and will bring the entire army back to you. In exchange for the life of the man you are seeking, you will get back everyone. ¹  The entire army will return unharmed.” ² 

Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him have ¹  the whole thing! My lord the king has returned safely ²  to his house!”

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 

The king of Babylon deported to Babylon all the soldiers (there were 7,000), as well as 1,000 craftsmen and metal workers. This included all the best warriors. ¹ 

“But who am I and who are my people, that we should be in a position to contribute this much? ¹  Indeed, everything comes from you, and we have simply given back to you what is yours. ² 

O Lord our God, all this wealth, which we have collected to build a temple for you to honor your holy name, comes from you; it all belongs to you.

Make my son Solomon willing to obey your commands, rules, and regulations, and to complete building the palace for which I have made preparations.” ¹ 

In one day King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel killed 120,000 warriors in Judah, because they had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. ¹ 

When the edict was issued, ¹  the Israelites freely contributed ²  the initial portion of their grain, wine, olive oil, honey, and all the produce of their fields. They brought a tenth of everything, which added up to a huge amount.

He carried away to Babylon all the items in God’s temple, whether large or small, as well as what was in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king and his officials.

All these gold and silver vessels totaled 5,400. ¹  Sheshbazzar brought them all along when the captives were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

The gatekeepers: ¹  the descendants of Shallum, the descendants of Ater, the descendants of Talmon, the descendants of Akkub, the descendants of Hatita, and the descendants of Shobai: 139.

Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished ¹  and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, ²  I concluded: ³  “All these ⁴  achievements and possessions ⁵  are ultimately ⁶  profitless ⁷  – like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained ⁸  from them ⁹  on earth.”

For the wise man, like ¹  the fool, will not be remembered for very long, ²  because ³  in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. ⁴  Alas, ⁵  the wise man dies – just like ⁶  the fool!

So I loathed ¹  life ²  because what happens ³  on earth ⁴  seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom ⁵  are futile – like chasing the wind.

if he should live a thousand years twice, yet does not enjoy his prosperity. For both of them die! ¹ 

During the days of my fleeting life ¹  I have seen both ²  of these things: Sometimes ³  a righteous person dies prematurely ⁴  in spite of ⁵  his righteousness, and sometimes ⁶  a wicked person lives long ⁷  in spite of his evil deeds.

Having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion: ¹  Fear God and keep his commandments, because this is the whole duty ²  of man.

The Lord, who is the inheritance ¹  of Jacob’s descendants, ²  is not like them. He is the one who created everything. And the people of Israel are those he claims as his own. ³  He is known as the Lord who rules over all.” ⁴ 

The Lord, who is the portion of the descendants of Jacob, is not like them. For he is the one who created everything, including the people of Israel whom he claims as his own. ¹  He is known as the Lord who rules over all. ²