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

They even built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.

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.

The prophet ¹  asked, “Where did it drop in?” When he showed him the spot, Elisha ²  cut off a branch, threw it in at that spot, and made the ax head float.

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 

There was another battle with the Philistines in which Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, ¹  whose spear had a shaft as big as the crossbeam of a weaver’s loom. ² 

He paneled ¹  the main hall ²  with boards made from evergreen trees ³  and plated it with fine gold, decorated with palm trees and chains. ⁴ 

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

They gave money to the craftsmen and builders to buy chiseled stone and wood for the braces and rafters of the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into disrepair. ¹ 

We also accept responsibility for ¹  bringing the first fruits of our land and the first fruits of every fruit tree year by year to the temple of the LORD.

The king then had the matter investigated and, finding it to be so, had the two conspirators ¹  hanged on a gallows. ²  It was then recorded in the daily chronicles in the king’s presence.

He is like ¹  a tree planted by flowing streams; ²  it ³  yields ⁴  its fruit at the proper time, ⁵  and its leaves never fall off. ⁶  He succeeds in everything he attempts. ⁷ 

The Beloved about Her Lover: Like ¹  an apple tree ²  among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. I delight ³  to sit ⁴  in his shade, ⁵  and his fruit ⁶  is sweet ⁷  to my taste. ⁸ 

nard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon with every kind of spice, myrrh and aloes with all the finest spices. ¹ 

It was reported to the family ¹  of David, “Syria has allied with ²  Ephraim.” They and their people were emotionally shaken, just as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. ³ 

Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it, or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it? ¹  As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it, or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!

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 

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.

I will make cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees grow in the wilderness; I will make evergreens, firs, and cypresses grow together in the desert.

A carpenter takes measurements; ¹  he marks out an outline of its form; ²  he scrapes ³  it with chisels, and marks it with a compass. He patterns it after the human form, ⁴  like a well-built human being, and puts it in a shrine. ⁵