When ¹  the dove returned to him in the evening, there was ²  a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak! Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.

Abraham ¹  looked up ²  and saw ³  three men standing across ⁴  from him. When he saw them ⁵  he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low ⁶  to the ground. ⁷ 

One of them ¹  said, “I will surely return ²  to you when the season comes round again, ³  and your wife Sarah will have a son!” ⁴  (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. ⁵ 

He looked out toward ¹  Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. ²  As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. ³ 

He saw ¹  in the field a well with ²  three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now ³  a large stone covered the mouth of the well.

Then Jacob ¹  said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, ²  it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” ³ 

Then he had another dream, ¹  and told it to his brothers. “Look,” ²  he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

Then ¹  seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows ²  as these in all the land of Egypt!

He said to his brothers, “My money was returned! Here it is in my sack!” They were dismayed; ¹  they turned trembling one to another ²  and said, “What in the world has God done to us?” ³ 

Joseph said to the people, “Since I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you. Cultivate ¹  the land.

Go to Pharaoh in the morning when ¹  he goes out to the water. Position yourself ²  to meet him by the edge of the Nile, ³  and take ⁴  in your hand the staff ⁵  that was turned into a snake.

“Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, the anointing oil, the sin offering bull, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread,

Then he must offer the ram as a peace offering ¹  to the Lord, with the basket of bread made without yeast; the priest must also offer his grain offering and his drink offering.

And early ¹  in the morning they went up to the crest of the hill country, ²  saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place that the Lord commanded, ³  for we have sinned.” ⁴ 

Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you. Now, am I able ¹  to speak ²  just anything? I must speak ³  only the word that God puts in my mouth.”

For from the top of the rocks I see them; ¹  from the hills I watch them. ²  Indeed, a nation that lives alone, and it will not be reckoned ³  among the nations.

So Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” Jonathan told him, “I used the end of the staff that was in my hand to taste a little honey. I must die!” ¹ 

The young man who was telling him this ¹  said, “I just happened to be on Mount Gilboa and came across Saul leaning on his spear for support. The chariots and leaders of the horsemen were in hot pursuit of him.

Zadok and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. When they positioned the ark of God, Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving ¹  the city.

I ¹  grant your request, ²  and give ³  you a wise and discerning mind ⁴  superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you. ⁵