ו (Vav) All of Daughter Zion’s ¹  splendor ²  has departed. ³  Her leaders became like deer; they found no pasture, so they were too exhausted to escape ⁴  from the hunter. ⁵ 

נ (Nun) My sins are bound around my neck like a yoke; ¹  they are fastened together by his hand. He has placed his yoke ²  on my neck; ³  he has sapped my strength. ⁴  The Lord ⁵  has handed me over ⁶  to those whom I cannot resist.

It came to the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed against it with raging strength. ¹ 

Then the king of the north will advance and will build siege mounds and capture a well-fortified city. ¹  The forces of the south will not prevail, not even his finest contingents. ²  They will have no strength to prevail.

Foreigners are consuming what his strenuous labor produced, ¹  but he does not recognize it! His head is filled with gray hair, but he does not realize it!

But I ¹  am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives, and have a strong commitment to justice. ²  This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion, and Israel with its sin. ³ 

(2:2) The watchmen of Nineveh shout: ¹  “An enemy who will scatter you ²  is marching out ³  to attack you!” ⁴  “Guard ⁵  the rampart! ⁶  Watch the road! Prepare yourselves for battle! ⁷  Muster your mighty strength!” ⁸ 

But Moses sought the favor ¹  of the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your anger burn against your people, whom you have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

You must remember the Lord your God, for he is the one who gives ability to get wealth; if you do this he will confirm his covenant that he made by oath to your ancestors, ¹  even as he has to this day.

Joshua said to the family ¹  of Joseph – to both Ephraim and Manasseh: “You have many people and great military strength. You will not have just one tribal allotment.

The rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her and said to her, “Trick him! Find out what makes him so strong and how we can subdue him and humiliate ¹  him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred silver pieces.”

They hid ¹  in the bedroom and then she said to him, “The Philistines are here, ²  Samson!” He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a thread of yarn snaps when it is put close to fire. ³  The secret of his strength was not discovered. ⁴ 

She said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you will not share your secret with me? ¹  Three times you have deceived me and have not told me what makes you so strong.”

Finally he told her his secret. ¹  He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, ²  for I have been dedicated to God ³  from the time I was conceived. ⁴  If my head ⁵  were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.”

Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He pushed hard ¹  and the temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people in it. He killed many more people in his death than he had killed during his life. ² 

Saul quickly fell full length on the ground and was very afraid because of Samuel’s words. He was completely drained of energy, ¹  not having eaten anything ²  all that day and night.

Instead you must worship the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt by his great power and military ability; ¹  bow down to him and offer sacrifices to him.

“This is what Hezekiah says: ¹  ‘This is a day of distress, insults, ²  and humiliation, ³  as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. ⁴ 

So I have made every effort ¹  to provide what is needed for the temple of my God, including the gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, ²  as well as a large amount of onyx, settings of antimony and other stones, all kinds of precious stones, and alabaster.

Of course, who can really build a temple for him, since the sky ¹  and the highest heavens cannot contain him? Who am I that I should build him a temple! It will really be only a place to offer sacrifices before him. ²