See, I have given the Levites all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they perform – the service of the tent of meeting.

And you may ¹  eat it in any place, you and your household, because it is your wages for your service in the tent of meeting.

Moreover, you must not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death; he must surely be put to death.

And you must not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a town of refuge, to allow him to return home and live on his own land before the death of the high priest. ¹ 

Samson said to them, “Because you did this, ¹  I will get revenge against you before I quit fighting.” ² 

He told them what Micah had done for him, saying, ¹  “He hired me and I became his priest.”

King Solomon then swore an oath by the Lord, “May God judge me severely, ¹  if Adonijah does not pay for this request with his life! ² 

You will destroy the family of your master Ahab. ¹  I will get revenge against Jezebel for the shed blood of my servants the prophets and for the shed blood of all the Lord’s servants. ² 

They would then hand over ¹  the silver that had been weighed to the construction foremen ²  assigned to the Lord’s temple. They hired carpenters and builders to work on the Lord’s temple,

King David replied to Ornan, “No, I insist on buying it for top price. ¹  I will not offer to the Lord what belongs to you or offer a burnt sacrifice ²  that cost me nothing. ³ 

Respect the Lord and make careful decisions, for the Lord our God disapproves of injustice, partiality, and bribery.” ¹ 

An edict was sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem requiring the people to bring to the Lord the tax that Moses, God’s servant, imposed on Israel in the wilderness. ¹ 

They were hiring advisers to oppose them, so as to frustrate their plans, throughout the time ¹  of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius ²  of Persia. ³ 

“Does not humanity have hard service ¹  on earth? Are not their days also like the days of a hired man? ² 

Look away from him and let him desist, ¹  until he fulfills ²  his time like a hired man.

He does not charge interest when he lends his money. ¹  He does not take bribes to testify against the innocent. ²  The one who lives like this ³  will never be upended.

Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants be avenged among the nations! ¹ 

For this is what the sovereign master ¹  has told me: “Within exactly one year ²  all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end.

Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, ¹  and you will ask yourselves, ²  “Where is the scribe? Where is the one who weighs the money? Where is the one who counts the towers?” ³ 

Those who empty out gold from a purse and weigh out silver on the scale ¹  hire a metalsmith, who makes it into a god. They then bow down and worship it.