The Lord ¹  then wrote on the tablets the same words, ²  the ten commandments, ³  which he ⁴  had spoken to you at the mountain from the middle of the fire at the time of that assembly, and he ⁵  gave them to me.

Then build an altar for the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold according to the proper pattern. ¹  Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.”

After the city secretary ¹  quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, what person ²  is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper ³  of the temple of the great Artemis ⁴  and of her image that fell from heaven? ⁵ 

You are to put into the ark the testimony ¹  that I will give to you.

and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. ¹  They are to be enclosed in gold in their filigree settings.

I will shoot three arrows near it, as though I were shooting at a target.

that with an iron chisel and with lead ¹  they were engraved in a rock forever!

It cannot be measured out for purchase ¹  with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx ²  or sapphires.

who turned a rock into a pool of water, a hard rock into springs of water! ¹ 

I am the God of Bethel, ¹  where you anointed ²  the sacred stone and made a vow to me. ³  Now leave this land immediately ⁴  and return to your native land.’”

“You must not bow down to their gods; you must not serve them or do according to their practices. Instead you must completely overthrow them and smash their standing stones ¹  to pieces. ² 

So I turned and went down the mountain while it ¹  was blazing with fire; the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands.

Then I turned, went down the mountain, and placed the tablets into the ark I had made – they are still there, just as the Lord commanded me.

The witnesses ¹  must be first to begin the execution, and then all the people ²  are to join in afterward. In this way you will purge evil from among you.

He smashed the sacred pillars to bits, cut down the Asherah pole, and filled those shrines ¹  with human bones.

He designated ¹  70,000 as common laborers, ²  80,000 as stonecutters ³  in the hills, and 3,600 as supervisors to make sure the people completed the work. ⁴ 

Its underparts ¹  are the sharp points of potsherds, it leaves its mark in the mud like a threshing sledge. ² 

Then ¹  our sons will be like plants, that quickly grow to full size. ²  Our daughters will be like corner pillars, ³  carved like those in a palace. ⁴ 

His legs are like pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars.

He says, ¹  “Build it! Build it! Clear a way! Remove all the obstacles out of the way of my people!”