We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters, ¹  and rightly so, ²  because your faith flourishes more and more and the love of each one of you all for one another is ever greater.

By his treachery ¹  he will succeed through deceit. ²  He will have an arrogant attitude, ³  and he will destroy many who are unaware of his schemes. ⁴  He will rise up against the Prince of princes, yet he will be broken apart – but not by human agency. ⁵ 

I will indeed bless you, ¹  and I will greatly multiply ²  your descendants ³  so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession ⁴  of the strongholds ⁵  of their enemies.

“You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, ¹  “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. ² 

Then God said to him, “I am the sovereign God. ¹  Be fruitful and multiply! A nation – even a company of nations – will descend from you; kings will be among your descendants! ² 

If you do this thing, and God so commands you, ¹  then you will be able ²  to endure, ³  and all these people ⁴  will be able to go ⁵  home ⁶  satisfied.” ⁷ 

when your cattle and flocks increase, when you have plenty of silver and gold, and when you have abundance of everything,

so that your days and those of your descendants may be extended in the land which the Lord promised to give to your ancestors, like the days of heaven itself. ¹ 

so you may gain lasting fame, ¹  as people say, ²  ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel!’ The dynasty ³  of your servant David will be established before you,

When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was very happy. He said, “The Lord is worthy of praise today because he ¹  has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation.”

But they did not repudiate ¹  the sinful ways of the family ²  of Jeroboam, who encouraged Israel to sin; they continued in those sins. ³  There was even an Asherah pole ⁴  standing in Samaria.

Abijah’s power grew; he had ¹  fourteen wives and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

Evil men draw their swords and prepare their bows, to bring down ¹  the oppressed and needy, and to slaughter those who are godly. ² 

You, by your power, ¹  defeated nations and settled our fathers on their land; ²  you crushed ³  the people living there ⁴  and enabled our ancestors to occupy it. ⁵ 

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine ¹  in the inner rooms of your house; your children ²  will be like olive branches, as they sit all around your table.

Then ¹  our sons will be like plants, that quickly grow to full size. ²  Our daughters will be like corner pillars, ³  carved like those in a palace. ⁴ 

My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. ¹  Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the window, peering through the lattice.

The Lover to His Beloved: ¹  I went down to the orchard of walnut trees, ²  to look for the blossoms of the valley, ³  to see if the vines had budded or if the pomegranates were in bloom.

¹ The rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return, but instead water the earth and make it produce and yield crops, and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.

You plant them like trees and they put down their roots. ¹  They grow prosperous and are very fruitful. ²  They always talk about you, but they really care nothing about you. ³