Therefore keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God ¹  that it will be just as I have been told.

Now then, my son, do ¹  exactly what I tell you! ² 

A king brings stability ¹  to a land ²  by justice, but one who exacts tribute ³  tears it down.

Menahem got this silver by taxing all the wealthy men in Israel; he took fifty shekels of silver from each one of them and paid it to the king of Assyria. ¹  Then the king of Assyria left; he did not stay there in the land.

You may exact payment from a foreigner, but whatever your fellow Israelite ¹  owes you, you must remit.

This very day return to them their fields, their vineyards, their olive trees, and their houses, along with the interest ¹  that you are exacting from them on the money, the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil.”

Then Mordecai related to him everything that had happened to him, even the specific amount of money that Haman had offered to pay to the king’s treasuries for the Jews to be destroyed.

Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh the required amount of silver and gold, but to meet Pharaoh’s demands Jehoiakim had to tax the land. He collected an assessed amount from each man among the people of the land in order to pay Pharaoh Necho. ¹ 

Then Herod ¹  privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared.

No enemy will be able to exact tribute ¹  from him; ²  a violent oppressor will not be able to humiliate him. ³ 

I considered these things carefully ¹  and then registered a complaint with the wealthy ²  and the officials. I said to them, “Each one of you is seizing the collateral ³  from your own countrymen!” ⁴  Because of them I called for ⁵  a great public assembly.

This is exactly what happened to him. The people trampled him to death in the city gate.

According to all that I am showing you ¹  – the pattern of the tabernacle ²  and the pattern of all its furnishings – you ³  must make it exactly so. ⁴ 

and reveal to you the secrets of wisdom – for true wisdom has two sides ¹  – so that you would know ²  that God has forgiven some of your sins. ³ 

This is the nature of the cancellation: Every creditor must remit what he has loaned to another person; ¹  he must not force payment from his fellow Israelite, ²  for it is to be recognized as “the Lord’s cancellation of debts.”

The Lord visited ¹  Sarah just as he had said he would and did ²  for Sarah what he had promised. ³ 

So all the Israelites did exactly as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. ¹ 

“For you took pledges ¹  from your brothers for no reason, and you stripped the clothing from the naked. ² 

“But as for that day and hour no one knows it – not even the angels in heaven ¹  – except the Father alone.

He told them, “Collect no more ¹  than you are required to.” ²