This is the inventory ¹  of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, which was counted ²  by the order ³  of Moses, being the work ⁴  of the Levites under the direction ⁵  of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.

And those that must be redeemed you are to redeem when they are a month old, according to your estimation, for five shekels of silver according to the sanctuary shekel (which is twenty gerahs).

They are your people, your valued property, ¹  whom you brought out with great strength and power. ² 

Indeed, ¹  fire came down from the sky and consumed the two captains who came before me, along with their men. ²  So now, please have respect for my life.”

All their neighbors assisted ¹  them with silver utensils, ²  gold, equipment, animals, and expensive gifts, not to mention ³  all the voluntary offerings.

They are of greater value ¹  than gold, than even a great amount of pure gold; they bring greater delight ²  than honey, than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.

The eye ¹  that mocks at a father and despises obeying ²  a mother – the ravens of the valley will peck it out and the young vultures will eat it. ³ 

So I thought to myself, “The fate of the fool will happen even to me! ¹  Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively ²  wise?” ³  So I lamented to myself, ⁴  “The benefits of wisdom ⁵  are ultimately ⁶  meaningless!”

For wisdom provides ¹  protection, ²  just as ³  money provides protection. ⁴  But the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life ⁵  of its owner.

If an iron axhead ¹  is blunt and a workman ²  does not sharpen ³  its edge, ⁴  he must exert a great deal of effort; ⁵  so wisdom has the advantage of giving success.

This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. ¹  Then the desert will become an orchard and the orchard will be considered a forest. ² 

Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent; the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting. ¹ 

Since you are precious and special in my sight, ¹  and I love you, I will hand over people in place of you, nations in place of your life.

All who form idols are nothing; the things in which they delight are worthless. Their witnesses cannot see; they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.

The Lord says, ‘Be very careful if you value your lives! ¹  Do not carry any loads ²  in through ³  the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.

This man, Jeconiah, will be like a broken pot someone threw away. He will be like a clay vessel ¹  that no one wants. ²  Why will he and his children be forced into exile? Why will they be thrown out into a country they know nothing about? ³ 

א (Alef) ¹ Alas! ²  Gold has lost its luster; ³  pure gold loses value. ⁴  Jewels ⁵  are scattered on every street corner. ⁶ 

ב (Bet) The precious sons of Zion were worth their weight in gold – Alas! – but now they are treated like ¹  broken clay pots, made by a potter. ² 

Violence ¹  has grown into a staff that supports wickedness. Not one of them will be left ²  – not from their crowd, not from their wealth, not from their prominence. ³ 

He will have control over the hidden stores of gold and silver, as well as all the treasures of Egypt. Libyans and Ethiopians ¹  will submit to him. ²