When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, ¹  and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he ²  went over ³  and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. ⁴ 

In three days, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword ¹  and went to the unsuspecting city ²  and slaughtered every male.

On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up” ¹  the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants.

In the morning he ¹  was troubled, so he called for ²  all the diviner-priests ³  of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, ⁴  but no one could interpret ⁵  them for him. ⁶ 

¹ It happened ²  at midnight – the Lord attacked all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the prison, and all the firstborn of the cattle.

When Pharaoh stubbornly refused ¹  to release us, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of people to the firstborn of animals. ²  That is why I am sacrificing ³  to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb, but all my firstborn sons I redeem.’

¹ When Pharaoh released ²  the people, God did not lead them ³  by the way to the land ⁴  of the Philistines, ⁵  although ⁶  that was nearby, for God said, ⁷  “Lest ⁸  the people change their minds ⁹  and return to Egypt when they experience war.”

¹ Moses took ²  the tent ³  and pitched it outside the camp, at a good distance ⁴  from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. Anyone ⁵  seeking ⁶  the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting that was outside the camp.

“If you indeed ¹  obey the Lord your God and are careful to observe all his commandments I am giving ²  you today, the Lord your God will elevate you above all the nations of the earth.

“But if you ignore ¹  the Lord your God and are not careful to keep all his commandments and statutes I am giving you today, then all these curses will come upon you in full force: ² 

“When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses ¹  I have set before you, you will reflect upon them ²  in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you.

When the feet ¹  of the priests carrying the ark of the Lord, the Ruler ²  of the whole earth, touch ³  the water of the Jordan, the water coming downstream toward you will stop flowing and pile up.” ⁴ 

The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up from the middle of the Jordan, and as soon as they set foot on dry land, ¹  the water of the Jordan flowed again and returned to flood stage. ² 

When Joshua was near ¹  Jericho, ²  he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword. ³  Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you on our side or allied with our enemies?” ⁴ 

When you hear the signal from the ram’s horn, ¹  have the whole army give a loud battle cry. ²  Then the city wall will collapse ³  and the warriors should charge straight ahead.” ⁴ 

When Israel had finished killing all the men ¹  of Ai who had chased them toward the desert ²  (they all fell by the sword), ³  all Israel returned to Ai and put the sword to it.

When the news reached all the kings on the west side of the Jordan ¹  – in the hill country, the lowlands, ²  and all along the Mediterranean coast ³  as far as ⁴  Lebanon (including the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites) –

Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, ¹  heard how Joshua captured Ai and annihilated it and its king as he did Jericho ²  and its king. ³  He also heard how ⁴  the people of Gibeon made peace with Israel and lived among them.

As they fled from Israel on the slope leading down from ¹  Beth Horon, the Lord threw down on them large hailstones from the sky, ²  all the way to Azekah. They died – in fact, more died from the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.

When a leader died, the next generation ¹  would again ²  act more wickedly than the previous one. ³  They would follow after other gods, worshiping them ⁴  and bowing down to them. They did not give up ⁵  their practices or their stubborn ways.