensive wisdom, ¹  the palace ²  he had built,

When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s extensive wisdom, ¹  the palace ²  he had built,

Should we then in your case hear that you do all this great evil, thereby being unfaithful to our God by marrying ¹  foreign wives?”

David said, “My son Solomon is just an inexperienced young man, ¹  and the temple to be built for the Lord must be especially magnificent so it will become famous and be considered splendid by all the nations. ²  Therefore I will make preparations for its construction.” So David made extensive preparations before he died.

Now all the actions carried out under his authority and his great achievements, along with an exact statement concerning the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king promoted, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia?

From the abundance of milk they produce, ¹  he will have sour milk for his meals. Indeed, everyone left in the heart of the land will eat sour milk and honey.

Are they servants of Christ? (I am talking like I am out of my mind!) I am even more so: with much greater labors, with far more imprisonments, with more severe beatings, facing death many times.

They captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took possession of houses full of all sorts of good things – wells previously dug, vineyards, olive trees, and fruit trees in abundance. They ate until they were full ¹  and grew fat. They enjoyed to the full your great goodness.