the chief men refrained from talking and covered their mouths with their hands;

Now I appeal to God as my witness, ¹  that to spare ²  you I did not come again to Corinth. ³ 

But there were ten men among them who said ¹  to Ishmael, “Do not kill us. For we will give you the stores of wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey we have hidden in a field. ²  So he spared their lives and did not kill ³  them along with the rest. ⁴ 

Then he washed his face and came out. With composure he said, ¹  “Set out the food.”

But Haman restrained himself and went on to his home. He then sent for his friends to join him, ¹  along with his wife Zeresh.

I was stone silent; ¹  I held back the urge to speak. ²  My frustration grew; ³ 

I stay away ¹  from the evil path, so that I might keep your instructions. ² 

When they were sick, I wore sackcloth, ¹  and refrained from eating food. ²  (If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered!) ³ 

I have told the great assembly ¹  about your justice. ²  Look! I spare no words! ³  O Lord, you know this is true.

When ¹  I was with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia fully supplied my needs. ²  I ³  kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so.

“I have been inactive ¹  for a long time; I kept quiet and held back. Like a woman in labor I groan; I pant and gasp. ² 

Then the Lord spoke about these people. ¹  “They truly ²  love to go astray. They cannot keep from running away from me. ³  So I am not pleased with them. I will now call to mind ⁴  the wrongs they have done ⁵  and punish them for their sins.”

But I refrained from doing so, ¹  and acted instead for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

“When a traveler arrived at the rich man’s home, ¹  he did not want to use one of his own sheep or cattle to feed ²  the traveler who had come to visit him. ³  Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and cooked ⁴  it for the man who had come to visit him.”