who longed to eat ¹  what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs ²  came and licked ³  his sores.

We do hard work, toiling with our own hands. When we are verbally abused, we respond with a blessing, when persecuted, we endure,

From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body. ¹ 

For the love of money is the root ¹  of all evils. ²  Some people in reaching for it have strayed from the faith and stabbed themselves with many pains.

suffering harm as the wages for their harmful ways. ¹  By considering it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight, ²  they are stains and blemishes, indulging ³  in their deceitful pleasures when they feast together with you.

The locusts ¹  were not given permission ²  to kill ³  them, but only to torture ⁴  them ⁵  for five months, and their torture was like that ⁶  of a scorpion when it stings a person. ⁷ 

They have ¹  tails and stingers like scorpions, and their ability ²  to injure people for five months is in their tails.

Animals torn by wild beasts I never brought to you; I always absorbed the loss myself. ¹  You always made me pay for every missing animal, ²  whether it was taken by day or at night.

Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. ¹  They ²  were offended ³  and very angry because Shechem ⁴  had disgraced Israel ⁵  by sexually assaulting ⁶  Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. ⁷ 

God brought them out of Egypt. They have, as it were, the strength of a young bull; they will devour hostile people ¹  and will break their bones and will pierce them through with arrows.

Bless, O Lord, his goods, and be pleased with his efforts; undercut the legs ¹  of any who attack him, and of those who hate him, so that they cannot stand.

May the firstborn of his bull bring him honor, and may his horns be those of a wild ox; with them may he gore all peoples, all the far reaches of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, ¹  and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

Her left ¹  hand reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workmen’s hammer. She “hammered” ²  Sisera, she shattered his skull, ³  she smashed his head, ⁴  she drove the tent peg through his temple. ⁵ 

the Israelites counterattacked. ¹  Benjamin had begun to strike down the Israelites; ²  they struck down ³  about thirty men. They said, “There’s no doubt about it! They are totally defeated as in the earlier battle.”

David inquired, “How were things going? ¹  Tell me!” He replied, “The people fled from the battle and many of them ²  fell dead. ³  Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead!”

When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gate as if to speak privately with him. Joab then stabbed him ¹  in the abdomen and killed him, avenging the shed blood of his brother Asahel. ² 

They had entered ¹  the house while Ish-bosheth ²  was resting on his bed in his bedroom. They mortally wounded him ³  and then cut off his head. ⁴  Taking his head, ⁵  they traveled on the way of the Arabah all that night.

Jehu aimed his bow and shot an arrow right between Jehoram’s shoulders. ¹  The arrow went through ²  his heart and he fell to his knees in his chariot.

But these people are looted and plundered; all of them are trapped in pits ¹  and held captive ²  in prisons. They were carried away as loot with no one to rescue them; they were carried away as plunder, and no one says, “Bring that back!” ³ 

Then your light will shine like the sunrise; ¹  your restoration will quickly arrive; ²  your godly behavior ³  will go before you, and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard. ⁴