“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”

They will descend from their ships – all who handle the oar, the sailors and all the sea captains – they will stand on the land.

I arose to open for my beloved; my hands dripped with myrrh – my fingers flowed with myrrh on the handles of the lock.

Go ahead and ¹  charge into battle, you horsemen! Drive furiously, you charioteers! Let the soldiers march out into battle, those from Ethiopia and Libya who carry shields, and those from Lydia ²  who are armed with the bow. ³ 

Each stand had four supports, one per side projecting out from the stand. ¹ 

hands, but cannot touch, feet, but cannot walk. They cannot even clear their throats. ¹ 

“‘He gave it to be polished, to be grasped in the hand – the sword is sharpened, it is polished – giving it into the hand of the executioner.

They engaged in prostitution in Egypt; in their youth they engaged in prostitution. Their breasts were squeezed there; lovers ¹  fondled their virgin nipples there.

Some of the Gadites joined David at the stronghold in the desert. They were warriors who were trained for battle; they carried shields and spears. They were as fierce as lions and could run as quickly as gazelles across the hills. ¹ 

Your priests ¹  did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ ²  Those responsible for teaching my law ³  did not really know me. ⁴  Your rulers rebelled against me. Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal. ⁵  They all worshiped idols that could not help them. ⁶ 

Suppose he goes with someone else ¹  to the forest to cut wood and when he raises the ax ²  to cut the tree, the ax head flies loose ³  from the handle and strikes ⁴  his fellow worker ⁵  so hard that he dies. The person responsible ⁶  may then flee to one of these cities to save himself. ⁷ 

The handle went in after the blade, and the fat closed around the blade, for Ehud ¹  did not pull the sword out of his belly. ² 

Archers ¹  will not hold their ground; ²  fast runners will not save their lives, nor will those who ride horses. ³ 

Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately. ¹ 

When Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps,

This is how you assessed ¹  the obscene conduct of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled ²  your nipples and squeezed ³  your young breasts.

Look at my hands and my feet; it’s me! ¹  Touch me and see; a ghost ²  does not have flesh and bones like you see I have.”

Amaziah assembled the people of Judah ¹  and assigned them by families to the commanders of units of a thousand and the commanders of units of a hundred for all Judah and Benjamin. He counted those twenty years old and up and discovered there were 300,000 young men of fighting age ²  equipped with spears and shields. ³ 

They came from Ephraim, who uprooted Amalek, ¹  they follow ²  after you, Benjamin, with your soldiers. From Makir leaders came down, from Zebulun came ³  the ones who march carrying ⁴  an officer’s staff.

One who argues with his creator is in grave danger, ¹  one who is like a mere ²  shard among the other shards on the ground! The clay should not say to the potter, ³  “What in the world ⁴  are you doing? Your work lacks skill!” ⁵