A person’s gift ¹  makes room for him, and leads him ²  before important people.

“That is because, from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all of them practice deceit.

The stones ¹  will be a reminder to you. ²  When your children ask someday, ‘Why are these stones important to you?’

The law you have revealed is more important to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver. ¹ 

be sure ¹  you do not feel self-important and forget the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery,

As he was still speaking, Jonathan ¹  son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in, for ²  an important man like you must be bringing good news.” ³ 

Better is a person of humble standing ¹  who nevertheless has a servant, ²  than one who pretends to be somebody important ³  yet has no food.

¹ So I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.

“People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. ¹  For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” ²  says the Lord. “For ³  I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”

The young man did not delay in doing what they asked ¹  because he wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah ²  badly. (Now he was more important ³  than anyone in his father’s household.) ⁴ 

I represent the peaceful and the faithful in Israel. You are attempting to destroy an important city ¹  in Israel. Why should you swallow up the Lord’s inheritance?”

You will defeat every fortified city and every important ¹  city. You must chop down ²  every productive ³  tree, stop up all the springs, and cover all the cultivated land with stones.” ⁴ 

So I sent messengers to them saying, “I am engaged in ¹  an important work, and I am unable to come down. Why should the work come to a halt when I leave it to come down to you?”

In the future ¹  the mountain of the Lord’s temple will endure ²  as the most important of mountains, and will be the most prominent of hills. ³  All the nations will stream to it,

But Babylonia will be put to great shame. The land where you were born ¹  will be disgraced. Indeed, ²  Babylonia will become the least important of all nations. It will become a dry and barren desert.

In the future ¹  the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; ²  it will be more prominent than other hills. ³  People will stream to it.

When Jehu rejoined ¹  his master’s servants, they ²  asked him, “Is everything all right? ³  Why did this madman visit you?” He replied, “Ah, it’s not important. You know what kind of man he is and the kinds of things he says.” ⁴