(Look! I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy expressed in this book.) ¹ 

The king thereby allowed the Jews who were in every city to assemble and to stand up for themselves – to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any army of whatever people or province that should become their adversaries, including their women and children, ¹  and to confiscate their property.

This is what the sovereign Lord says: “Look I will raise my hand to the nations; I will raise my signal flag to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.

“So now, our God – the great, powerful, and awesome God, who keeps covenant fidelity ¹  – do not regard as inconsequential ²  all the hardship that has befallen us – our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people – from the days of the kings of Assyria until this very day!

There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt ¹  to stay for a while ²  because the famine was severe. ³ 

“Very well,” he replied, ¹  “I will grant this request too ²  and will not overthrow ³  the town you mentioned.

Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. ¹  So Esau despised his birthright. ² 

So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. ¹  But they seemed like only a few days to him ²  because his love for her was so great. ³ 

In the evening the quail ¹  came up and covered the camp, and in the morning a layer of dew was all around the camp.

Manoah said to the Lord’s messenger, “Please stay here awhile, ¹  so we can prepare a young goat for you to eat.” ² 

The entire assembly sent messengers to the Benjaminites at the cliff of Rimmon and assured them they would not be harmed. ¹ 

Now at that very moment, ¹  Boaz arrived from Bethlehem ²  and greeted ³  the harvesters, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied, ⁴  “May the Lord bless you!”

Then David prayed to ¹  God for the child and fasted. ²  He would even ³  go and spend the night lying on the ground.

Say, ‘This is what the king says, “Put this man in prison. Give him only a little bread and water ¹  until I safely return.”’” ² 

Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! ¹  How faint is the whisper ²  we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?”

As the crucible is for silver and the furnace is for gold, ¹  so a person ²  is proved ³  by the praise he receives. ⁴ 

Remove falsehood and lies ¹  far from me; do not give me poverty or riches, feed me with my allotted portion ²  of bread, ³ 

A baby ¹  will play over the hole of a snake; ²  over the nest ³  of a serpent an infant ⁴  will put his hand. ⁵ 

When you summon her for divorce, you prosecute her; ¹  he drives her away ²  with his strong wind in the day of the east wind. ³ 

Who is the Lord ¹  trying to teach? To whom is he explaining a message? ²  Those just weaned from milk! Those just taken from their mother’s breast! ³