He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, ¹  will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family.

Balaam replied ¹  to the servants of Balak, “Even if Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I could not transgress the commandment ²  of the Lord my God ³  to do less or more.

‘If Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond ¹  the commandment ²  of the Lord to do either good or evil of my own will, ³  but whatever the Lord tells me I must speak’?

David strapped on his sword over his fighting attire and tried to walk around, but he was not used to them. ¹  David said to Saul, “I can’t walk in these things, for I’m not used to them.” So David removed them.

Saul went on one side of the mountain, while David and his men went on the other side of the mountain. David was hurrying to get away from Saul, but Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men so they could capture them.

Certainly we must die, and are like water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again. But God does not take away life; instead he devises ways for the banished to be restored. ¹ 

An officer who was the king’s right-hand man ¹  responded to the prophet, ²  “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” ³  Elisha ⁴  said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” ⁵ 

But the officer replied to the prophet, “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” ¹  Elisha ²  said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” ³ 

However, the people are numerous and it is the rainy season. ¹  We are unable to stand here outside. Furthermore, this business cannot be resolved in a day or two, for we have sinned greatly in this matter.

O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things; you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us. ¹  No one can thwart you! ²  I want to declare them and talk about them, but they are too numerous to recount! ³ 

So I recommend the enjoyment of life, ¹  for there is nothing better on earth ²  for a person to do ³  except ⁴  to eat, drink, and enjoy ⁵  life. ⁶  So ⁷  joy ⁸  will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life which God gives him on earth. ⁹ 

So I reflected on all this, ¹  attempting to clear ²  it all up. I concluded that ³  the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God; whether a person will be loved or hated ⁴  – no one knows what lies ahead. ⁵ 

The Lord asked, ¹  “How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem? ²  Your people ³  have rejected me and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all. ⁴  Even though I supplied all their needs, ⁵  they were like an unfaithful wife to me. ⁶  They went flocking ⁷  to the houses of prostitutes. ⁸ 

The king said, “Did Joab put you up to all of this?” ¹  The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, there is no deviation to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has said. For your servant Joab gave me instructions. He has put all these words in your servant’s mouth.