And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved. But because of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut them ¹  short.

He has taken away my strength in the middle of life; ¹  he has cut short my days.

His vigorous steps ¹  are restricted, ²  and his own counsel throws him down. ³ 

Fearing the Lord ¹  prolongs life, ²  but the life span ³  of the wicked will be shortened. ⁴ 

And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

You have cut short his youth, ¹  and have covered him with shame. (Selah)

Look, the Lord’s hand is not too weak ¹  to deliver you; his ear is not too deaf to hear you. ² 

And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened? ¹  Now you will see whether my word to you will come true ²  or not!”

Why does no one challenge me when I come? Why does no one respond when I call? ¹  Is my hand too weak ²  to deliver ³  you? Do I lack the power to rescue you? Look, with a mere shout ⁴  I can dry up the sea; I can turn streams into a desert, so the fish rot away and die from lack of water. ⁵ 

Is my ¹  complaint against a man? ²  If so, ³  why should I not be impatient? ⁴ 

Does the family ¹  of Jacob say, ²  ‘The Lord’s patience ³  can’t be exhausted – he would never do such things’? ⁴  To be sure, my commands bring a reward for those who obey them, ⁵ 

Then they traveled from Mount Hor by the road to the Red Sea, ¹  to go around the land of Edom, but the people ²  became impatient along the way.

They threw away the foreign gods they owned ¹  and worshiped ²  the Lord. Finally the Lord grew tired of seeing Israel suffer so much. ³ 

She nagged him ¹  every day and pressured him until he was sick to death of it. ² 

For my life nears its end in pain; my years draw to a close as I groan. ¹  My strength fails me because of ²  my sin, and my bones become brittle. ³ 

For they were in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper chambers ¹  were set back from the ground more than the lower and upper ones.

And I say this, brothers and sisters: ¹  The time is short. So then those who have wives should be as those who have none,