Now it was reported to Saul, “Look, the army is sinning against the Lord by eating even the blood.” He said, “All of you have broken the covenant! ¹  Roll a large stone over here to me.”

¹ David prevailed over the Philistine with just the sling and the stone. He struck down the Philistine and killed him. David did not even have a sword in his hand. ² 

On the third day ¹  you should go down quickly ²  and come to the place where you hid yourself the day this all started. ³  Stay near the stone Ezel.

In the morning, when Nabal was sober, ¹  his wife told him about these matters. He had a stroke and was paralyzed. ² 

King Hiram of Tyre ¹  sent messengers to David, along with cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons. They built a palace ²  for David.

He threw stones at David and all of King David’s servants, as well as all the people and the soldiers who were on his right and on his left.

So David and his men went on their way. But Shimei kept going along the side of the hill opposite him, yelling curses as he threw stones and dirt at them. ¹ 

Solomon’s and Hiram’s construction workers, ¹  along with men from Byblos, ²  did the chiseling and prepared the wood and stones for the building of the temple. ³ 

As the temple was being built, only stones shaped at the quarry ¹  were used; the sound of hammers, pickaxes, or any other iron tool was not heard at the temple while it was being built.

The inside of the temple was all cedar and was adorned with carvings of round ornaments and of flowers in bloom. Everything was cedar; no stones were visible. ¹ 

All of these were built with the best ¹  stones, chiseled to the right size ²  and cut with a saw on all sides, ³  from the foundation to the edge of the roof ⁴  and from the outside to the great courtyard.

(Hiram’s fleet, which carried gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a very large quantity of fine timber and precious gems.

The king made silver as plentiful ¹  in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was ²  as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the lowlands. ³ 

Then Elijah took twelve stones, corresponding to the number of tribes that descended from Jacob, to whom the Lord had said, “Israel will be your new ¹  name.” ² 

With the stones he constructed an altar for the Lord. ¹  Around the altar he made a trench large enough to contain two seahs ²  of seed.

Then fire from the Lord fell from the sky. ¹  It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dirt, and licked up the water in the trench.

They have burned the gods of the nations, ¹  for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. ² 

David ordered the resident foreigners in the land of Israel to be called together. He appointed some of them to be stonecutters to chisel stones for the building of God’s temple.

The king made silver and gold as plentiful ¹  in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was ²  as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the lowlands. ³ 

(Huram’s ¹  servants, aided by Solomon’s servants, brought gold from Ophir, as well as ²  fine ³  timber and precious gems.