They replied, “Your servants are from a family of twelve brothers. ¹  We are the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father at this time, ²  and one is no longer alive.” ³ 

But you said to your servants, ‘If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not see my face again.’

When he sees the boy is not with us, ¹  he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father in sorrow to the grave.

Pharaoh said to Joseph’s ¹  brothers, “What is your occupation?” They said to Pharaoh, “Your servants take care of flocks, just as our ancestors did.” ² 

No straw is given to your servants, but we are told, ¹  ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are even ²  being beaten, but the fault ³  is with your people.”

The Nile will swarm ¹  with frogs, and they will come up and go into your house, in your bedroom, and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading troughs. ² 

and said to him, ¹  “Your servants have taken a count ²  of the men who were in the battle, who were under our authority, ³  and not one is missing.

So the Gadites and the Reubenites replied to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands.

Then the Gadites and the Reubenites answered, “Your servants will do what the Lord has spoken. ¹ 

They told him, “Your subjects ¹  have come from a very distant land because of the reputation ²  of the Lord your God, for we have heard the news about all he did in Egypt ³ 

Ahimelech replied to the king, “Who among all your servants is faithful like David? He is the king’s son-in-law, the leader of your bodyguard, and honored in your house!

He ¹  won over the hearts of all the men of Judah as though they were one man. Then they sent word to the king saying, “Return, you and all your servants as well.”

Listen from heaven and make a just decision about your servants’ claims. Condemn the guilty party, declare the other innocent, and give both of them what they deserve. ¹ 

Then Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my sailors join yours in the fleet,” ¹  but Jehoshaphat refused.

listen from heaven and make a just decision about your servants’ claims. Condemn the guilty party, declare the other innocent, and give both of them what they deserve. ¹ 

(This is a copy of the letter they sent to him:) “To King Artaxerxes, ¹  from your servants in ²  Trans-Euphrates:

“Please test your servants for ten days by providing us with some vegetables to eat and water to drink.

Then compare our appearance ¹  with that of ²  the young men who are eating the royal delicacies; ³  deal with us ⁴  in light of what you see.”

We have not paid attention to your servants the prophets, who spoke by your authority ¹  to our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors, ²  and to all the inhabitants ³  of the land as well.

Judah replied, “What can we say ¹  to my lord? What can we speak? How can we clear ourselves? ²  God has exposed the sin of your servants! ³  We are now my lord’s slaves, we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.”