The king replied to her, “What do you want?” ¹  She answered, “I am a widow; my husband is dead.

Then the woman said, “Please permit your servant to speak to my lord the king about another matter.” He replied, “Tell me.”

She said, “In the past they would always say, ‘Let them inquire in Abel,’ and that is how they settled things.

Bathsheba replied, “That’s fine, ¹  I’ll speak to the king on your behalf.”

She said, “Did I ask my master for a son? Didn’t I say, ‘Don’t mislead me?’”

The mother of the child said, “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So Elisha ¹  got up and followed her back.

She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight ¹  was true!

When Mordecai learned of the conspiracy, ¹  he informed Queen Esther, ²  and Esther told the king in Mordecai’s behalf. ³ 

Then ¹  his wife said to him, “Are you still holding firmly to your integrity? ²  Curse ³  God, and die!” ⁴ 

But Leah replied, ¹  “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” ²  Rachel said, “he may sleep ³  with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go ¹  to the fields so I can gather ²  grain behind whoever permits me to do so.” ³  Naomi ⁴  replied, “You may go, my daughter.”

Her mother-in-law asked her, ¹  “Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!” ²  So Ruth ³  told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.”

Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be rewarded by the Lord because he ¹  has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead!” ²  Then Naomi said to her, “This man is a close relative of ours; he is our guardian.” ³ 

Now ¹  the man had marital relations with ²  his wife Eve, and she became pregnant ³  and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created ⁴  a man just as the Lord did!” ⁵ 

He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from ¹  my mistress, Sarai.”

Later the older daughter said ¹  to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby ²  to have sexual relations with us, ³  according to the way of all the world.

So she said to Abraham, “Banish ¹  that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”

She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water.

and asked ¹  Abraham’s servant, ²  “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. ³  So she took her veil and covered herself.

But the children struggled ¹  inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” ²  So she asked the Lord, ³