אֶחָד

…but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms and was like a daughter to him.

Where could I ever take my shame? And you would be like one of the fools in Israel! Please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”

While they were on the way, a report reached David: “Absalom has struck down all the sons of the king; not one of them is left!”

And your maidservant had two sons who were fighting in the field with no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.

Three sons were born to Absalom, and a daughter named Tamar, who was a beautiful woman.

He would get up early and stand beside the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone had a grievance to bring before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out and ask, “What city are you from?” And if he replied, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel,”

Surely by now he is hiding in a cave or some other location. If some of your troops fall first, whoever hears of it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.’

Then we will attack David wherever we find him, and we will descend on him like dew on the ground. And of all the men with him, not even one will remain.

So David and all the people with him got up and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, there was no one left who had not crossed the Jordan.

When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!”

“You just saw him!” Joab exclaimed. “Why did you not strike him to the ground right there? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a warrior’s belt!”

So he swayed the hearts of all the men of Judah as though they were one man, and they sent word to the king: “Return, you and all your servants.”

These are the names of David’s mighty men: Josheb-basshebeth the Tahchemonite was chief of the Three. He wielded his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed at one time.

“Go and tell David that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am offering you three options. Choose one of them, and I will carry it out against you.’”

So now I have just one request of you; do not deny me.” “State your request,” she told him.

“I have just one small request of you,” she said. “Do not deny me.” “Make your request, my mother,” the king replied, “for I will not deny you.”

One woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth while she was in the house.

…and the king declared, “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”

Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel to provide food for the king and his household. Each one would arrange provisions for one month of the year,

Geber son of Uri in the land of Gilead, including the territories of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan. There was also one governor in the land of Judah.

Solomon’s provisions for a single day were thirty cors of fine flour, sixty cors of meal,

One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing was five cubits long as well. So the full wingspan was ten cubits.

The second cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same size and shape,

…and the height of each cherub was ten cubits.

And he placed the cherubim inside the innermost room of the temple. Since their wings were spread out, the wing of the first cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the second cherub touched the other wall, and in the middle of the room their wingtips touched.

The two doors were made of cypress wood, and each had two folding panels.

In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in every detail and according to every specification. So he built the temple in seven years.

He cast two pillars of bronze, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.

He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars, each capital five cubits high.

For the capitals on top of the pillars he made a network of lattice, with wreaths of chainwork, seven for each capital.

Likewise, he made the pillars with two rows of pomegranates around each grating to cover each capital atop the pillars.

In addition, he made ten movable stands of bronze, each four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.

Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and a basin resting on four supports, with wreaths at each side.

There were four wheels under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand; each wheel was a cubit and a half in diameter.

Each stand had four handles, one for each corner, projecting from the stand.

In this way he made the ten stands, each with the same casting, dimensions, and shape.

He also made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths and measuring four cubits across, one basin for each of the ten stands.

…the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network covering both the bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars);

…the Sea; the twelve oxen underneath the Sea;