Moses and Aaron were among his priests; Samuel was one of those who prayed to him. ¹  They ²  prayed to the Lord and he answered them.

Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, ¹  clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz:

Moreover, ¹  the Lord says, ²  “Both the prophets and priests are godless. I have even found them doing evil in my temple!

Then the prophet Jeremiah responded to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the Lord’s temple.

I will provide the priests with abundant provisions. ¹  My people will be filled to the full with the good things I provide.”

Nor will the Levitical priests ever lack someone to stand before me and continually offer up burnt offerings, sacrifice cereal offerings, and offer the other sacrifices.”’” ¹ 

פ (Pe) The Lord himself ¹  has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. They did not honor the priests; ²  they did not show favor to the elders. ³ 

You will present them before the Lord, and the priests will scatter salt on them ¹  and offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord.

The priests will not eat any bird or animal that has died a natural death or was torn to pieces by a wild animal. ¹ 

The more the priests increased in numbers, the more they rebelled against me. They have turned ¹  their glorious calling into a shameful disgrace!

I will deal with the people and priests together: ¹  I will punish them both for their ways, and I will repay them for their deeds.

No one brings grain offerings or drink offerings to the temple ¹  of the Lord anymore. ²  So the priests, those who serve the Lord, are in mourning.

Then the king said to the messengers ¹  who were stationed beside him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, for they too have sided ²  with David! They knew he was fleeing, but they did not inform me.” But the king’s servants refused to harm ³  the priests of the Lord.

He brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and ruined ¹  the high places where the priests had offered sacrifices, from Geba to Beer Sheba. ²  He tore down the high place of the goat idols ³  situated at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the city official, on the left side of the city gate.

The priests stood in their assigned spots, along with the Levites who had the musical instruments used for praising the Lord. ¹  (These were the ones King David made for giving thanks to the Lord and which were used by David when he offered praise, saying, “Certainly his loyal love endures.”) ²  Opposite the Levites, ³  the priests were blowing the trumpets, while all Israel stood there.

As his father David had decreed, Solomon ¹  appointed the divisions of the priests to do their assigned tasks, the Levitical orders to lead worship and help the priests with their daily tasks, ²  and the divisions of the gatekeepers to serve at their assigned gates. ³  This was what David the man of God had ordered. ⁴ 

But you banished ¹  the Lord’s priests, Aaron’s descendants, and the Levites, and appointed your own priests just as the surrounding nations do! Anyone who comes to consecrate himself with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of these fake gods! ² 

Uzziah, who had an incense censer in his hand, became angry. While he was ranting and raving ¹  at the priests, a skin disease ²  appeared on his forehead right there in front of the priests in the Lord’s temple near the incense altar.

On that day men were appointed over the storerooms for the contributions, first fruits, and tithes, to gather into them from ¹  the fields of the cities the portions prescribed by the law for the priests and the Levites, for the people of Judah ²  took delight in the priests and Levites who were ministering. ³ 

In the morning he ¹  was troubled, so he called for ²  all the diviner-priests ³  of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, ⁴  but no one could interpret ⁵  them for him. ⁶