For the land where you are headed ¹  is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, a land where you planted seed and which you irrigated by hand ²  like a vegetable garden.

When those days ¹  were completed, the king then provided a seven-day ²  banquet for all the people who were present ³  in Susa the citadel, for those of highest standing to the most lowly. ⁴  It was held in the court located in the garden of the royal palace.

In rage the king arose from the banquet of wine and withdrew to the palace garden. Meanwhile, Haman stood to beg Queen Esther for his life, ¹  for he realized that the king had now determined a catastrophic end for him. ² 

For just as the ground produces its crops and a garden yields its produce, so the sovereign Lord will cause deliverance ¹  to grow, and give his people reason to praise him in the sight of all the nations. ² 

When King Zedekiah of Judah and all his soldiers saw them, they tried to escape. They departed from the city during the night. They took a path through the king’s garden and passed out through the gate between the two walls. ¹  Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. ² 

They will say, “This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden; the ruined, desolate, and destroyed cities are now fortified and inhabited.”

Like fire they devour everything in their path; ¹  a flame blazes behind them. The land looks like the Garden of Eden ²  before them, but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness – for nothing escapes them! ³ 

but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, ¹  or else you will die.’” ² 

When he drove ¹  the man out, he placed on the eastern side ²  of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries ³  who used the flame of a whirling sword ⁴  to guard the way to the tree of life.

It is like a mustard seed ¹  that a man took and sowed ²  in his garden. It ³  grew and became a tree, ⁴  and the wild birds ⁵  nested in its branches.” ⁶ 

Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard so I can make a vegetable garden out of it, for it is adjacent to my palace. I will give you an even better vineyard in its place, or if you prefer, ¹  I will pay you silver for it.” ² 

One of the high priest’s slaves, ¹  a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, ²  said, “Did I not see you in the orchard ³  with him?” ⁴ 

The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, ¹  every tree that was pleasing to look at ²  and good for food. (Now ³  the tree of life ⁴  and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ⁵  were in the middle of the orchard.)

Lot looked up and saw ¹  the whole region ²  of the Jordan. He noticed ³  that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated ⁴  Sodom and Gomorrah) ⁵  like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, ⁶  all the way to Zoar.

Shallun son of Col-Hozeh, head of the district of Mizpah, worked on the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it, put on its roof, and positioned its doors, its bolts, and its bars. In addition, he rebuilt the wall of the Pool of Siloam, ¹  by the royal garden, as far as the steps that go down from the City of David.

When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet of wine, Haman was throwing himself down ¹  on the couch where Esther was lying. ²  The king exclaimed, “Will he also attempt to rape the queen while I am still in the building!” As these words left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

The Lover to His Beloved: I have entered my garden, O my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my balsam spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk! The Poet to the Couple: ¹  Eat, friends, and drink! ²  Drink freely, O lovers!

Certainly the Lord will console Zion; he will console all her ruins. He will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the Garden of the Lord. Happiness and joy will be restored to ¹  her, thanksgiving and the sound of music.

The Lord will continually lead you; he will feed you even in parched regions. ¹  He will give you renewed strength, ²  and you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring that continually produces water.

They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion. They will be radiant with joy ¹  over the good things the Lord provides, the grain, the fresh wine, the olive oil, the young sheep and calves he has given to them. They will be like a well-watered garden and will not grow faint or weary any more.