and his colleagues ¹  who were exceptional men – 128. The officer over them was Zabdiel the son of Haggedolim.

My breath is repulsive ¹  to my wife; I am loathsome ²  to my brothers. ³ 

“Suppose such a man has ¹  a violent son who sheds blood and does any of these things ²  mentioned previously

The second married her and died without any children, and likewise the third.

Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter ¹  of my master’s brother for his son.

So when the Midianite ¹  merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled ²  him ³  out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites ⁴  then took Joseph to Egypt.

“‘The high ¹  priest – who is greater than his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured, who has been ordained ²  to wear the priestly garments – must neither dishevel the hair of his head nor tear his garments. ³ 

“‘If your brother ¹  becomes impoverished and is indebted to you, ²  you must support ³  him; he must live ⁴  with you like a foreign resident. ⁵ 

“Bring with you your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, so that they may join ¹  with you and minister to you while ²  you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony.

You may lend with interest to a foreigner, but not to your fellow Israelite; if you keep this command the Lord your God will bless you in all you undertake in the land you are about to enter to possess.

The man who owned the house went outside and said to them, “No, my brothers! Don’t do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Don’t do such a disgraceful thing!

Then Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize that this will turn bitter in the end? When will you tell the people to turn aside from pursuing their brothers?”

We did not change clothes ¹  – not I, nor my relatives, nor my workers, nor the watchmen who were with me. Each had his weapon, even when getting a drink of water. ² 

He motioned to them ¹  with his hand to be quiet and then related ²  how the Lord had brought ³  him out of the prison. He said, “Tell James and the brothers these things,” and then he left and went to another place. ⁴ 

Then when Paul noticed ¹  that part of them were Sadducees ²  and the others Pharisees, ³  he shouted out in the council, ⁴  “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection ⁵  of the dead!”

Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, ¹  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God ²  – which is your reasonable service.

So then, let no one treat him with contempt. But send him on his way in peace so that he may come to me. For I am expecting him with the brothers. ¹ 

Brothers and sisters, ¹  I offer an example from everyday life: ²  When a covenant ³  has been ratified, ⁴  even though it is only a human contract, no one can set it aside or add anything to it.

For you recall, brothers and sisters, ¹  our toil and drudgery: By working night and day so as not to impose a burden on any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.

For you became imitators, brothers and sisters, ¹  of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they in fact did from the Jews,