By the ninth day of the fourth month ¹  the famine in the city was so severe the residents ²  had no food.

The four head gatekeepers, who were Levites, were assigned to guard the storerooms and treasuries in God’s sanctuary. ¹ 

David supplied a large amount of iron for the nails of the doors of the gates and for braces, more bronze than could be weighed,

Each day there were six Levites posted on the east, four on the north, and four on the south. At the storehouses they were posted in pairs.

Baal-Hanan the Gederite was in charge of the olive and sycamore trees in the lowlands; ¹  Joash was in charge of the storehouses of olive oil.

All who possessed precious ¹  stones donated them to the treasury of the Lord’s temple, which was under the supervision of Jehiel the Gershonite.

When Hezekiah and the officials came and saw the heaps, they praised the Lord and pronounced blessings on his people Israel. ¹ 

with three layers of large stones ¹  and one ²  layer of timber. The expense is to be subsidized ³  by the royal treasury. ⁴ 

The rest of the needs for the temple of your God that you may have to supply, ¹  you may do so from the royal treasury.

Adjacent to him Ezer son of Jeshua, head of Mizpah, worked on another section, opposite the ascent to the armory at the buttress.

Some of the family leaders gave to the project treasury 20,000 gold drachmas and 2,200 silver minas.

You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks ¹  of men; ²  you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks. ³ 

Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. ¹  Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.” ² 

When someone comes to visit, ¹  he pretends to be friendly; ²  he thinks of ways to defame me, ³  and when he leaves he slanders me. ⁴ 

How blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! They will not be put to shame ¹  when they confront ²  enemies at the city gate.

He causes the clouds to arise from the end of the earth, makes lightning bolts accompany the rain, and brings the wind out of his storehouses.

The one who gathers crops ¹  in the summer is a wise ²  son, but the one who sleeps ³  during the harvest is a son who brings shame to himself. ⁴ 

In the house ¹  of the righteous is abundant wealth, ²  but the income of the wicked brings trouble. ³ 

Your neck is like the tower ¹  of David built with courses of stones; ²  one thousand shields are hung on it – all shields of valiant warriors. ³ 

Your navel ¹  is a round mixing bowl ²  – may it never lack ³  mixed wine! ⁴  Your belly ⁵  is a mound of wheat, encircled ⁶  by lilies.