May the sovereign God ¹  grant you mercy before the man so that he may release ²  your other brother ³  and Benjamin! As for me, if I lose my children I lose them.” ⁴ 

Now go up to my father quickly ¹  and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not delay!

because of the God of your father, who will help you, ¹  because of the sovereign God, ²  who will bless you ³  with blessings from the sky above, blessings from the deep that lies below, and blessings of the breasts and womb. ⁴ 

“Send out men to investigate ¹  the land of Canaan, which I am giving ²  to the Israelites. You are to send one man from each ancestral tribe, ³  each one a leader among them.”

the oracle of the one who hears the words of God, and who knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, although falling flat on the ground with eyes open:

He was accompanied by ten leaders, one from each of the Israelite tribes, each one a family leader among the Israelite clans. ¹ 

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.

The leaders ¹  of Gilead said to one another, “Who is willing to lead the charge ²  against the Ammonites? He will become the leader of all who live in Gilead!”

The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That may be true, ¹  but now we pledge to you our loyalty. ²  Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader ³  of all who live in Gilead.” ⁴ 

Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! ¹  If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, ²  I will be your leader.” ³ 

So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated the terms of the agreement ¹  before the Lord in Mizpah.

I left here full, ¹  but the Lord has caused me to return empty-handed. ²  Why do you call me ‘Naomi,’ seeing that ³  the Lord has opposed me, ⁴  and the Sovereign One ⁵  has caused me to suffer?” ⁶ 

He said, “Here are the policies of the king who will rule over you: He will conscript your sons and put them in his chariot forces and in his cavalry; they will run in front of his chariot.

“When you saw that King Nahash of the Ammonites was advancing against you, you said to me, ‘No! A king will rule over us’ – even though the Lord your God is your king!

Ish-bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he began to rule over Israel. He ruled two years. However, the people ¹  of Judah followed David.

But Absalom, whom we anointed as our king, ¹  has died in battle. So now why do you hesitate to bring the king back?” ² 

These are the final words of David: “The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man raised up as the ruler chosen by the God of Jacob, ¹  Israel’s beloved ²  singer of songs:

Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in my father David’s place, even though I am only a young man and am inexperienced. ¹ 

(5:1) ¹  Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River ²  to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms paid tribute as Solomon’s subjects throughout his lifetime. ³ 

Jeroboam was a talented man; ¹  when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe ²  of Joseph.