The man’s name was Nabal, ¹  and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was both wise ²  and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite.

Now don’t let my blood fall to the ground away from the Lord’s presence, for the king of Israel has gone out to look for a flea the way one looks for a partridge ¹  in the hill country.”

The watchman reported, “He reached them, but hasn’t started back. The one who drives the lead chariot drives like Jehu son of Nimshi; ¹  he drives recklessly.”

and reveal to you the secrets of wisdom – for true wisdom has two sides ¹  – so that you would know ²  that God has forgiven some of your sins. ³ 

My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. ¹  Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the window, peering through the lattice.

I will make justice the measuring line, fairness the plumb line; hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge, ¹  the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.

To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot; ¹  he then seeks a skilled craftsman to make ²  an idol that will not fall over.

“Run for safety, people of Benjamin! Get out of Jerusalem! ¹  Sound the trumpet ²  in Tekoa! Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem! For disaster lurks ³  out of the north; it will bring great destruction. ⁴ 

It will never again be Israel’s source of confidence, but a reminder of how they sinned by turning to Egypt for help. ¹  Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.’”

O Ephraim, I do not want to have anything to do ¹  with idols anymore! I will answer him and care for him. I am like ²  a luxuriant cypress tree; ³  your fruitfulness comes from me! ⁴ 

Like fire they devour everything in their path; ¹  a flame blazes behind them. The land looks like the Garden of Eden ²  before them, but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness – for nothing escapes them! ³ 

Woe ¹  to those who live in ease in Zion, ²  to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria. They think of themselves as ³  the elite class of the best nation. The family ⁴  of Israel looks to them for leadership. ⁵ 

“When ¹  you fast, do not look sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unattractive ²  so that people will see them fasting. I tell you the truth, ³  they have their reward.

But he answered them, ¹  “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

For if someone weak sees you who possess knowledge dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience be “strengthened” ¹  to eat food offered to idols?

For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit, ¹  but we are speaking in Christ before ²  God as persons of sincerity, ³  as persons sent from God.

and maintain good conduct ¹  among the non-Christians, ²  so that though ³  they now malign you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God when he appears. ⁴ 

the priest must examine it, ¹  and if ²  the hair has turned white in the bright spot and it appears to be deeper than the skin, ³  it is a disease that has broken out in the burn. ⁴  The priest is to pronounce the person unclean. ⁵  It is a diseased infection. ⁶ 

the priest is to examine the infection, ¹  and if ²  it appears to be deeper than the skin ³  and the hair in it is reddish yellow and thin, then the priest is to pronounce the person unclean. ⁴  It is scall, ⁵  a disease of the head or the beard. ⁶ 

But if the priest examines the scall infection and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, ¹  and there is no black hair in it, then the priest is to quarantine the person with the scall infection for seven days. ²