18. Book Reviews XIV: Biblical Literature (The Holy Bible, Hebrew Verse, The Arabian Nights...)

The Holy Bible, The Contemporary English Version
The Dead Sea Scrolls, Penguin Classics
The Talmud: A Selection, Penguin Classics
The Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse, T. Carmi
The Arabian Nights, Penguin Classics



The Holy Bible - The Contemporary English Version

I. The Bible contains rules for community life.
1. Worship the Lord in the right way.
2. Deuteronomy 14 - Animals that can be eaten. You can eat any clean bird.
Don't eat the meat of a dead animal.
Don't do disrespectful acts to animals who are going to be slaughtered for food.
3. The Lord says, "Sometimes, loans do not have to be paid back."
4. Deuteronomy 15 - Setting slaves free. Slaves must be set free after six years.
5. Deuteronomy 15 - First-Born Animals: Treat first-born animals better than you would treat other animals.
6. Perform traditions that make you remember where you came from.
7. Deuteronomy 16 - Eat bread made with yeast or thin bread.
8. It is okay for a parent to correct his child.
It is okay for an adult to correct a child.
If you have to correct someone, correct them as you would a child.
9. Deuteronomy 17 - Difficult Cases: It may be difficult to find out the truth in some legal cases in your town.
Was property damage done by accident or on purpose?
10. Deuteronomy 18 - Designate an approved site to burn the remains of a sacrificed cow or sheep.
11. Deuteronomy 17:8 - Accidental vs Intentional crimes - Killing someone by accident is okay, but killing someone who you are angry with is a problem.
Safe Towns - If one of you accidentally kills someone, then you can run to a Safe Town and find protection there from being put to death.
You are chopping down a tree with an axe, when the ax head slips off the handle, hits your friend, and kills him.
In Safe Towns they might even choose one of the men from their family to track you down and arrest you. He will hand you over to the police in your home country.
The Safe Towns may themselves be encouraging criminal activity.
12. Witnesses must tell the truth.
13. For particularly heinous crimes, there should be severe punishments.
14. Property Lines - It is not acceptable to harm someone simply because they crossed a property line.
15. If you accuse someone of a crime, but seem to be lying, then both you and the accused must be taken to court. There the priests and judges will find out if you are lying or telling the truth.
16. If you are lying and the accused is innocent, then you will be punished by the judge.
17. "Israel, the crime of telling lies in court must be punished."
18. A person shouldn't threaten the witnesses.
19. It is wrong for one army to stereotype the army of another country.
20. Using analogies in court is acceptable.
However, the analogy you present to the court should make sense.

21. Before you attack a town that is far from your land, offer peace to the people who live there.
But if they reject your offer of peace and try to fight, then declare war on their town.
22. Deuteronomy 20 - Unsolved Murder: If a body is found in a field and no one knows who murdered him, then ask the officials of the town to investigate.
23. A Son Who Rebels - If a son rebels, then his father and mother may treat him badly.
24. Lost and Found - If you find a lost wallet and don't know who the owner is, then bring it to an official you trust, who can then try to return it to the rightful owner. This is what you should do if you find anything that belongs to someone else.
25. Don't pretend to be the opposite sex.
26. Don't take a mother bird. Leave some eggs and the mother bird, and the Lord will bless you.
27. Laws Against Mixing Different Things - If you plant a vineyard, don't plant any other fruit tree or crop in it. If you do plant something there, you must bring it to the place of worship.
28. Don't hitch an ox and a donkey to your plow at the same time.
29. When you leave cloth for clothing, you can use thread made of flax or wool, but not both together. And when you make a coat, sew a tassel on each of the four corners.
30. Be careful when selling old clothing. For example, make sure it is washed so that no one gets a disease from the previous owner.

31. There was a curse put on Balaam, but God turned Balaam's curse into a blessing.
32. Keep the army camp acceptable and clean.
33. In the camp, if there is no plumbing, then set up latrines.
34. Eating Someone Else's Produce
35. A Law about Divorce
Their marriage would pollute the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and he would be disgusted.
36. Newlyweds - If a man and a woman have been married for less than one year, then they must be allowed to stay home and be happy with each other.
37. Poor People's Wages - If you hire poor people to work for you, don't hold back their pay. Pay them their wages at the end of each day, because they live in poverty and need the money to survive. By doing this the Lord will bless you.
38. Don't cheat people out of their wages.
39. Don't Mistreat the Powerless
40. Leave Some of Your Harvest for the Poor

41. Don't muzzle an ox.
42. A Son for a Dead Brother - Suppose two brothers are living on the same property. Families are subject to government laws just as the rest of society are.
43. Be Honest in Business - Don't try to cheat people. If you run an honest business, then Lord your God will let you enjoy a long life in the land he is giving you. But the Lord is disgusted with anyone who cheats or is dishonest.
44. When building, don't use scarce material, use common, readily available material.
45. We ask the Lord to put a curse on anyone who makes an idol or worships idols, even secretly.
46. Curse those who do not show respect for their father and mother.
47. Curse anyone who keeps the poor from getting justice.
48. Curse anyone who refuses to obey the laws.
49. Obey the Lord and your harvests will be so large that your storehouses will be full.
50. The Lord promised your ancestors that this land would be yours, and he will make it produce large crops for you.

II. 1. The Lord will open the storehouse of the skies...You will have plenty of money to lend to other nations and you won't need to borrow any yourself.
2. Moses said, if you don't obey the teachings of the Lord your God, then he will put many curses on you.
Your businesses and farms will fail. The Lord will make you fail in everything you do. No matter what you try to accomplish, the Lord will confuse you, and you will feel his anger.
3. Deuteronomy 21 - Many accounts in The Bible may be fictitious.
4. Foreigners will be sent to attack you. They will have no respect for old people or pity for children.
5. They combed their hair with olive oil.
6. Disobedience brings destruction.
7. No matter what you try to accomplish, the Lord will confuse you, and you will feel his anger.
8. If the Lord makes you wealthy, then he will send enemies to attack you. Then you will live in fear.
9. Refers to a plant that produces bitter-tasting, poisonous fruit.
10. You offered sacrifices to demons, those useless gods who never helped you.
11. You turned away from God, your Creator. You were the Lord's children, but he made you angry.
12. Deuteronomy 32 - The tribe didn't do anything wrong to live under drought-plagued land.
13. Deuteronomy 32 - I wanted to scatter you, so no one would remember that you had ever lived.
14. Deuteronomy 32 - But you don't have good sense and you never listen to advice.
15. Tell the heavens to celebrate and all gods to bow down.
16. The Lord came from Mount Sinai. Thousands of his warriors were with him.
17. The Lord who appeared in the burning bush wants to give you the best the land can produce.
18. The land will make you wealthy, so invite other tribes to celebrate with you.
19. The Lord's greatest blessing is for you, tribe of Asher. You will be the favorite of all the other tribes. You will be rich with olive oil and have strong town gates. Your people will be powerful for as long as they live.
20. The Lord said, "Moses, this is the land I was talking about when I solemnly promised that I would give land to their descendants."
21. And so, Moses the Lord's servant died there in Moab, Moses was a hundred twenty years old when he died, yet his eyesight was still good, and his body was strong.
22. Moses was a great prophet. The Lord sent him to perform powerful miracles in the presence of the King of Egypt and his entire nation.
23. Numbers 14 - The Israelites are punished for complaining.
24. "You sinful people who ganged up on me will die here in the desert. Ten of the men sent to explore the land had brought back bad news and had made the people complain against the Lord."
25. Numbers 15 - Laws about Sacrifices: The smell of smoke from these sacrifices is pleasing to me. The smell is in the air morning, afternoon and night.
26. Examine the effects of smoke inhalation from fast food restaurants' cooking.
27. If you disobey one of my laws without meaning to, you must make a sacrifice to please me. And since you did not mean to do wrong, the sin of everyone will be forgotten.
28. Fast food restaurants should use acceptable practices toward animals on their farms.
29. Fast food restaurants should have yearly inspections for safety and cleanliness.
30. Don't be wasteful; don't waste food. Especially when people are starving in the world.
31. Numbers 14 - Those Canaanites already know that we are your people. And they have heard how you lead us with a thick cloud during the day and flaming fire at night.
32. Miriam's skin turned white with leprosy.
33. Some humans have to eat meat.
34. The Silver Trumpets - Give a sign on a trumpet when it is time to break camp.
35. Mandatory retirement age in the workplace. They may help the other Levites in their duties, but they must no longer be responsible for any work themselves.
36. Numbers 7 - It's okay to burn a small amount of incense in your home.
37. They used gold bowls and gold cups.
38. Numbers 6 - Rules for Nazarites: You must never go close to a dead body, not even that of your father, mother or siblings. That would make you unclean.
39. During a woman's monthly period, she should be excused from school or work and stay home because she is unclean. She should stay home to cleanse and heal.
39-B. Rachel said, "Please excuse me for my mood swings - I'm having my period."
40. Numbers 4 - The Duties of the Menanite Clan: "Moses, find out how many men between thirty and fifty are in the Menanite clans. The Menanites will be responsible for the physical labor in the town. They will be told exactly what objects they are to carry.
41. All able-bodied men in the town were selected to do the physical labor of the town.
42. In the town, there were only a small number of families. There were also only a small number of children in the town.
43. The town was arranged according to class and families.
44. Animals to be sacrificed must not have anything wrong with them. These animals must live a decent life and be killed in an honourable way.
44-B. Leviticus 3 - When you sacrifice an animal, lay your hand on its head, and have it killed there.
45. When you offer sacrifices to give thanks to me, you must only use your finest wheat.
46. Acceptable trash disposal methods for fast food restaurants.
47. Regulate the amount of salt that fast food restaurants use in preparation of food.
48. During feasts, the men liked eating the fat on the animal.
50. If a dog bites someone, then the courts should determine if the dog or the owner was at fault.

III. 1. Richer countries gave livestock as gifts to the poorer country, for food. In some cases, the rich country sold livestock to the poorer country.
2. The Lord said, "I will bless you and give you a large family and you will have many descendants."
3. Two of the children of Nahor included Chesed and Bethuel.
4. Our land is desolate and barren, please let me buy a piece of land in your territory.
5. They lived in military camp style housing.
6. The man replied, "Why should we haggle over such a small amount? Take the land, its yours."
7. The resources of the country belong to all the people of the tribes of that country equally.
9. Finally, Abimilech said, "Isaac, I want you to leave our country. You have become too evil to stay here."
10. Isaac left and settled in Gerar Valley, where he cleaned out those wells that the Philistines had stopped up. While his servants were digging in the valley, they found a spring-fed well.
11. "How to dig a well," is a useful Google search term if you need to know how to dig a well for drinking water.
12. Isaac's servants dug another well, and the shepherds quarreled about it.
13. Finally, they dug one more well.
14. The two governments made a peace treaty and agreed not to harm each other.
15. "My brother Esau is a hairy man," Jacob said, "And I am not."
16. Jacob used a rock for a pillow that night.
17. "You shouldn't have to work without pay just because you are not a relative of mine."
18. Leah was older than Rachel, but her eyes didn't sparkle, while Rachel was more beautiful.
19. The younger daugther was having trouble with the older daughter.
20. When she had another son, she said, "God has given me a wonderful gift, and the king will praise me for bringing another son into our kingdom."
21. Jacob contributed a great deal to his country.
22. He was given a going-away party.
23. What have I done wrong? Have I committed a crime?
24. You can share this land with us. Move freely about until you find the property you want, then buy it and settle down here.
25. Potiphar liked Joseph and made him his personal assistant, putting him in charge of his house and all of his property.
26. With Joseph there, the only decision he had to make was what he wanted to eat.
27. The glory will be so great that no one will remember the sorrow.
28. In fact, there was so much grain that they stopped keeping record, because it was like counting the grains of sand on a beach.
29. They did not recognize Joseph, but right away he knew who they were, though he pretended not to know.
30. I'm an old man, and if anything happens to him, I'll die of sorrow and all of you will be to blame.
31. The woman let the man do all the hard work, because men are built bigger than women.
32. God said, "I will give you so many descendant that one day they will become a nation."
33. People shouldn't waste food, especially while people are starving in the world.
34. The King said, "It is good that your father and brothers have arrived. I will let them live anywhere they choose in Egypt.
35. Businesses should have a good relationship with the community.
36. You and your land belong to the king. One-fifth of your crops must go to the king.
37. In disputes, the senator was peaceful and diplomatic, to resolve them.
38. The snake bit the heel of a horse, making its rider fall.
39. To be continued.

3/7/2025, 10:45am :
40. Genesis 48 - 40. Joseph, I pray these blessings will come to you, because you are the leader of your brothers.
41. Joseph gave orders for Jacob's body to be embalmed, and it took the usual forty days.
42. Joseph said to the Egyptian leaders, "If you consider me your friend, please speak to the king for me." During this time, many of the king's highest officials went along.
43. Now we ask you to please forgive the terrible things we did.
44. Noah farmed the land and was the first to plant a vineyard. But he planted this throuhg arguably deceptive methods.
45. Genesis 9 - According to God, "Humans can eat the creatures of the earth, but not in wasteful quantities."
46. I want my son to "work" for a living.
47. This made Cais so angry that he could not hide his feelings.
48. Genesis 3 - You will have to sweat to earn a living; you were made out of soil, and you will once again turn into soil.
49. The man Adam named his wife Eve because she would become the mother of all who live.
50. Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go for a walk." And when they were out in a field, Cain killed him.

IV. 1. "God sometimes teaches people in his own way."
2. God made the dome and named it Sky.
3. God said, "I command the ocean to be full of living creatuees, and I command birds to fly above the earth." So God made the giant sea monsters and all the living creatures that swin in the ocean.
4. God said, "Let the humans rule all living creatures."
5. God blessed the seventh day and made it special because on that day he rested from his work.
6. Leviticus - The Lord spoke to Moses and gave him instructions for the community to follow.
7. Acceptable equipment / standards for restaurants.
8. Guidelines for using salt in preparation of food in fast food restaurants.
9. A culturally friendly restaurant environment.
10. An animal should be in a healthy condition when it is slaughtered to eat.
11. Restaurants should use an acceptable ratio of fat to meat.
12. There are acceptable practices for butchering an animal.
13. The animal should be killed in the presence of a tribal leader.
14. If a woman gives birth, then she is unclean for seven days, just as she is during her monthly period. After some time, she will heal.
15. The size of the child can make the delivery more or less complicated.
16. In some cases, the priest will have you stay away from everyone else for seven days, a quarantine.
17. Ask a doctor if you have a sore on your head or chin. When he examines the itch, the doctor will say, "You are clean; now you must wash your clothes."
19. Our intuition can make us defend ourselves.
20. Leviticus 15 - After making love, both the man and woman must take a bath, but they still remain unclean until evening.
21. When a woman has her monthly period, she has to take several baths a day. She also has to clean anything she rests or sits on, as well as he clothes.
22. People in her household should also bathe themselves during this time.
23. Any woman who has a flow outside her regular monthly period is unclean until it stops, just as she is during her monthly period.
24. She must have time to heal.
25. When any of you are unclean, you must stay away from the community of Israel.
26. If you refuse to testify in court about something you saw or know has happened, you have sinned and can be punished.
27. Human or animal waste may be disposed of in an honest manner, but if there is suspicion of wrongdoing, then supervise and monitor it.
28. Don't eat meat that touches something unclean.
29. If you want to offer a sacrifice to ask my blessing, you must first lift up the choice ribs with their fat to show that the offering is dedicated to me.
30. Leviticus 18:25 - They made themselves and the land unclean, that I punished the land because of their sins and I made them vomit it up.
31. Leviticus 19 - A person should be clean when he serves food to another person.
32. Do not eat anything that is killed by a wild animal or dies a natural death.
33. I will destroy anyone who refuses to go without eating.
34. When you buy or sell farmland, the price is to be determined by the number of crops it can produce in a year. Also consider the potential of the land to produce crops.
35. Leviticus 24 - You must supply the purest olive oil for the lamps in the sacred tent.
36. Compensation for services is one thing, but compensation for pain is another.
37. American citizens should get the first pick of American jobs.
38. If you are a slave, then you mustn't be grossly mistreated.
39. If you disobey me, then you will be struck with incurable diseases.
40. You will become so weak that you will stumble and fall over each other, even when no one is chasing you.

11:00am :
41. Numbers 1 - The Lord said, "I want you and Aaron to find out how many people are in each of Israel's families. And make a list of all men twenty years and older, who are able to fight in battle."
42. After they counted the families of Israel, those from the Levi tribe were not included.
43. They arranged their camp according to clans and families.
44. The Levi tribe has a special job to the king.
45. Numbers 3 - The priests were to make sure that the Israelites worshipped in the proper way.
46. If one country can't supply the food, then ask another country to supply the food.
47. The gold incense altar is to be covered with a blue cloth, and then with a piece of fine leather.
48. They used sweet-smelling incense.
49. The word translated "leprosy" was used for many different kinds of skin diseases.
50. Flour / powder washes away in warm water.

V. 1. This month: Abib (also called Nisan), the first month of the Hebrew calendar.
2. Eat the Passover lamb with bitter herbs.
3. They obeyed the Lord's commands and went wherever he directed Moses.
4. Hobab and Jobab
Hobab: Hebrew "Hobab son of Reuel."
5. The Hebrew text has "Kush" a region south of Egypt that included parts of Ethiopia and Sudan.
6. The people trapped quails, and used the meat for food.
7. The Hebrew text has "unclean animal," which probably refers to a donkey.
8. If someone dies in a tent, while you are there, then you will be unclean for seven days.
9. She sprinkled rosewater on his face in order to wake him up.
10. The people went out into the desert, then the Lord sent poisonous snakes that bit and killed many of them.
11. Numbers 21 - Moses prayed, and the Lord answered, "Make a snake out of bronze and place it on top of a pole. Anyone who gets bitten can look at the snake and won't die."
12. A song in The Book of the Lord's Battles mentions a town in Waheb with its creeks in the territory of Suphah.
13. Discusses the life of a woman named Ahijah.
14. He had wine, and he drank it as though it was water.
15. Finally, they reached Moabite territory, where they camped near Mount Pisqah in a valley overlooking the Dead Sea.
16. Soldier's aren't supposed to sieze treasure from another country.
17. "I'll pay you very well, just send us a shipment and name your price."
18. Numbers 24 - You are like a tall aloe tree.
19. Numbers 24 - "I told your messengers that even if you offered me a palace full of silver or gold, I would still obey the Lord."
20. Numbers 26 - "Divide the land of Canaan among these tribes, according to the number of people in each one, ao the larger tribes have more land than the smaller ones."
I will show you what land to give each tribe, and they will receive as much land as they need, according to the number of people in it.
20-B. Divide the land among the tribes fairly. When you receive your tribal lands, you must give towns and pastures to the Levi tribe.
20-C. Each tribe must choose some experienced men who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will make those men the official leaders of their tribes.
21. There are appointed times of worship.
22. You must honor me by eating bread made without yeast.
23. To purify something, clean it with a sprinkle of water.
24. The men listed everything that belonged to them: 6.000 sheep and goats, 2,000 cattle, 1,000 donkeys.
25. That's good pastureland, and since we own cattle and sheep, let us have this land as our own.
26. When you settle legal cases, your decisions should be fair.
27. Poorer countries can ask richer countries for food and supplies.

12:00pm :
28. The Lord spoke to Joshua: "Wherever you go, I'll give you that land. It will reach from the Southern Desert to the Lebanon Mountains as fars as the great Euphrates River."
29. Never stop reading The Book of the Law.
30. The Lord said that everything in Jericho belonged to him. But Acham from the Judah tribe took some of the things for himself.
31. Refers to the Book of Jashar.
32. Joshua 2 - The guards at the gate let soldiers leave Jericho, but they closed the gate again as soon as the soldiers went through.
33. The spies hid in the hills for three days while the king's soldiers looked for them. They reported to Joshua and told him everytihng that had happened.
34. Joshua and the leaders of Israel tore their clothes and put dirt on their heads to show their sorrow.
35. Joshua 7 - They made a fire and burned the bodies.
36. Refers to The Book of the Law of Moses
37. Joshua told some of his soldiers, "I want to meet with the Gibeonite leaders. Bring them here. When the Gibeonites came, Joshua said, "You live close to us, why did you lie by claiming you lived far away?"
38. The messages said, "The Gibeonites have signed a peace treaty with Joshua and the Israelites. Come and help me attack Gibeon."
39. Joshua marched all night from Gilgal to Gibeon and made a surprise attack on the Amorite camp.

2:00pm :
40. Joshua 10 - The Lord was helping the Israelites defeat the Amorites that day. So about noon, Joshua prayed to the Lord loud enough for the Israelites to hear. Joshua asked the Lord for help.
41. Joshua said, "Be strong and brave. This is what the Lord will do to all your enemies."
42. Joshua Continues the Fighting
43. Joshua Captures Towns in the North
44. The Lord told Joshua, "Don't let him frighten you! I'll help you defeat them, and by this time tomorrow they will be dead."
45. When you attack, the first thing you have to do is cripple their houses. Then after the battle is over, burn their chariots.
46. Joshua captured all the towns where the enemy kings had ruled.
47. Moses, the Lord's servant, had led the people of Israel in defeating Sihon and Og.
48. Joshua 15 - Judah's Land
The clans of the Judah tribe were given a great deal of land.
49. Caleb's nephew Othniel: Hebrew "Othniel the son of Caleb's brother Keraz."
50. Joshua 17 - "The Lord told Moses to give us lannd just as he gave our ancestors."

VI. 1. Then they settled there themselves and renamed the town Dan after their ancestor.
2. Across the globe, Safe Towns exist for people who have accidentally killed someone. However, the deceased's family can track the person down in the Safe Town, and contact their local police to have him arrested and brought to trial in their home country.
3. But the town leders must not simply hand over the person accused of murder. The citizens of that Safe Town must explain and give more information about these events.
4. These Safe Towns were set up, so that if Israelites accidentally killed someone, they could run to one of these towns.
5. Joshua 21 - Shechem was located in the Hillcountry, and it was also one of the Safe Towns for people who had accidentally killed someone.
6. Judges - In ancient times, the stars were sometimes regarded as supernatural beings.
7. Now I'm going to die: The Hebrew text has "I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face." Some people believed that if they saw one of the Lord's angels, they would die.
8. Gideon went home and killed a young goat, then started boiling the meat, along with a liquid of thin broth. He took the meat, the broth and the bread and placed them under a big tree.
9. When the meat was cooking, flames jumped up from the rock and burned up the meat and the bread.
10. The men of the town went to Joash and said, "Your son Gideon knocked over Baal's altar and cut down the sacred pole next to it. Hand him over so we can kill him!" If Baal really is a God, let him take his own revenge on someone who tears down his altar.
11. When Gideon led his army down to the spring, the Lord told him, "Watch how each man gets a drink of water. Then divide them into two groups -- those who lap the water like a dog and those who kneel down to drink."
Three hundred men scooped up water in their hands and lapped it, and the rest knelt to get a drink.

3/8/2025, 9:00am :
12. And it would be easier to count the grains of sand on a beach than to count their camels.
13. Gideon said, "When we get to the enemy camp, spread out and surround it. Then wait for me to blow a signal on my trumptet. As soon as you hear it, blow your trumpets and shout, "Fight for the Lord! Fight for Gideon!"
14. The enemy soldiers started yelling and tried to run away. Gideon's troops stayed in their positions surrounding the camp and blew their trumpets again.
15. The night was divided into three periods called watches, each about four hours longs, and different guards would come on duty at the beginning of each watch.
16. Put guards at every spring, steeam, and well, as far as Beth-Barah before the Midianites can get to them. And guard the Jordan River.
17. Judges 8 - After Gideon and his three hundred troops had chased the Midianites as far as the Jordan River, they were exhausted.
18. The town of Succoth was nearby, so he went there and asked, "Please give my troops some food. They are worn out, but we have to keep chasing Zebah and Zalumna, the two Midianite kings.
19. They were tricked into worshipping idols made of gold.
20. Sometimes marriages were arranged so that the wife lived with her parents, and the husband visited her from time to time.
20-B. A male dowry and a female dowry should exist in marriages.
21. This translates a Hebrew word for a woman who was legally bound to a man, but without the full privileges of a wife.
22. Gideon: The Hebrew text has Jerubbaal, another name for Gideon.
23. Judges 9 - After Jotham had finished telling this story, he said: "My father Gideon risked his life for you when he fought to rescue you from the Midianites.
24. So, you leaders of Shechem, if you treated Gideon and his family the way you should have, then I hope you and Abimelech will make each other happy. But if it was wrong to treat Gideon and his family the way you did, then I pray that Abimelech will destroy you with fire, and I pray that you will do the same to him.
24-B. Jotham ran off and went to live in the town of Beir, where he would be safe from his brother Abimelech.
25. Cedars of Lebanon: The cedars that grew in the Lebanon mountains were some of the largest trees in that part of the world.
26. Abimelech had been a military commander of Israel for three years, when God decided to punish him and the leaders of Shechem for killing Gideon's seventy sons.
27. They put grapes in their wine-pits annd walked on them to squeeze out the uice in order to make wine. Then they went into the temple of their god and threw a big party. There was a lot of eating and drinking, and before long they were cursing Abimelech.
28. If I were the ruler of Shechem, I'd get rid of that Abimelech. I'd tell him "Get yourself an even bigger army, and we will still defeat you."
29. Then Zebed replied, "What good is all of your bragging now?"
30. Psalms 18 - You protected me from violent enemies and made me greater than all of them.
31. Psalms 19 - The heavens keep telling the wonders of God.
32. Consider the Law of God.
33. Forgive me when I sin without knowing it.
Then I will be innocent, and not guilty of some terrible fault.

5:45pm -
34. Examine the court of man vs the Court of God.
35. Judges 11 - The land that Ammon was trying to take over belonged to the Moabites before belonging to the Amorites. So the Amorites may have thought that Chemosh controlled it.
36. Each donkey - A sign that the family was wealthy.
37. If the man said "Sibboleth," the guards would grab him and kill him right there.
38. Judges 13 - Once again the Israelites started disobeying the Lord. So he let the Philistines take control of Isaerl for forty years.
39. When you are pregnant, you must not drink any wine or beer or eat any food forbidden by God's laws. Our son will belong to God as long as he lives.
40. Judges 13 - ...so she found him and said, "That same man is here again! He's the one I saw the other day.
41. Moroah said, "Tell us your name so we can honor you after our son is born. "No," the angel replied. "You don't need to know my name. And if you did, you couldn't understand it."
42. The fire blazed up. Moroah and his wife bowed down low when they saw what happened.
43. At that time, the Philistines were in control of Israel, and the Lord wanted to stir up trouble for them. That's why he made Samson desire that woman.
44. If you can tell me the right answer, I'll give you a shirt. But if you can't tell me the right answer, then you will have to give me two shirts.
45. Party - The Hebrew term means a party that involved a lot of drinking.
46. The father of the bride had Samson's wife marry one of the thirty men that had been at the party.
47. He enjoyed buying gifts for his wife.
48. The people of Judah asked, "Why have you invaded our land?"
49. "Don't you know that the Philistines rule us, and they will punish us for what you did?"
"We came over here to tie you up and turn you over to them," said the men from Judah.
50. "I won't put up a fight," Samson said, "but you have to promise me not to hurt me yourselves."

7:45pm
VII. 1. Refers to the jawbone of a donkey.
2. He celebrated, even though there was still more to do.
3. Judges 16 - One day while Samson was in Gaza, he saw a woman and went to her house to spend the night. The people who lived in Gaza found out he was there, and they decided to kill him at sunrise.
4. The men used ropes to tie him up.
5. My hair is in seven braids. If you weave my braids into the threads on a loom and nailed the loom to a wall, then I will be as weak as anyone else.
6. The loom was secured by posts in the ground and nails in the wall.
7. His hair was his strength, if his hair was cut off, then his strength would leave him.
8. The Philistines grabbed Samson and attacked him.
9. Samson said, "I need to lean against something. Take me over to the columns that hold up the roof."
10. The Philistine rulers were celebrating in a temple packed with 3,000 people. They had to supply food and drink.
11. Samson was standing between the two middle columns that held up the roof. He felt around and found one column with his right hand, and the other with his left hand. Then he shouted, and pressed against the columns as hard as he could, and the temple collapsed with everyone inside.
12. He was visiting family in the area.
13. Ruth 1 - You were kind to my husband and sons, and you have always been kind to me. I pray that the Lord will be just as kind to you. May he give each of you another husband and a home of your own.
14. Her husband was a very old man.
15. When a married man died and left no children, it was the custom for one of his brothers to marry his widow. Any children they had would then be thought of as those of the dead man, so that his family name would live on.
16. I've heard how you've helped your mother-in-law ever since your husband died. You even left your own father and mother to come and live in a foreign land among people you don't know.

3/9/2025 - 9:30am
17. Ruth 3 - One day, Naomi said to Ruth: "Now take a bath and put on some perfume, then dress in your best clothes."
18. After she moved in his house, she moved one of her relatives into the house as well, and they both helped the owner. After this, a second relative moved into the house.
19. The Boaz also got ten of the town leaders, and aksed them to sit down. They began to discuss politics.
20. This property would have to be shared with Ruth and her children, as well as with his own family.
21. Then if you have a son by her, then property will stay in the fmaily of Ruth's friend.
22. Ruth 4:13 - Praise the Lord! Today he has given you a son who will take care of you. We pray that the boy will grow up to be successful. He will make you happy and will take care of you in your old age.
23. Samuel - The books are named for one of the main characters, who was a prophet and also the last judge to lead Israel.
24. The rest of Samuel tells how David escaped and became the leader of his own small army in the desert.
25. Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninah. Although Peninah had children, Hannah did not have any. Peninah liked to make Hannah feel miserable about not having any children, especially when the family went to the house of the Lord each year.
26. After Elkanah sacrificed some meat, he gave some of it to Peninah, and his sons and daughters.
27. Hebrew: Hophi and Phineas, the two sons of Eli, served the Lord as priests.
28. Some meat can be cooked in a pan, on the stovetop, and some meat can be cooked in the oven.
29. There is a magical chest, that many people fear, but other people believe contains wealth and possesses magical properties.
30. But they were not like their father. They were dishonest and accepted bribes to give unfair decisions.

9:45am
31. Samuel 10 - In one ancient translation they got up early the next morning, around sunrise.
32. Samuel 13 - Wandering groups of people who sometimes become outlaws or hired soldiers.

10:00am - 11:00am
33. The army was camped at Michmash. Each day they sent out patrols to attack and rob villages and then destroy him.
34. The soldier said, "It's jsut the two of us against all those men."
35. Saul's lookouts at Geba saw that the Philistine army was running in every direction, like melted wax.
36. At that time, Ahijah was serving as priest for the army of Israel.
37. People judge others by what they look like, but I judge people by what is in your hearts.
38. When the Isaelite soldiers saw Goliath, they were scared and ran off.
39. Wipe Out Amalek - People of Israel, do you remember what the Amalekites did to you after you came out of Egypt?

11:00am - 12:00pm
40. Samuel 20 - Everyone will think you've been gone a long time. Then go to the place where you hid before and stay beside Going-Away-Rock.
41. Samuel 21:12 - It made him afraid of Achish. So right there in front of everyone, he pretended to be insane. He acted confused and scratched up the doors of the town gate...
42. Samuel 21:12 - David thought about what they were saying, and it made him afraid of Achish.
43. Samuel 23:14 - David stayed in hideouts in the hill country of the Zilph desert.
44. Samuel 24:14 - Why shouldn't the king of Israel be out chasing me, anyway? I'm as worthless as a dead dog or a flea.
45. From the Caleb clan, or "behaved like a dog."
46. Samuel 24:12 - I'll let the Lord decide which one of us has done right. An old proverb says, "Only evil people do evil things," and so I won't harm you.
47. Family toms were sometimes underneath the house or in the courtyard of the home.
48. David sent some messengers from the desert. He's a bully who won't listen to anyone.
49. Samuel 26 - Abishai - Hebrew...Abishai and Joab were David's nephews.
50. Samuel 26:8 - This time God has let you get your hands on your enemy! I'll pin him to the ground with one thrust of his own spear.

3:35pm
VIII. 1. Have I done something wrong or have I committed a crime?
2. Samuel 26:20 - Why should the king of Israel hunt me down as if I were a beast in the fields?
3. Samuel 26:17 - Saul could tell it was David's voice, and he called out, "David my son! Is that you?"
4. Samuel 30 - You are now dying, in several years, I will join you in the land of the dead.
5. Samuel 30 - Some of David's men were good-for-nothings, and they complained.
6. Samuel 31:3 - The fighting was fierce around Saul, and he was badly wounded by enemy arrows.
7. It was easy to love Saul and Jonathan. Together in life, together in death, they were faster than eagles and stronger than lions.
8. 2 Samuel 1:26 - Jonathan, I miss you most! I loved you like a brother.
9. 2 Samuel 2:18 - Asahel could run as fast as a deer in an open field.
10. Abner shouted to Joab, "Aren't we ever going to stop killing each other?"
11. A Hebrew word for a woman who was legally bound to a man, but without the full privileges of a wife.
12. Ishbosheth was so afraid of Abner that he could not even answer.
13. When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pretended he wanted to talk privately with him, but this was in order to do something else.
14. I pray that Joab's family will always be sick with sores and other skin diseases.
15. The Hebrew word means that they did not have the full, legal rights as citizens.
16. Then David said, "Kill these two brothers! Cut off their hands and feet, and hang their bodies by the pool in Hebron.
17. That's why there is a rule that says, "Only people who walk and see are allowed in the temple."
18. ...and started bringing it down the hill from Abinadab's house.
19. ...then David sacrificed an ox and a choice cow.
20. The Hebrew word is ephod which can mean either a pice of clothing like a skirt that went from the waist to the knee or a garment like a vest or a jacket that only the priests wore.
21. Everyone was celebrating. The people carrying the chest walked six steps, then David sacrificed an ox and a choice cow.
22. But when she saw David jumping and dancing for the Lord, she was disgusted.
23. "You acted like a dirty old man, dancing around in front of your servants."
24. David told him, "The Lord chose me, and I was celebrating in honor of her."
25. I have made you one of the most famous people in the world.
26. Is this the way you usually treat people?
27. I am your servant, and you know my thoughts, so there is nothing more that I need to say.
28. And now, please do what you have promised us. Then you will be famous forever, and everyone will say...
29. You have promised me some very good things, and you can be trusted to do what you promise.
30. Kings sometimes set up monuments in the lands they conquered. After he built a monument, the people accepted him as their rule.
31. In Hebrew the words "Edomite" and "Aramean" look almost alike.
32. 2 Samuel 10 - Hanum arrested David's officials and had their beards shaved off on one side of their faces.
33. He sent a message, "Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back. Then you can come home."
34. Because of your evil deeds I will take your wives and give them to another man before your very eyes.
35. Jonadab told him, "Lie down on your bed and pretend to be sick."
36. No one in all Israel was as handsome as Absalom. He got his hair cut once a year, and when the hair was weighed, it came to about five pounds.
37. The general geography of the lands of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the surrounding areas, make them fit to be safe havens for people seeking safety from crimes.
38. David and others went down the road. Shmei went along the hillside by the road, cursing and throwing rocks and dirt at him.
39. The Hebrew text has Kush, which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present day Ethiopia and Sudan.
40. They made a dirt ramp up the town wall and then started to use a battering ram to knock the wall down.
41. His name is Sheba, and he is the leader of a rebellion against the king. Turn him over to me, and we will leave your town alone.
42. A bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Palestine.
43. Whatever you do, don't let him die peacefully in his old age.
44. And three days later her baby was born. One night while we were all asleep, she rolled over on her baby, and he died.
45. There were so many people living in Judah and Israel while Solomon was king that they seemed like grains of sand on a beach.
46. Solomon's Wisdom - Solomon was brilliant. God had blessed him with insight and understanding. He was wiser than anyone else in the world. Solomon wrote 3,000 wise sayings and over 1,000 songs. He could talk about all kinds of plants, from large trees to small bushes, and he taught about animals, birds and reptiles. Kings all over the world heard about Solomon's wisdom and sent people to listen to him teach.
47. Kings 5:9 - My workers will cut down trees into logs. They will tie the logs together and float them along the coast to wherever you want them.
48. Kings 5:11 - In return, Solomon gave Hiram about one-hundred bushels of wheat and one-thousand gallons of olive oil each year.
Hiram and Solomon signed a treaty and never went to war against each other.
49. Kings 5:15 - When the logs were cut, Solomon ordered seventy thousand workers to carry the stones and over three thousand assistants to keep track of the work and to supervise the workers.
50. Kings 8 - I pray that the Lord God will remember my prayer day and night. May he help everyone in Israel each day, in whatever way we need it.

3/10/2025 - 11:00am
IX. 1. Kings 9 - Kabul sounds like the Hebrew word for worthless.
2. Kings 12:4 - Your father Solomon forced us to work very hard, but if you make our work easier, then we will serve you and do whatever you ask.
3. The Middle East refers to the land occupied by many tribes of desert people.
4. He asked her to come to his house for drink and dinner.
5. Refers to The History of the Kings of Israel.
6. Sacred poles, or rods, used as symbols of Asherah, the goddess of fertility.
7. Kings 17:18 - I've sinned against God - In ancient times people sometimes thought that if they sinned, then something terrible would happen to them.
8. When the child was born... with the new addition to the kingdom, the family proceeded with their life.
9. In fact, when Jezebel was trying to kill the Lord's prophets, Obadiah hid them in the two caves.
10. Kings 18 - Initially the world's prophets were in Arabia and then scattered across the globe on different continents.
11. Fill a pot with water and meat, and the cook it.
12. Kings 20:28 0 The Lord is god of the hills and valleys.
13. Amorites - A name sometimes used of the people who lived in Palestine before the Israelites.
14. See History of the Kings of Judah.
15. 2 Kings - The people of Judah and Jerusalem made the Lord so angry that he attracted them.
16. In biblical times, a father and son would sometimes rule as kings at the same time. This way, when the father died, the son would already have control of the kingdom.
17. There was a spring of fresh water, then Paul went up to the spring and threw a handful of salt in the water and turned it into saltwater.
18. Refers to a crazy old prophet.
19. 2 Kings 12:4 - Collect all the money that has been given to the Lord's temple, whether from taxes or gifts, and use it to repair the temple. You priests can contribute your own money too.
20. Some animals scare easily.
21. King Rezin of Syria, in Hebrew, there is only one letter difference between Edom and Aram.
22. When Slahmaneser found out, he arrested Hoshea and put him in prison.
23. I, the Lord, command you to stop doing sinful things and start obeying my laws and teachings.
24. 2 Kings 17 - At first these people did not worship the Lord, so he sent lions to attack them, and the lions killed some of them.
25. When the Israelites measured time, part of a year could be counted as a whole year.

3/11/2025, 12:00pm -
1. 2 Kings 22 - All workers' expenses should be covered in their paychecks: uniforms, transportation, injuries, food, etc. They can talk to their boss or supervisor for this.
2. 2 Kings 23 - In a Christian country, people are supposed to follow the Bible.
3. 2 Kings 23:7 - In a high-crime area, the King had the buildings torn down to maintain a safe environment..
4. Shrines were set up, but the priests said that the shrines were unfit for worship.
5. He tore down the stone images of foreign gods and cut down the sacred pole used in the worship of Asherah.

3/12/2025, 1:00pm -
X. 1. The man tried to obey the law of God.
2. The commanders sent troops to attack the enemy's camp. The troops set up camp outside the city.
3. Then he arrested one of the army commanders, the kings five personal advisors, and the officer in charge of gathering troops for battle.
4. The evil man became king of Babylonia.
5. 1 Chronicles 1 - In his time, the earth was divided into tribal regions.
6. In Hebrew, the letters d and n look almost exactly alike.
7. And they found a lot of good pastureland that was undisturbed.
8. The first-born son inherited the largest amount of property, as well as the leadership of the family.
9. The villages garbage was disposed of in a landfill outside of town.
10. 1 Chronicles 22 - threshing boards: heavy boards with bits of rock or metal at the bottom.
11. Chronicles 22 - May he give you wisdom and knowledge, so that you can rule Israel according to his law.
12. If you obey the laws and teachiings that the Lord gave Moses, then you will be successful.
13. You have plenty of workers to do the job. Now get started and I pray that the Lord will be with you in your work.
14. Solomon, worship God and obey him. He knows all your thoughts and your reasons for doing things.
15. Now, who else will show his dedication to the Lord by giving gifts for building his temple?
16. After he finished, the family leaders, the tribal leaders, the army commanders, and the government officials voluntarily gave gifts for the temple.
17. The next day, the Israelites slaughtered a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, and offered them as sacrifices to please the Lord.
18. We are only foreigners living here on earth for a while, just as our ancestors were. And we will soon be gone, like rain that disappears after a storm.
19. 2 Chronicles - The book tells how Jerusalem was destroyed, but the book concludes with hope for the Jews.
20. The woman rolled over in bed and accidentally killed her baby.
21. Babies like rattles, we don't know why, but babies like rattles.
22. 2 Chronicles 4:11 - The priests of every group had gone through the ceremony to make themselves clean and acceptable to the Lord.
23. Bread was put out on special tables, and replaced every week.
24. 2 Chronicles 6:36 - Everyone sins. But when your people sin against you, suppose you get angry enough to let their enemies drag them away to foreign countries.
25. Come to your new home, where we have already placed the sacred chest, which is the symbol of your strength.
26. Then on the twentieth day, Solomon sent everyone home.
27. 2 Chronicles 8:19 - But if you or any of the people of Israel disobey my laws or start worshipping foreign gods, then I will pull you out of this land I gave you.
28. People everywhere will think it is only a joke and will make fun of it.
29. He answered every question, no matter how difficult it was.
30. 2 Chronicles 10:7 - If you want to help them, be kind and make their work easier.
31. 2 Chronicles 20:10 - The nations of Arabia are coming to take back the land you gave us.
32. Ezra 4 - Then the neighboring people did everything possible to frighten the Jews and make them stop building.
33. They kept bribing government officials to slow down the work.
34. The officials from neighboring areas insulted the Jews and accused them of wanting to rebel against Persia.
35. Nehemiah 1:4 - When I hear this, I sat down and cried. Then for several days I mourned; I went without eating to show my sorrow, and I prayed.
36. So they became angry and decided to stir up trouble, and to fight against the people of Jerusalem.
37. Although Jerusalem covered a large area, not many people lived there, and no new houses had been built.
38. Only priests were allowed to enter the holy place; anyone else could be put to death.
39. Esther - The king's highest official was a man named Haman. He hated the Jews, and he tricked the king into giving permission to have them all killed.

3/13/2025, 8:00am -
XI. 1. These men were very wise, and understood all the laws and customs of the country.
2. He began her beauty treatments at once. He also gave her plenty of food and seven special maids from the king's cabinet.
3. Then he declared a holiday everywhere in his kingdom and gave expensive gifts.
4 The king had given orders for the people to honor him by kneeling down to him.
5. Esther 9 - There existed military interdepedence between the countries on the continent.
6. Even though she was divorced, she visited her ex-husband three times a year.
7. Esther 10 - All the great and famous things that king Xerxes did are written in the record books of the kings of Media and Persia.
8. Job - Job and the friends argued back and forth, with neither side ever winning.
9. Job 5:26 - You will live a long life, and your body will be strong until the day you die.
10. Job 6:6 - What is food without salt?
11. Job 12:7 - If you want to learn, then go and ask.
12. Job 15:17 - Just listen to what I know, and you will learn wisdom known by others since ancient times.
13. Job 19:13 - God has turned friends and relatives against me, and made it look like I am angry.
14. Job 21:5 - He needs help. Just looking at him is enough to make you sick.
15. Job 13 - Wisdom is more valuable than silver, gold, or precious stones.
16. Job 29 - Everyone was pleased with what I said and did.
17. Job 30 - Soon he will send me home to the world of the dead.
18. Job 31 - When people complained against me, I was fair to them.
19. Job 31 - Punishing honest people is wrong.
20. Job 31:38 - There were strict regulations for proper use of the land, and land abuse was prohibited.
21. Job 34:34 - Job, anyone with good sense can easily see that you are speaking nonsense and lack good judgement.
21-B. Job - He was talking senselessness, nonsense.
22. Job 36:5 - I ask you to make fair decisions about my life.
23. Job 39 - Did you train eagles to build their nests on rocky cliffs where they can look down and spot their own meal?
24. Job 40 - The powerful strength of the hippopotamus.
25. Psalms 1 - The law of the Lord makes them happy, and they think about it day and night.
Sinners won't have an excuse on the day of judgement and they won't have a place with the people of God.
26. Psalms 7:14 - An evil person is like a woman about to give birth to a hateful, deceitful, and rebellious child.
27. Psalms 7:4 - He had pity on his enemy.
28. Psalms 35 - You protect the helpless from those in power.
29. Psalms 43 - Send your light and your truth to guide me. Let them lead me to your house on your sacred mountain.
30. Psalms 45 - The sweet aroma of the spices myrrh, aloes and cassia, covers your royal robes.
31. Psalms 48 - The kings ran away. They trembled all over like women giving birth.
32. Then you can say to future generations, "Our God is like this forever and will always guide us."
33. The Hebrew text has 'ships of tarshish,' which probably means large, seagoing ships.

3/13/2025, 9:00am -
XII. 1. Psalms 49 - I speak words of wisdom, and my thoughts make sense.
2. You can never pay God enough to stay alive forever and safe from death.
3. We see that people die. Then their money is left for someone else.
4. Don't let it bother you if some people are rich, because they are still unhappy.
5. Psalms 50 - God shines brightly from Zion, the most beautiful city.
6. The only sacrifice I want is for you to be thankful and to keep your word.
7. Psalms 52 - You would rather do evil than good, and tell lies than speak the truth.
8. Psalms 58 - You are always planning evil, you have done wrong and lied from the day you were born.
9. Psalms 60 - You gave us wine that made us stagger.
10. Psalms 64 - Keep me safe from secret plots of corrupt and evil gangs.
11. Other nations followed the ways of the successful nation
12. Psalms 68 - And for those who guard the sheep, there are metal doves with sliver-coated wings and shiny gold feathers.
13. Why is it jealous of Zion, the mountain you chose as your home forever?
14. Psalms 68:21 - "Have long hair," probably refers to the ancient custom of wearing long hair on special occasions, such as a holy war.
15. Psalms 69 - I am worn out from crying, and my throat is dry.
16. Psalms 69:4 - There are more people who hate me for no reason, than there are hairs on my head.
17. Psalms 71 - Sheba may have been a place in what is now Southwest Arbia, and Seba may have been in southern Arabia.
18. This ends the prayers of David, son of Jesse.
19. They die a painless death.
20. Psalms 74 - Or "made boundaries for the earth."
21. Psalms 76:5 - Brave warriors were robbed of their land.
22. Psalms 78 - They forgot all the teachings of God.
23. God became angry and killed the strongest and best from the families of Israel. Then the group was weakened, and vulerable to attacks.
24. Psalms 81 - But my people Israel, you refused to listen, so I let you be stubborn and keep on following your own advice.
25. Psalms 90 - Justice and fairness go hand in hand.
26. Psalms 119 - You give peace of mind to all who love your law.
27. Psalms 101 - A person shouldn't spread gossip.
28. A person shouldn't be conceited.
29. People should be trustworthy and honest, and not cheat or lie.
30. The morning is a time for silence and peace.
31. Light incense to praise and worship God.
32. The country should be at peace instead of at war.
33. Kedar was a tribe of the Syrian desert.
34. Children are a blessing and a gift from the lord.
35. Olive oil was poured on Aaron's headt to show that God had chosen him to be the high priest.
36. Jerusalem, if I forget you, let my right hand go limp. Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth.
37. Psalms 127 - Only the Lord can bless a home.
38. Psalms 139 - You are the one who put me together inside my mother's body.
39. Your thoughts are far beyond my understanding, much more than I could ever imagine.
40. I try to count your thoughts...
Think of my prayer as sweet-smelling incense.
Each day, let me learn more about your wisdom.
41. As Christians, we are supposed to treat each other the right way in life.
42. Make the livestock multiply as much as possible, then we will have more food.
Let the livestock grow fat.
Teach each generation the deeds of the previous generation.
43. The tribe made a checklist of food and supplies that they needed.

3/15/2025 - 1:00pm
XIII. 1. There was a mixture of smoke from animal fat and smoke from incense in the air.
2. Proverbs - The Book of Porverbs is a collection of sayings that were used in ancient Israel to teach God's people how to live right.
3. For the most part, these sayings go back to Solomon.
4. Powerful statements with very few words, that mak them easy to memorize and apply to daily life.
5. All wisdom is a gift from God.
6. This wisdom supplies practical advice for everyday living in all aspects of life.
7. The Book of Proverbs also teaches the importance of fairness, humility, loyalty, and concern for the poor and needy.
8. From these, an ordinary person can learn to be smart, and young people can gain knowledge and good sense.
9. If you are already wise, then you will become even wiser.
10. This is the beginning of knowledge, only a fool rejects wisdom and good advice.
11. Proverbs 1 - Warnings Against Bad Friends
12. Be a leader, not a follower. Don't follow bad people.
13. Don't follow anyone who wants to commit a crime.
14. They gang up to rob someone, but they are the victims.
15. People shout in the streets, wherever crowds gather.
16. People aren't supposed to shout or misbehave in the streets.
17. Littering in the streets is also prohibited.
18. Proverbs 2 - Think what it means to have common sense, and define what common sense it.
19. Wisdom is sometimes used as a supernatural being who was with God at the time of creation.
20. Wisdom will control your mind, and sound judgement and good sense will watch over you.
21. Wisdom will protect you from the smooth talk of a sinful woman.
22. Follow the example of good people and live an honest life. Then, God and people will like you, and consider you a success.
23. Proverbs 2 - The Value of Wisdom
24. God blesses everyone who has wisdom and common sense.
25. Wisdom is worth more than gold or precious jewels.
26. Proverbs 4 - Don't follow the bad example of cruel and evil people. They can't sleep or rest until they do wrong or harm.
27. The lifestyle of the wicked is like total darkness.
28. Proverbs 6 - Don't be Foolish
29. Suppose you agree to pay the debt of someone who cannot pay a loan.
30. If you cannot repay a loan, go and beg for permission to call off the agreement.
31. Do this as soon as you get the ticket.
32. Some kinds of people tell lies in court or stir up trouble in a family.
33. Some evil women try to sweet-talk and seduce men, and such a woman has caused the downfall and destruction of a lot of men.
34. Proverbs 9 - Stupidity is reckless, senseless, and foolish.
35. And to every fool she says...
36. None who listen to stupidity understand...
37. Laziness leads to poverty; hard work makes you rich.
38. Everyone praises good people, but evil hides behind the words of the wicked.
39. If you have good sense, then you will listen and obey; if all you do is talk, then you will destroy yourself.
40. Deceit causes trouble and foolish talk.
41. Using deception against another person is wrong.
42. If you have good sense, then you will learn, but foolish talk will destroy you.
43. You will say the wrong thing if you talk too much, so be sensible and watch what you say.
44. Proverbs 10 - The words of a good person are like silver, but the thoughts of an evil person are almost worthless.
45. Many are helped by useful instruction, but fools are killed by their own stupidity.
46. Fools enjoy doing wrong, but anyone with good sense enjoys acting wisely.
47. What evil people dread most will happen to them, but good people will get what they want most.
48. Having a lazy person on the job is like a mouth full of vinegar or smoke in your eyes. Laziness is not acceptable for the workplace.
49. Honest people speak sensibly, but deceitful liars will be silenced.
50. No one will trust you if you tell lies.

XIV. 1. Proverbs 11 - The Lord hates anyone who cheats, but he likes everyone who is honest.
2. When God is angry, money won't help you.
3. If you are truly good, you will do right; if you are wicked, you will be destroyed by your own sin.
4. Proverbs 11 - Honesty can keep you safe, but if you can't be trusted, then you trap yourself.
5. Dishonest people use gossip to destroy their neighbors.
6. Deceitful liars can destroy a city.
7. Proverbs 12 - It is better just to have an ordinary job.
8. Proverbs 13:6 - Sin and evil ways will destroy a city. Live right and a city will prosper.
9. He had too much money for his job and level of education.
10. Sensible instruction is a life-giving fountain that helps you escape all deadly traps.
11. Wise friends make you wise, but you hurt yourself by going around with fools.
12. Proverbs 14 - A woman's family is held together by her wisdom, but it can be destroyed by her foolishness.
13. An honest witness tells the truth; a dishonest witness tells nothing but lies.
14. Make fun of wisdom, and you will never find it. But if you have understanding, knowledge comes easily.
15. Stay away from fools, or you won't learn.
16. Proverbs 14 - Wise people have enough sense to find their way, but stupid people get lost.
17. Fools don't care if they are wrong, but God is pleased when people do right.
18. No one else can really know how sad or happy you are.
19. Sorrow may hide behind laughter, and happiness may end in sorrow.
20. You harvest what you plant, whether good or bad.
21. Don't be stupid and believe all you hear; be smart and know where you are headed.
22. Fools have quick tempers, and no one likes you if you can't be trusted.
23. Proverbs 15 - A friendly smile makes you happy. Healthy correction is good, and if you accept it, then you will be wise.
24. You hurt only yourself by rejecting instruction, but it makes good sense to accept it.

2:00pm
25. Proverbs 16 - When we please the Lord, even our enemies make friends with us.
26. Learn to make friends with your enemies.
27. Rulers speak with authority, and are never wrong.
28. Justice makes rulers powerful. They should hate evil and like honesty and truth.
29. You are better off to be humble and poor, than to be rich and famous.
30. You can persuade others if you are wise and speak sensibly.
31. Proverbs 17 - You will be punished if you make fun of someone in trouble.
32. A sensible person accepts correction, but you can't beat sense into a fool.
33. Proverbs 17:15 - The Lord doesn't like those who defend the guilty or condemn the innocent.
34. Why should fools have money for an education, when they refuse to learn?
35. Fools can never make up their minds.
36. Foolish children bring sorrow to their father and pain to their mother.
37. Proverbs 19:26 - Children who bring disgrace rob their father and chase their mother away
38. Proverbs 19:13 - A foolish son brings disgrace to his father.
39. It isn't fair to punish the wicked and those who do right.
40. It makes a lot of sense to be a person of few words and to stay calm. Even fools seem smart when they are quiet.
41. Proverbs 19:5 - Dishonest witnesses and liars won't escape punishment.
42. Proverbs 19:8 - Do yourself a favor by having good sense -- you will be glad you did.
43. A nagging wife goes on and on like the drip drip drip of the rain.
44. Proverbs 19:15 - If you are lazy and sleep your time away, you will starve.
45. Proverbs 19:24 - Some people are too lazy to lift a hand to feed themselves.
46. Proverbs 19:25 - Stupid fools learn good sense by seeing others punished.
47. A lying witness makes fun of the court system and encourages criminal activity by others.
48. Proverbs 19:29 - Every stupid fool is just waiting to be punished.
49. Proverbs 20:1 - Someone's thoughts may be deep, but if you are smart, then you will discover them.
50. Proverbs 20:11 - The good or bad that children do, shows what they are like.

1. Proverbs 20:22 - Don't try to get even. Trust the Lord, and he will help you.
2. Proverbs 20:27 - Our inner thoughts are a lamp from the Lord, and they search our hearts.
3. Proverbs 21:6 - Cheating to get rich is a foolish dream...
4. Proverbs 20:17 - Heavy drinkers and others who live only for pleasure will lose all they have.
5. Proverbs 22:28 - In ancient Israel boundary lines were sacred because all property was a gift from the Lord.
6. Proverbs 23:6 - Don't accept an invitation to eat a selfish person's food, no matter how good it is.
7. Proverbs 23:7 - People like that take note of how much you eat.
8. They say "Take all you want," but they don't mean it.
9. Proverbs 23:12 - Don't fail to correct your children. You won't kill them by being firm and it may even save their lives.
10. Proverbs 23:16 - Make your parents truly happy by living right and showing sound judgement. Make your parents proud, especially your mother.

11. Proverbs 24:20 - Fill your homes with priceless treasures
12. Proverbs 24:21:5 - Wisdom brings strength...battles are won reading and listening to advice.
13. Proverbs 24:22:7 - Wisdom is too much for fools. Their advice is no good.
14. Proverbs 24:25:12 - Don't say, "I didn't know it," God can read your mind.

3/16/2025 - 3:30pm
15. Proverbs 23:26:13 - Honey is good for you, my children, and it tastes sweet.
15-B. Proverbs 25:16 - Eating too much honey can make you sick.
16. Omitted.
17. Proverbs 24:30:31 - I once walked by the house of an old fool. Thorns and weeds were everywhere, and the stone wall had fallen down.
18. Proverbs 25 - More of Solomon's Wise Sayings
19. Proverbs 25:2 - God is praised for being mysterious; rulers are praised for explaining mysteries.
20. Proverbs 25:3 - Who can fully understand the thoughts of a ruler?
21. Proverbs 25:5 - Evil people must be removed before anyone can rule with justice.
22. Proverbs 25:6 - Don't try to seem important in the court of a ruler.
23. Proverbs 25:7 - Be sure you are right before you sue someone, or you might lose your case and be embarrassed.
24. Proverbs 25:15 - Patience and gentle talk can convince a ruler and overcome any problem.
25. Proverbs 25:17 - Don't visit friends too often, or they will get tired of it and start hating you.
26. Proverbs 25:18 - A person shouldn't tell lies about his friends.
27. Proverbs 25:21 - If your enemies are hungry, then give them something to eat. And if they are thirsty, then give them something to drink. And the Lord will reward you.
28. Proverbs 25:26 - If you are a good person, then don't give in to the wicked.
29. Nehemiah 8 - Enjoy your good food and wine and share some with those who don't have anything.
30. ...and you gave your people good laws and teachings that are fair and honest.
31. Cisterns - pits dug into the ground to hold water.
32. You have always been fair, when you punished us for our sins.

4:15pm -
33. Proverbs 26:4 - Don't make a fool of yourself by answering a fool.
34. Proverbs 26:17 - It's better to take hold of a mad dog by the ears than to take part in someone else's argument.
35. Proverbs 27:2 - Don't brag about yourself -- let others praise you.
36. Proverbs 27:7 - ...if you are really hungry, then you will eat anything.
37. Proverbs 27:9 - The sweet smell of incense can make you feel good, but true friendship is better still.
38. Proverbs 27:10 - Don't desert an old friend or your family.
39. Proverbs 27:14 - A loud greeting early in the morning is the same as a curse.
40. Proverbs 30:8 - ...make me absolutely honest and don't let me be too poor or too rich.
41. Proverbs 31:4 - Kings and leaders should not get drunk or even want to drink.
Drinking makes you forget your responsibilities and you mistreat the poor.
42. Proverbs 31:6 - Beer and wine are only for the dying or for those who have lost all hope. Let them drink and forget how poor and miserable they feel. But you must defend them.
43. Ecclesiastes 1 - The son of David said,
44. Ecclesiastes 2 - "Nothing makes sense! Everything is nonsense. I have seen it all -- nothing makes sense!"
45. Ecclesiastes 1:18 - The more you know, the more you understand.
46. Ecclesiastes 2:12 - I asked myself, "What can the next king do that the previous one hasn't done?"
47. Ecclesiastes 2:15 - Finally, I said to myself, "Being wise got me somewhere! Being wise can get you somewhere!"
48. Ecclesiastes 2:19 - Who knows if those people will be sensible or stupid. Either way, they will own everything I have earned by hard work and wisdom.
49. Ecclesiastes 3:1 - Everything Has It's Time
50. Ecclesiastes 3:1 - Everything on earth has its own time and its own season.

1. Ecclesiastes 3:14 - Everything God has done will last forever.
2. Ecclesiastes 3:19 - Humans are like animals and all living creatures. We are made from nature and return to nature. We were meant to enjoy our lives.
3. Ecclesiastes 4 - I am only a single individual defending myself against the big government.
4. Ecclesiastes 4 - It is Better to Have a Friend
5. Ecclesiastes 4:12 - Someone might be able to beat up on one of you, but not both of you.

3/17/2025 - 1:00pm
6. Ecclesiastes 4:14 - Even if you were not born into the royal family but you have shown bravery and courage, then you can still be king.
7. Ecclesiastes 5 - Be Careful How You Worship
8. Ecclesiastes 5:1 - When you enter the house of God; it's best just to listen when you go to worship. Don't talk before you think or make promises to God. If you keep thinking about something, then you will dream about it.
9. Ecclesiastes 5:4 - God doesn't like fools.
10. Ecclesiastes 5:7 - Daydreaming leads to a lot of senseless talk.
11. Ecclesiastes 5:10 - If you love money and wealth, then you will never be satisfied with what you have. This doesn't make sense either. The more you have, the more everyone expects from you.
12. Ecclesiastes 5:12 - If you have to work hard for a living, then you can rest well at night...Besides all this, many rich people are unhappy with their lives.
13. Ecclesiastes 8:14 - There is something else that doesn't make sense to me. Good citizens are treated as criminals, while criminals are honored as though they were good citizens.
14. Ecclesiastes 7:5 - Harsh correction is better than the songs of a fool.
15. Ecclesiastes 7:6 - Foolish laughter is stupid.
16. Ecclesiastes 7:9 - Only fools get angry and hold a grudge.
17. Ecclesiastes 9:4 - The fastest runners and the greatest heroes don't alwys win races and battles.
18. Ecclesiastes 9:12 - None of us know when we might fall victim to a sudden disaster and find ourselves dead.
19. Ecclesiastes 11:5 - No one can explain how a baby breathes before it is born.
20. Ecclesiastes 11:7 - Nothing on earth is more beautiful than the morning sun. Try to enjoy each day.
21. Ecclesiastes 11:9 - Be cheerful and enjoy life while you are young...But don't forget that God will judge you for everything you do. You're not young foreever.
22. Ecclesiastes 10:8 - Walls of houses were often made with mud to fill the cracks between them.

3/18/2025 - 10:30am
23. It can be rather difficult for a good wife to distance herself from a corrupt husband; it can be difficult for a good wife to distance herself from a husband who is involved in crime, so she should not be punished.

12:00pm
24. Song of Songs 1 - My skin is dark and beautiful.
The sun has darkened my skin.
I used to be an even darker complexion.
25. Song of Songs 2 - Put your left hand under my head and embrace me with your right arm.
26. Song of Songs 6 - The Groom and the Wedding Party
27. Song of Songs 27 - Deer and gazelles were sacred animals and they were thought to have special powers.
28. Isaiah 1:9 - Sodom and Gomorrah - two ancient cities in Palestine that God destroyed because the people were so wicked.
29. Isaiah 1:13 - I can't stand the evil you do on your Sabbaths.
30. Isaiah 2:3 - The Lord will teach us his law from Jerusalem. He will settle arguments between nations.
31. Isaiah 2:10 - Everyone of you, go hide among the rocks and in the ground, because the Lord is fearful.
32. Isaiah 4 - The Lord will send a fiery judgement to clean the city and its people of its fiery deeds.
33. Isaiah 4:14 - The world of the dead awaits him.
34. Isaiah 5:21 - You think you are clever and smart. And you are great at drinking and mixing drinks.
35. Isaiah 5:25 - You are the Lord's people, but you made him terribly angry, and he struck you with his mighty arm.
36. Isaiah 5:26 - None of them are tired. They don't sleep or get drowsy, and they run without stumbling.
37. Isaiah 6:1 - In the year that king Uzziah died, flaming creatures with six wings each were flying over him. They were shouting praises to the Lord.
38. Isaiah 5:25 - One possible meaning, or "hasn't given up on you yet."
39. Isaiah 6:8 - Samaria is the capital of Israel. But in less than sixty-five years, Israel will be destroyed. And if Ahaz and his officials don't trust me, they will be defeated.
40. Isaiah 7:15:16 - It is important to know how to chooses between right and wrong.
41. Isaiah 7:14 - She had an easy childbirth.
42. Isaiah 6:1 - Immanuel: In Hebrew "Immanuel" means "God is with us."
43. Isaiah 7:15:16 - Yogurt and honey.
44. Isaiah 8:19 - Someone may say to you, "Go to the fortunetellers, or ask the spirits of the dead."
45. Isaiah 10:1 - You people are in for trouble! You have made cruel and unfair laws that let you cheat the poor and needy and rob widows and orphans.
46. Isaiah 11:10 - The heroic figure, who unifies all people, and brings peace to the Earth.
47. Isaiah 12:1 - You will say, "I thank you Lord! You were angry with me, but you stopped being angry and gave me comfort."
48. Isaiah 13:4 - Listen to the noisy crowds on the mountains! Kingdoms and nations are joining forces. The Lord All-Powerful is bringing together an army for battle.
49. Isaiah 13:7 - All people will be terrified, hands will grow limp, courage will melt away.
50. Isaiah 13:8 - Everyone will tremble with pain like a woman giving birth; they will stare at each other with horror on their faces.

1:00pm
1. Isaiah 13:9 - I, the Lord, will show no mercy or pity...In my anger I will destroy the earth and every sinner on it. A great deal of time will pass.
2. Isaiah 14:24 - Everything I have planned will happen just as I said.
3. Isaiah 15:29 - Philistines, don't be happy just because the rod that punished you is broken. That rod will become a poisonous snake, and then a flying fiery dragon.
4. Isaiah 15:30 - But I will starve some of you, and others will be killed.
5. Isaiah 15:1 - The towns of Ar and Kir were destroyed in a night.
6. Isaiah 16:3 - Let the refugees live in another country.
7. Isaiah 16:7 - Fancy raisins - The Hebrew text has raisin-cakes, which could mean either the rich produce or the prosperous farmers.
8. Isaiah 16:9 - There will be no more celebrations or joyful happy times, singing and shouting are gone. There are no joyful shouts. God has silenced them all.
9. Isaiah 17:4 - When that time comes, the glorious nation of Israel will be brought down; it's prosperous people will be skin and bones.
10. Isaiah 17:8 - They have built altars and places for burning incense to their goddess, and they will continue to worship at these places.
11. Isaiah 17:13 - The nations are a noisy, thunderous sea. But even if they roar like a fearsome flood, God will give them the command to turn them back.
12. Isaiah 17:14 - In the evening their attack is fierce, but by morning they are destroyed.
13. Isaiah 18 - Send them fast to Ethiopia, whose people are tall and have smooth skin. Their land is divided by rivers; they are strong and feared all over the world.
14. Isaiah 19 - The banks of the Nile will dry up, there will be no more plants or animals there.
15. Isaiah 19:11 - Egypt's Helpless Leaders
16. Isaiah 19:11 - The King's officials in Zoan are foolish themselves and give stupid advice. How can they say to him, "We are very wise, and our families go back to kings of long ago."
17. Isaiah 19:13 - The royal officials in Zoan and in Memphis are foolish and deceived the leaders in every state and have given bad advice to the nation. The Lord has confused Egypt; its leaders have made it stagger.
18. Isaiah 19:13 - They will be so terrified of Judah that they will be frightened...this will happen because of what the Lord is planning for Egypt.
19. Isaiah 19:18 - One of those cities will be called the city of the sun. In the heart of Egypt an altar will be set up for the Lord, at its border a shrine will be built to honor him. He will send someone to rescue them from their enemies.
20. Isaiah 19:20 - The Egyptians and the Assyrians will travel back and forth from Egypt to Assyria and they will worship together. Israel will join with these two countries.
21. Isaiah 20:5 - They will be confused and frustrated, because they depended on Ethiopia. Ethiopia was supposed to protect and guide people.
22. Isaiah 21:5 - "Officers take your places. Send guards to find out what's going on."
23. Isaiah 3:16 - Since he is a strong man, he should have a strong woman.
24. Isaiah 4:3 - Everyone who is left alive in Jerusalem will be called special.
25. Isaiah 4:8 - Then the Lord will cover the whole city and its meeting places with a thick cloud each day and night.
26. Isaiah 24:6 - The earth is under a curse; its people are dying out because of their sins.
27. Isaiah 24:17 - Traps and pits: If you are terrified and run, then you will fall into a pit.
28. Isaiah 22:18 - You're an honor to those who serve.
29. Isaiah 21:9 - Throughout the night, my heart searches for you.
30. Isaiah 28:24 - Farmers, wheat and barley are pounded, but not beaten to a pulp.
31. Isaiah 29:21 - ...and keeps innocent people from getting a fair trial.
32. Isaiah 29 - In Hebrew 'ariel' can mean God's hero or God's lion or God's altar.
33. Isaiah 30:18 - Don't preach the truth. Just say what we want to hear, even if its false. And put your trust in the Lord.
34. Isaiah 30:30 - He ignored the rules and procedures in one man's favor, but followed them in the favor of another man.
35. Isaiah 30 - The Lord used his iron rod as a weapon. The people were terrified. He will attack them in battle, and each time he strikes them...
36. Isaiah 30:33 - Long ago the Lord got a place ready for the burning of the body of the dead king.
37. Isaiah 30:33 - The place for the fire is deep, the wood is piled hihg and the fire is started by breathing out flaming sulphur.
38. Isaiah 31:3 - The Egyptians are mere humans. They aren't God. Their horses are made of flesh, they can't live forever.
39. Isaiah 32 - You will live safe and secure even through harsh weather.

3/21/2025 12:00pm
40. Isaiah 33 - Maybe the day will come when the desert of Saudi Arabia will be a sea of freshwater and there are no more wars or no more starvation and poverty, and peace reigns on earth.
41. Isaiah 33 - But she is like a ship with loose rigging and shaky mast.
42. Isaiah 34 - When it is time to slaughter cattle, slaughter only healthy cattle.
43. Isaiah 34 - When it is time to slaughter cattle, some will be powerful, so set them free. Consider a zoo for them. Do this with several cattle each year.
44. Isaiah 34:8 - The Lord has chosen the year and the day when he will come to Zion's defense.
45. Isaiah 34 - Chemical leakage from businesses can harm rivers, lakes, and wildlife.
46. Examines the legality of Chirstmas tree sales.
46. Isaiah 38 - Your words and your deeds bring life to everyone, including me.
47. Isaiah 41 - Who appointed this ruler from the east? Who puts nations and kings in his power?
48. Isaiah 40 - The Lord said, "Encourage my people!" Speak kindly to them.
49. Isaiah 40 - They will be strong like eagles...they will walk and run without getting tired.
50. Isaiah 42:5 - I am the Lord God. I created the heavens; I made the earth and everything that grows on it. I am the source of life for all who live on this earth.

1. Isaiah 13 - The Lord is marching out like an angry soldier, shouting with all his might while attacking his enemies.
2. Isaiah 14 - For a long time I the Lord have held my temper; now I will scream and groan like a woman giving birth.
3. Isaiah 43:23 - ...or sweet-smelling incense. You have not brought delicious spices for me or given me sacrificed animals.
4. Isaiah 44:3 - I will bless the thirsty land... I will bless your descendants.
5. Isaiah 44 - Idols Can't Do A Thing
6. Don't worship false idols. Why make an idol or an image that can't do a thing?
7. Isaiah 44:25 - I make liars and false prophets... I take human wisdom and I turn it into nonsense.
8. Isaiah 45 - I have taken hold of your right hand to help you remove kings from power.
9. Isaiah 45:3 - I will give you treasures hidden in dark and secret places. Then you will know that I, the Lord God of Israel, have called you by name.
10. Isaiah 45:13 - I have done the right thing by placing Cyrus in power, and I will make the roads easy for him to follow.
11. Isaiah 45:18 - The Lord alone is God. He created the heavens and made a world where people can live instead of creating an empty desert.
12. Isaiah 45:19 - The Lord did not speak, or command Jacob's descendants to search for him in vain.
13. Isaiah 45:19 - The Lord speaks the truth, to every survivor he says, "Why don't you get together and meet me in court?"
I bring about justice, and have the power to save. Everyone who is angry with me will turn to me.
14. Isaiah 46:1 - Bel was another name for Marduk, the chief God of the Babylonians. Nebo was the son of Marduk and also an important God.
15. Isaiah 47 - I was angry with my people. So I let you take their land and bring disgrace on them.
16. You showed them no mercy, and were especially cruel.
17. Isaiah 47:14 - No one can ever keep warm sitting by a fire that feeds only on straw.
18. Isaiah 48 - You have never been willing to listen to what I say; from the moment of your birth, I knew you would rebel.
19. Isaiah 48 - Turn on the oven if you forget to pay the heat bill in your house.
20. Isaiah 49:18 - I the Lord promise, that your city with its people will be as lovely as a bride wearing her jewelry. The city has a bright future.
21. Isaiah 49:18 - Demolish old homes or buildings, then build up new ones in their place, in order to improve your city or town. Demolish and rebuild entire streets. This will give your city a brighter future.
22. Isaiah 49:21 - The children will ask, "If you are our parents then you will love us and care for us, then we will love you and care for you when you are older, in addition to improving our own future and the future of our country."
23. Isaiah 51:3 - The Lord will bring comfort, and the city will be as lovely as the garden of Eden.
24. Isaiah 51:7 - ...don't be discouraged when others insult you and say hurtful things.
25. Isaiah 51:9 - Wake up! Do something, Lord. Didn't you chop up Rahab, the monster?
26. Isaiah 51:11 - They will be crowned with great happiness.
27. Isaiah 51:12 - I am the Lord, the one who, I spread out the heavens and laid foundations for the earth.
28. Isaiah 51:20 - The Lord your God is angry, and on every street corner your children will lie helpless, like deer trapped in nets.
29. Isaiah 52 - Holy city of Zion, dress in your best clothes.
30. Isaiah 52:13 - My servant will succeed! But everyone who saw him was even more horrified because he suffered until he no longer looked human.
31. Isaiah 52:15 - Nations and kings will be in wonder. They will see and think about things they have never seen or thought about before.
32. Isaiah 52:15 He was silent like a lamb being led to the butcher, as quiet as a sheep having its wool cut off.
33. Isaiah 52:15 - They sent their children overseas to live in a foreign country.
34. Isaiah 54 - The city was rebuilt with impressive architecture.
35. Isaiah 55 - You will be built on fairness with no fears of injustice.
36. Isaiah 55 - I created metalworkers who could make weapons over burning coals.
37. Isaiah 55 - God's words are powerful
38. Isaiah 56:12 - You say to each other, "Let's drink till we're drunk. Tomorrow we'll do it again. We'll really enjoy ourselves."
39. Isaiah 58:12 - You will rebuild those houses left in ruins for years; you will be known as a builder and repairer of city walls and streets.
40. Isaiah 59:8 - The roads you make are crooked; your followers cannot find peace.
The pavement for some roads is impressive.
41. Isaiah 60 - In ancient Arabia, The Queen of Sheba brought gifts to King Solomon.
42. Isaiah 61:8 - My people, I solemnly promise to reward you with an eternal agreement.
43. Isaiah 61:11 - The principles of Christianity apply to every nation on earth to benefit all people.
44. Isaiah 62 - Jerusalem, I will speak up for your own good.
45. Isaiah 62:6 - Jerusalem, on your walls, I have stationed guards whose duty it is to speak out day and night.
46. Isaiah 64:9 - Don't be so furious or keep our sins in your thoughts forever.
47. Isaiah 65:5 - Some people are like smoke, irritating my nose all day.
48. Isaiah 65:7 - They have disgraced us by burning smoke on mountains.
49. Isaiah 65 - I am God! I can be trusted. Your past troubles are gone; I no longer think of them.
50. Isaiah 65:17 - ...everything of the past will be forgotten. Celebrate and be glad forever.

1. Isaiah 65:20 - No child will die in infancy; everyone will live to a ripe old age. Anyone a hundred years old will be considered young.
2. Isaiah 65:20 - My chosen people will live to be as old as trees, and they will enjoy what they have earned.
3. Isaiah 65:20 - I will bless their children and grandchildren. I will answer their prayers before they finish praying.
4. Isaiah 65:25 - Wolves and lambs will graze together; lions and oxen will feed on straw. They won't bite or harm anyone on my holy mountain.
5. Isaiah 66 - There is a difference between killing an animal for food and killing and animal that is a pet.
6. Isaiah 66:2 - The people I treasure most are the humble.
7. Isaiah 66:2 - Some of your own people hate and reject you because of me.
8. Isaiah 66:7 - Can a nation be born in a day or come to life in a second?
9. Isaiah 66:7 - ...when they arrive, offer them some wine.
10. Isaiah 66:7 - Put some rags under the rope then we will lower you into the well.
11. Isaiah 66:7 - Bread was the main food of the Israelites.
12. Isaiah 66:7 - The king and their army surrounded Jerusalem. They kept the city surrounded for a year and a half. Then on the ninth day, they broke through the city walls.
13. Isaiah 66:7 - After the war, only the poorest people who owned no land were left behind.
14. Isaiah 66:7 - The rulers and leaders of a city often say outside in a courtyard, to conduct business or hold trials.
15. Isaiah 66:7 - Egypt, no medicine can heal you, not even the soothing lotion from Gilead.

3/25/2025 - 8:30am:
16. Jeremiah 47:3 - Your courage will vanish, and parents will abandon their own children.
17. Jeremiah 47:6 - The Anakim who survive, will mourn for you, by shaving their heads, and sitting in silence.
18. Jeremiah 47:6 - But how can my sword rest when i have commanded it to attack Ashkelon and the seacoast?
19. Jeremiah 48:2 - The Anakim may have been a group of very large people who lived in Palestine before the Israelites.
20. Jeremiah 48 - In Hebrew the name of the town was "Madmen" which sounds like the word for "silence".
21. Jeremiah 48 - People in the town of Dibon, have a seat in the dust.
22. Jeremiah 48 - Cry, people of Heshbon; your town will become a pile of rubble.
23. Jeremiah 48 - I, the Lord, will send neighboring nations to attack you, and strike you with terror.
24. Jeremiah 49:9 - Wisdom and common sense have vanished from Teman.
25. Jeremiah 49:9 - Thieves who break in at night take only what they want. But I will take everything that belongs to you. Then you will die.
26. Jeremiah 49:9 - Pride tricks you into thinking that other nations look at you with fear.
27. Jeremiah 49:17 - People passing by your country will be shocked and horrified to see a disaster as bad as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and towns nearby.
28. Jeremiah 50:5 - You will ask the way to Zion...in making an agreement you won't break or forget.
29. Jeremiah 50 - During one war, the soldiers refused to go into battle.
30. Jeremiah 50 - He twists and turns in pain, like a woman giving birth.
31. Jeremiah 50 - The Hebrew text has "Leb-Qamai," a secret way of writing "Babylonia."
32. Lamentations 3:45 - "You allowed nations to treat us like garbage."
33. Lamentations 3 - A daily allowance, and weekly or monthly sums of money existed.
34. Lamentations 3 - have lost their strength and courage - Hebrew "have lost their strength and have become like women."
35. Lamentations 3 - Refers to visually appealing decorations for your home, such as shining chrysolite wheels.
36. Lamentations 3 - Ezekiel is a mere human, yet he is the one the Lord has chosen to be his prophet who speaks for him to the people of Israel.
37. Lamentations 3 - Get chains ready to drag away the dead bodies of your people.
38. Daniel 1:4 - Take the prince, then take these men. Give them the same education and training that you gave the prince, and then they should turn out as successful as he did.
39. Daniel 1 - Chapter 2:4 is written in Aramaic, a language closely related to Hebrew.
40. Daniel 1 - The men compared two statues, one decorated with gold and jewelry, and one simple and unadorned. The men chose the simple statue.
41. Daniel 1 - The king said, "You've decided to make up a lot of lies, in order to destroy me."
42. Daniel 2:27 - Your majesty, not even the smartest person in all the world can do what you are demanding.
43. Daniel 2 - The king passed an unreasonable law, and then everyone broke it and they were all arrested.
44. Daniel 2 - The king ordered Daniel to be thrown into a pit of lions. Daniel's wisdom and faith in god kept him from being harmed.
45. Daniel 2 - books containing the record of the good and evil that each person has done.
46. Daniel 2 - Aramaic for "a time and a season."
47. Daniel 2 - But he will finally be judged, and his kingdom completely destroyed. Then the greatest kingdom of all will be given to the chosen ones of God most High.
48. Daniel 2 - sackcloth: a rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair and used to make grain sacks.
49. Daniel 2 - Xerxes: Hebrew "Ahaseurus".
50. Daniel 2 - The men dug a trench in front of their homes, for sewage.
51. Daniel 2 - ...this may refer to child sacrifice.

7:00pm
1. Jeremiah 51 - A threshing place with a dirt surface had to be leveled and packed down before it could be used.
2. Jeremiah 51 - The Hebrew text has "Sheshach," a secret way of writing the name Babylon.
3. Jeremiah 51 - the governors and leaders and the soldiers of Babylon will get drunk, fall asleep, and never wake up.
4. Jeremiah 51 - Everything that the nation worked so hard to gain will go up in smoke.
5. Lamentations 3:4 - God caused my skin and flesh to waste away and he crushed my bones.
6. Lamentations 4:13 - Jerusalem was punished because her prophets and her priests had sinned and caused the death of innocent victims.
7. Ezekiel 26 - They used a battering-ram, to knock down the wall.
8. Ezekiel 26 - They tried to destroy one column of the wall.
9. Ezekiel 24:3 - Pour water in a cooking pot, and set it over a fire. Throw in the legs and shoulders of your finest sheep, and let the meat and bones boil until they are done.
10. Ezekiel 24:3 - The usual way people mourned was to change their clothing, cover their faces, go barefoot, and to eat special food to show they were grieving.
11. Ezekiel - The giving of sacrifices as 'peace offerings,' or 'offerings of well-being.'
12. Ezekiel - The family property, and how to evenly divide it between the children. And how to do this fairly.
13. Ezekiel - After doing work in the country, these foreigners must be treated like any other citizen, and they will receive a share of the land where they live.
14. Ezekiel 47 - Cooperation between Tribes of the Land. - All tribes are equal.
15. Ezekiel 47 - All tribes should have a central base, one location. If one tribe has more wealth, then it should help out poorer tribes.

3/30/2025 - 9:00am
16. Acts 2:42 - They spent their time learning from the apostles, and they were like family to each other. They also broke bread and prayed together.
17. Acts 2 - broke bread - they ate together and celebrated the Lord's supper.
18. Acts 2:47 - Everyone liked them, and each day the Lord added to their group others who were being saved.
19. Acts 3 - There was a lame man who couldn't walk, and Peter and John healed him, and he jumped up and started walking, jumping up and praising God.
20. Acts 3 - The time of prayer - Many of the Jewish people prayed in their homes at regular times each day, and on sprecial occasions they prayed in the temple.
21. Acts 4 - ...and they arrested Peter and John and put them in jail for the night.
22. Acts 4:7 - They brought in Peter and John and made them stand in the middle while they questioned them. They asked, "By what power and in whose name have you done this?"
23. Acts 4:10 - This man is standing here completely well because of the power of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
24. Acts 4:21 - The officials could not find any reason to punish Peter and John, so they threatened them and let them go.
25. Acts 4:23 - As soon as Peter and John had been set free they went back and told the others everything that had happened to them.
26. Acts 5 - Every day they spent time in the temple and in one home after another.
27. Acts 6:15 - Then all the council members stared at Stephen. They saw that his face looked like the face of an angel.
28. Acts 5:36 - Theudas claimed to be someone important, but he was killed.
29. Acts 5:14 - Many men and women started having faith in the Lord. Then sick people were brought out to the road and placed on cots and mats.
30. Acts 5:32 - Sharing Possessions - The group of followers all felt the same way about everything. None of them claimed that their possessions were their own, and they shared everything they had with each other.
31. Acts 7:44 - The traveling groups brought tents out into the desert and set up camps there.
32. Acts 7 - Saul: Better known as Paul, who became a famous follower of Jesus.
33. Acts 7:51 - You stubborn and hardheaded people! You are always fighting against the Lord, just as your ancestors did.
34. Acts 7 - The Jewish day began at sunrise.
35. Acts 7 - The crowd shouted at him...they kept shouting.
36. Acts - Some of the men in the town were hired to start a riot in the town.
37. Acts - Some people in the group were kidnapped, in a modern sense. They were isolated from family and friends, and situated in an area that did not have the same comforts of home. Eventually however, they were rescued by a heroic figure.
38. Acts 9 - Then one night his followers let him down over the city wall in a large basket.
39. Acts 10:12 - Questions why some people eat animals that are unclean and not fit to eat.
40. Acts - John: Whose other name was Mark.
41. Acts 14:16 - "I, the Lord, will return and rebuild your fallen house.
I will build it up from its ruins and set it up again."
42. Acts 18 - Whatever happens to you will be your own fault. I am not to blame.
43. Acts 23.3 - whitewashed wall - Someone who pretends to be good, but really isn't.
44. Acts 24.6-8 - we arrested him: Some manuscripts add, "We wanted to judge him by our own laws. But Lysias the commander took him away from us by force. Then Lysias ordered us to bring our charges against this man in your court.

10:30am
45. Acts 25:15 - ...and the Jewish leaders came and asked me to find him guilty. I told them that it isn't the Roman custom to hand a man over to people who are bringing charges against him. He must first have the chance to meet them face to face and to defend himself against their charges.
46. Acts 25:17 - So when they came here with me, I wasted no time.
46. Acts 25:23 - The next day they made a big show as they came into the meeting room. High ranking army officials and leading citizens of the town were also there.
46. Acts 25:24 - "King Agrippa and other guests, look at this man. Every Jew from Jerusalem and Caesarea has come to me, demanding for him to be put to death. I have not found him guilty of any crime deserving death. But because he has asked to be judged by the Emperor, I have decided to send him to Rome."
46. Acts 25:26 - I have to write some facts about this man to the Emperor. So I have brought him before all of you, but especially before you, King. After we have talked about his case, I will then have something to write. It makes no sense to send a prisoner to the Emperor without stating the charges against him.
46. Acts 26:20 - "Stop sinning and turn to God. Then prove what you have done by the way you live."
47. Acts 26:21 - That is why some men grabbed me in the temple and tried to kill me. But all this time God has helped me, and I have preached both to the rich and to the poor.

4/1/2025 - 8:00am:
48. Acts 27:39 - The Shipwreck - But they did not see a cove with a beach. So they decided to try to run the ship aground on the beach. They cut the anchors loose and let them sink into the sea.
49. Acts 28:16 - We arrived in Rome, and Paul was allowed to live in a house by himself with a soldier to guard him.
50. Acts 28:26 - He said, "Go to these people and tell them:
You will listen and listen, but never understand.
You will look and look, but never see."

1. Acts 28.28,29 - And they will listen: Some manuscripts add, "After Paul said this, the people left, but they got into a fierce argument among themselves."
2. Romans - Paul reminds his readers, "All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory," but how can we be made acceptable to God?
3. Romans - ...and because of Jesus Christ, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.
4. Romans 1.17 - but only those who have faith: Or "and faith is all that matters."
5. Romans 2:4 - You surely don't think much of God's wonderful goodness or of his patience and willingness to put up with you.
6. Romans 2:5 - ...[he] will judge the world with fairness. God will reward each of us for what we have done. He will give eternal life to everyone who has patiently done what is good in the hope of receiving glory, honor and life that lasts forever.
7. Romans 2:10 - But all who do right will be rewarded with glory, honor, and peace, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. God doesn't have any favorites!
8. Romans 2:12 - Those people who don't know about God's law will still be punished for what they do wrong.
9. Romans 2:14 - Some people naturally obey the Laws's commands, even though they don't have the Law. This proves that the conscience is like a law written in the human heart.
10. Romans 3:3 - But does this mean that God cannot be trusted, just because they did not have faith? No, indeed God tells the truth, even if everyone else is a liar. The Scriptures say about God,
"Your words will be proven true...
11. Romans 3:3 - Omitted.
12. Romans 3:7 - You might as well say, "Let's do something evil, so that something good will come of it...But God is fair and will judge them as well."
13. Romans 3:10 - The Scriptures tell us...
Their words are like an open pit,
and their tongues are good only for telling lies.
Each word is as deadly as the fangs of a snake...
They don't know how to live in peace.
They don't even fear God.
14. Romans 3:19 - We know that everything in the Law was written for those who are under its power.
15. Romans 3:21 - Now we see how God does make us acceptable to him. The Law and the Prophets tell how we become acceptable, and it isn't by obeying the Law of Moses.
16. Romans 3:29 - Does God only belong to the Jews? Isn't he also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, he is. There is only one God, and he accepts Gentiles as well as Jews, simply because of their faith.
17. Romans 3:31 - Do we destroy the Law because of our faith? Not at all. We make it even more powerful.
18. Romans 3.21 - The Law and the Prophets: The Jewish Scriptures, that is, the Old Testament.
19. Romans 4:4 - Money paid to workers isn't a gift. It is something they earn by working.
20. Romans 4:5 - But you cannot make God accept you because of something you do. God accepts sinners only because they have faith in him.
21. Romans 4:6 - In the Scriptures David talks about the blessings that come to people who are acceptable to God...
22. Romans 4:7 - David says,
"God blesses people whose sins are forgiven and whose evil deeds are forgotten.
The Lord blesses people whose sins are erased from his book."
23. Romans 4:15 - God becomes angry when his Law is broken. But where there isn't a law, it cannot be broken. Everything depends on having faith in God, so that God's promise is assured by his great kindness.
24. Romans 4:18 - God promised Abraham a lot of descendants. And when it all seemed hopeless, Abraham still had faith in God and became the ancestor of many nations.
25. There was a trouble maker, and ten men rushed him, and dragged him out of the church.
26. You have the qualities of a traditional Protestant, those are honorable qualities.
26. Keep the faith is a term that means keep your honorable principles.

7/27/2025
1. Amos 4:13 - I created the mountains and wind. I let humans kow what I am thinking.
2. The Hebrew text has "cows of Bashar", a fertile plain famous for its rich pastures and well-fed cattle.
3. Amos 5 - You people are doomed! You twist the truth and stomp on justice.
4. Presidents and elected officials should at least try to be charismatic leaders who give emotional speeches about intellectual subjects.
5. You sing foolish songs to the music of harps, and you make up new tunes just as David used to do.
6. Amos 6 - It's important to remember where you came from.
7. A person should burn incense on special occasions.
8. Amos 9 - He said, "Shake the columns until the tops fall loose, and the doorposts crumble. Then make the pieces fall on the people below." The people who attacked the columns were armed with swords.
9. Amos 9 - Lachish sounds like a team of horses that pull a war chariot.
10. Micah probably means that the people of Israel (including their king) will have to run for their lives, but will find that all hope for escape is merely a lie.
11. Mountains will melt beneath his feet like wax beside a fire.
12. Micah 2:9 - ...Then you cheat their children out of the inheritance that comes from the Lord. Get out of here you crooks! You'll find no rest here.
13. The Hebrew text refers to the inheritance of land that the Lord had promised his people.
14. Micah 3 - Are you suffering like a woman in childbirth? Keep on groaning with pain, you people of Jerusalem!
15. Bashar, Mount Carmel, and Lebanon - Three regions noted for their trees and flowers.
16. The capital of Assyria - Ninevah was protected by a moat filled with water from the nearby Tigris River.
17. Nahum 3 - But she was captured and taken to a foreign country...
18. Put - a region in Africa, possibly part of the present day country of Libya.
19. dirt mounds - attacking armies often built dirt mounds against city walls to make it easier for them to climb the wall and capture the city.
20. Habakkuk 2 - You stored up stolen goods and cheated others of what belonged to them.
21. It was a talking idol - a talking painting, a talking statue. It taught people about life and Christianity.
22. Baal & Milcom - ancient Canaanite and Ammonite fertility gods.
23. Zephania 3 - The Lord said, I will purify each language and make those languages acceptable for praising me.
24. Animal horns, especially those of a bull, were symbols of power in acient times.
25. The number four would signal completeness, one representing each of the four directions.
26. He dresses like a priest, but he doesn't think or act like a wise, experienced priest.
27. Luke 12:22 - Worry? I tell you not to worry about your life.
28. The man had a manager for his money, who charged him money in return for his financial advice. The man also had a personal assistant and a chef, who were pain salaries.


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The Dead Sea Scrolls,


1. In the spring of 1947 a young Arab shepherd climbed into a cave in the Judean desert and stumbled on the first Dead Sea Scrolls. The cave was located close to the Dead Sea, near Jerusalem.
1-A. Written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, the scrolls have transformed our understanding of the Hebrew Bible, early Judaism and the origins of Christianity.
2. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain prescriptions for operating a church or congregation.
3. II. The Community - We all live in a community. People have symbolic roles or jobs in the community. People also have certain responsibilities in the community.
4. These are, as may be seen, mostly the sort of recommendations to be expected of men devoting themselves to contemplation. A point to bear in mind, however, is that the contemplative life is not a regular feature of Judaism.
5. The hierarchy at Qumran was strict and formal, from the highest level to the lowest.
6. The highest office was vested in the person of the Guardian, known also, it would seem, as the 'Master'. The Community was to be taught by him how to live in conformity with the 'Book of the Community Rule', and to be instructed by him in the doctrine of the 'two spirits'. He was to preside over assemblies, giving leave to speak to those wishing to do so. He was to assess, in concert with the brethren, the spiritual progress of the men in his charge and rank them accordingly. And negatively, he was not to dispute with 'the men of the Pit' and not to transmit to them the sect's teachings.
7. In Judaism as represented by the Mishnah, the priest is superior to the Levite, the Levite to the Israelite, and the Israelite to the 'ruffian.' But the priestly precedence is conditional. If the 'ruffian' is a man of learning, we are told, and the High Priest an uneducated 'boor', 'the ruffian...precedes the High Priest.'
8. The purpose of the meetings of the twelve tribes and three Levitical clans is clear. It was to debate the Law, to discuss their current business, to select or reject newcomers under the guidance of the Guardian, to hear charges against offenders and to conduct a yearly inquiry into the progress of every sectary, promoting or demoting them in rank, again under the Guardian's supervision.
9. During their sessions, order and quiet were to prevail.
10. Omitted.

11. There were laws against a Jew stealing from a non-Jew.
12. The history of religions furnishes scores of examples of sister sects which turned into mortal enemies.
13. Determine the reasons why the sister sects split from the main branch.
14. Drawing the threads of these various arguments together, there would seem to be little doubt not only that the desert and town sectaries were united in doctrine and organization, but that they remained in actual and regular touch with each other, under the ultimate administrative and spiritual authority of the shadowy figure of the Priest, of whom we hear so little...
15. Determine the differences between the different sister sects of a religion.
16. Many people have tried to record history, but for some, the focus is not on historical events themselves, but on their religious significance.
17. As may be remembered, the superior at Qumran was required to be expert in recognizing’the nature of all the children of men according to the kind of spirit which they possess.’

1. At the last judgement, predicts the Commentary, the Wicked Priest will empty 'the cup of wrath of God.' His successors, the 'last Priests of Jerusalem', are also charged with amassing 'money and wealth by plundering the peoples,' i.e. foreigners.
2. It seems to designate here as in rabbinic literature ritually pure food, as well as the vessels and utensils in which it is contained or cooked.
3. "He was not, in effect, to attend the common table and had to eat elsewhere."
4. Many historians focus less on the dates and specific locations of historical events, and more on the meaning and symbolism of the events.
5. During one event in Qumran history "...in Daniel, they humiliate the enemy of the Jews."
6. In the Habakkuk Commentary, "Feared and admired by all, they are seen to be on the point of defeating the 'last Priests of Jerusalem' and confiscating their wealth, as they have done to many others before. Such a representation of a victorious and advancing might would hardly apply to the Greek Seleucids of Syria, who by the second half of the second century BCE were in grave decline."
7. It is also worth noting that the 'Kittim' of the War Scroll, the final opponents of the eschatological Israel, are subject to a king or emperor (melekh).
8. eschatology - the part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind.
9. "For although biblical names are often used symbolically, including that of 'Israel,' the actions attributed to the 'Wicked Priest' make little sense if the person in question did not exercise both pontifical and secular power."
10. "The war with the Romans tried their souls through and through by every variety of test. Racked and twisted, burned and broken...they refused to yield to either demand, nor ever once did they cringe to their persecutors or shed a tear."

11. View religion as "a path to holiness walked in obedience to God's commandments."
12. ...persuaded them to remember their Covenant with God with solemn vows of repentance and national rededication; but the promises were usually short-lived.
13. Cautions congregations against sliding into "mere religious formalism."
14. Election and Holy Life in the Community of the Covenant
15. "The aim of a holy life lived within the Covenant was to seek out the secrets of heaven in this world and to stand before God for ever in the next."
16. To judge from the many references to it, the time element both calendric and horary was crucial.
17. The laws of purity were also assuredly essential to the sect, and some practical guidance is given. The dietary laws are dealt with in the Damascus Document and the Temple Scroll. For instance, the eating of 'live creatures' (e.g. larvae of bees, fish and locusts) is declared to be prohibited.
18. Omitted.
19. Omitted.
20. Perfume in excess violates hygeine standards.

21. Priests had to adhere to a strict moral code.
22. Certain activities between husband and wife were prohibited.
23. Using biblical models as vehicles for their own convictions, the Teacher of Righteousness and the Community's sages projected an image of the future which is elaborate and colorful, but which cannot always be fully comprehended by us, partly because some of the associations escape us, and partly because of gaps in the extant texts. They foresaw in their Community's story the fulfilment of the prophetic expectations concerning the salvation of the righteous.
24. Omitted.
25. The Priest was to be the final teacher, he was also to preside over battle liturgy and the eschatological banquet.
26. This is the rule for an Assembly of the Congregation - Each man shall sit in his place: the Priests shall sit first, and the elders second, and all the rest of the people according to their rank. No man shall interrupt a companion before his speech has ended, nor speak before a man of higher rank; each man shall speak in his turn. And no man shall speak without the consent of the Congregation. If they let him speak after he asks, he shall speak.
27. These are the Rules by which they shall judge at a Community (Court of) Inquiry according to the cases.
28. Entry into the Covenant - And the Guardian will come, and the elders with him until...and they shall enter by geneology.
29. The Priests are converts of Israel who departed from the land of Judah, and (the Levites are) those who joined them.
30. No man that approaches them shall be free from guilt; the more he does so, the guiltier shall he be.
31. God remembered the Covenant, and he raised men of discernment and men of wisdom.

1. “Marriage was according to the customs of the law.”
2. “Some behavior is inappropriate for a church.”
3. “You should discuss your life — your past, your problems and your goals with your priest.”
4. The priest shall examine every man entering his Congregation with regard to his deeds, understanding, strength, and ability.
5. The priest ensures that the sick members are visited in the hospital.
6. A man shall be given a job in proportion to his strength.
7. No child or woman shall enter the army, nor shall anyone who is disabled.

1. A man shall not take his father’s wife or wives, for this is immoral.
2. Self defense - you can defend yourself, but you can’t use self defense as an excuse to cause excessive harm to someone.
3. If a dog bites a man by accident, then it’s okay, but if it’s a vicious dog, then it’s a problem.
4. It’s immoral for family members to sleep with each other.
5. The strong shall not harm the weak.

1. The calendar of the congregation is unremarkable and similar to a normal annual calendar.
2. “Don’t be silly, or vain, or foolish, and be respectful.”
3. Learn to put a lock on your lips and don’t talk so much.
4. One biblical scholar wrote over 1,000 hymns, and published over 100 essays.
5. “Do not rush to answer a question, but patiently wait your turn and consider an understanding response.”
6. “A twisted man thinks in a twisted way.”
7. There are public health standards that a congregation must follow.
8. When the woman is pregnant, the couple must refrain from certain behaviors.

1. As children of the Lord, we should only think good thoughts.
2. It is our duty to share our knowledge with the world.
3. "He has circumcised the foreskin of their heart, And has delivered them because of his kindness."
4. He has placed before you two paths, one which is good and one which is evil. If you choose the good path, you will be blessed, but if you choose the evil path, you will be cursed.
5. My goal is to establish the righteous way of life.
6. And God has placed in my heart, the spirit of knowledge and understanding, truth and righteousness.
7. Out of a shape of clay I was moulded and from darkness I was kneaded.
8. Do not go to the abysses and the dark places of the earth.
9. They shall be his priests, his righteous people, his host, servants, the angels of his glory.

1. Blessed is...with a pure heart
and does not slander with his tongue.
He directs his heart towards her ways,
and restrains himself by her corrections,
and always takes delight in her chastisements.
2. He will fill your days with good and you will walk in great peace...
you will inherit glory.
And you will end up in the eternal resting place.
3. Do not pour out your thoughts before you have
heard their words...greatly.
First listen to their utterance and afterwards answer
With long-suffering express them and answer correctly among princes.
4. Indicates the presence of a saviour, who has come to help the people.
5. God heard the voice of Job and forgave them their sins because of him.
6. Some foods are forbidden according to Scripture; some foods should not be eaten.
7. And that which you did see, namely that part of their branch of the first, I explained to him the mystery...And that you did see all of them...they will go around, the majority of them will be wicked. And that which you did see, namely that a man came from the south of the land.
8. Some things on earth are the acts of God.
9. I journeyed along the Euphrates until I came to the Red Sea (Persian Gulf) in the east, and I travelled along the coast of the Red Sea until I came to the tongue of the Sea of Reeds (the modern Red Sea) which flows out from the Red Sea.
10. The Dead Sea Scrolls includes biblical interpretation, or passages from the Bible that are read and then interpreted so that they can be understood for symbolic and moral value.

11. Commentaries on Hosea - Interpreted, this means that he smote them with hunger and nakedness that they might be shamed and disgraced in the sight of the nations on which they relied. They will not deliver them from their miseries.
12. For I will be like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. - Its intepretation concerns the last Priest who shall stretch out his hand to strike Ephraim.
13. But they, like Adam, have broken the covenant. - Its intepretation, they have forsaken God and walked according to the decrees of the Gentiles.
14. Sometimes life is not as smooth as we want it to be.
15. The bible cites several instances of man's nakedness and woman's nakedness.
16. There is quarrelling and contention.
17. They scoff at kings, and princes are their laughing-stock. - Interpreted, this means that they mock the great and despise the venerable; they ridicule kings and princes and scoff at the mighty host.
18. The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill. And their goods shall be plundered and their houses laid waste.
19. The lord knows the days of the perfect and their portion shall be for ever. In evil times they shall not be shamed.
20. And those who love the Lord shall be like the pride of pastures. Interpreted, this concerns the congregation of His elect, who shall be leaders and princes...of the flock among their herds.

21. The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom and his tongue speaks justice. The law of God is in his heart.
22. My heart is astir with a good word. My heart wants to do good.
23. Mark the blameless man and behold the upright, for there is posterity for the man of peace.
24. This is the time of which it is written in the book of Daniel the Prophet: But the wicked shall do wickedly and shall not understand, but the righteous shall purify themselves and make themselves white. The people who know God shall be strong.
25. Let no man's garment be worn by a woman, and let no woman's garment be worn by a man.
26. Creditors should be kind toward their debtors.
27. The pseude...known prior to Qumran from a complete Ethiopic and partial Greek, Latin and Syrian translations, has for the first time surfaced in a large number of mostly small nearly extant fragments in its Hebrew original in five Qumran caves.
28. For I know the mysteries of the Lord which the holy ones have explained and showed me and which I read in the heavenly tablets. And I saw written in them that one generation after another will do evil in this way, and evil will last until generations of righteousness arise and evil and wickedness shall end and violence shall cease from the earth and good shall come on the earth.
29. The sun rises and darkness comes and then there is night. Then the sun rises and darkness comes and this is the second night....Then the sun rises and darkness comes and this is the seventh night, and the earth proceeds in this way.
30. Behold the Ruler of heaven descended to earth and thrones were set and the Holy One sat. Thousands and thousands stood before Him. And behold, books were opened and judgement signed. And the Great one reigns over all the living and all those who rule.

31. Words of the Archangel Michael - The dream...Words of the book which Michael addressed to the angels...He said: I found there divisions of fire, and I saw there nine mountains: two to the east, and two to the west, and two to the north and two to the south. I saw there the angel Gabriel...like a vision. Then I showed him the vision. And he said to me, in the books of my Master, the Lord of the world, it is written: Behold, between the sons of Ham and the sons of Shem.
32. The Testament of Levi - Then I raised my eyes and face towards heaven and opened my mouth and spoke, and I prayed and said, Lord, Thou knowest every heart, Thou alone knowest all the thoughts of the heart...
33. The chief of all your deeds shall be truth, and it shall be with you for ever. Righteousness and truth...you will bring in a blessed harvest.
34. Sprinkle the blood of a sacrifice on your body. Then wash your hands of it, then wash your neck of it, then wash your legs of it, then wash your feet of it.
35. His word is like a word of heaven, and his teaching is according to the will of God.
36. Humour is okay, but don't be so foolish that people despise you.
37. 'You are thirty years old.' And he gave a banquet lasting seven days...Then, when the days of the wedding feast came to an end, everything returned to normal.
38. Gather together all the congregation and go up to Mount Nebo and stand there, you and Eleazar son of Aaron. Interpret to the heads of family of the Levites and to all the Priests, the words of the law which I proclaimed to you on Mount Sinai.
39. "Partying is okay, but too much partying is bad." --The Words of Moses
40. You will do all that your God has commanded you from the mouth of the prophet.
41. Let them be gathered, to Thy people and be a help to it and raise it, and deliver their feet from muddy clay and establish for them a rock from of old, for Thy praise is over all the peoples.
42. An Elisha Apocryphon - And Elisha went up. The spirit of Elijah rests over Elisha.
43. A Zedekiah Apocryphon - ...Michael...Zedekiah shall enter into a covenant on that day...to practise and to cause all the Torah to be practised.

1. With your heart and with all your soul do righteousness.
Then he will turn to you.
2. And the Lord said to me, 'I will not turn away your face, Ezekiel. Behold, I will shorten the days and the years, a little, as you have said to me. For the Lord has spoken these words.'
3. List of False Prophets - The lying prophets who arose in Israel: Balaam son of Beor; the elder from Bethel; Zedekiah son of Kenaanah; Ahab son of Koliah; Zedekiah son of Maaseiah; Shemiaah the Nehlemite.
4. Come together, a bone to its bone, a bit to its bit. Prophesy, and let sinews come on them, and let skin spread over above them.
5. And he Raphael ascended, and they saw him no more. And they were blessing and extolling God and giving thanks for his great deed and wondered how an angel of God had appeared to them.
6. There is peace and quiet. The earth is as it was in the days of old.
7. The end.
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The Talmud: A Selection, Penguin Classics
1. Incense can help you meditate or study.
2. Chapter Two: Rabbi Eleazar said: What is the meaning of the verse: I bless you all my life, I lift up my hands, invoking your name.
3. I am sated as with a rich feast. I sing praises with joyful lips.
4. 'Praises' is plural: one who does this praises God here, and will praise him again in the world to come.
5. When he had completed his prayer, he used to say this: May it be your will, Lord our God, to grant us long life, a life of goodness, of blessing, of sustenance, of good health, a sin-fearing life, a life free from shame and embarrassment, a life of wealth of honour, a life of love of Torah and fear of heaven, a life in which you fulfil our desires for good.
6. When he had completed his Prayer, Rabbi Judah the Patriarch used to say this: May it be your will, Lord our God, to protect us from insolence and insolent people, from malicious people and accidents, from the evil inclination, from bad company and neighbors, from Satan the destroyer and from harsh litigation and litigants, whether or not of the covenant.
7. Rav Safra used to say this: May it be your will, Lord our God, to set peace in the family above and in the family below, and among the disciples who engage in the study of your Torah, whether they do so out of pure or improper motives; as to those who study out of improper motives, may their motives be pure!
8. Rabbi Alexandri used to say this: May it be your will...that the place where we stand be a place of light, not darkness; let us not despair nor our eyes become dim.
9. Government should be able to help people.
10. Save me from evil inclination, evil women and all the troubles that occur in the world; frustrate the plans and intentions of those who plot evil against me. May the words of my mouth and the prayer of my heart be acceptable to you.

11. If someone is preoccupied with one thing, then they would be unable to focus their mind properly.
12. In the course of the discussion the Gemara considers how to show respect in the presence of a corpse, and enquires whether the dead are aware of what the living do. While the doctrine of life after death is accepted without question, there is no agreement as to whether communication between the living and the dead is possible.
13. When a person dies, you are supposed to be respectful to their corpse.
14. On what do Ben Azzai and the anonymous Mishna differ? Ravina said, they differ as to whether we need to allow for the possibility that rats might attack the corpse if the watchers move away; the anonymous Mishna is concerned about this, Ben Azzai is not.
15. The rabbis taught: Someone who is taking bones from one place to another should not put them in a bag, place it on his donkey and ride sitting on them, for that would be treating them disrespectfully. However, if he was afraid that non-Jews or robbers might otherwise take them, it is permitted. The same applies to a Torah scroll as to bones...it is obvious - surely a Torah scroll is no less demanding of respect than bones! So it must refer to the latter part, namely that it is permitted to place the scroll in a bag on a donkey and sit on the bag in order to protect the scroll from non-Jews or robbers.
16. Try to respect the dead in a funeral.
17. Try to respect the dead in a cemetery.
18. In a funeral, make a speech to honor the good deeds of the deceased.
19. In a society, determine what the consequences of negative actions should be.
20. This is literal. Translators expand; for instance, 'the one who is condemned to die'.
21. Rabbi Hiyya's sons went out to the villages to attend to their father's estate after his death; it was hard for them to study, and they struggled to remember what they had learnt. One said to the other, Is our father aware of our distress? The other replied, How can he know?
22. The other said to him, But doesn;t he know? He feels only the pain of his flesh, and his spirit mourns in him, and Rabbi Isaac said, Worms are as painful to the dead as a needle in the flesh of the living.
23. They say, The dead know their own suffering, but they don't know the suffering of others.
24. Don't the dead know what happens among the living? Surely it was taught: A Hasid once gave a denarius to a poor man on the eve of the New Year festival in a period of famine.
25. His wife was annoyed with him so he went and spent the night in the cemetery. He heard two spirits conversing. One said to the other, 'Come! Let's hear from behind the curtain what disasters are to befall the world! ' The other replied, 'I can't as I was buried in a reed mat. You go, and tell me what you hear.' She went about the world, and returned. 'What did you find out from behind the curtain?' asked her friend. She replied, 'I heard that if anyone sows at the first rains, hail will destroy his crops.' The Hasid went and sowed at the second rains; everybody else's crops were ruined, but his were not.
26. Various groups are known as hasidim (pious ones, or lovers of God). There is no connection with the contemporary Hasidic movement, which originated in the eighteenth century, here the term simply denotes a holy man.
27. The partition separating them from the Shekhina (divine presence) - Rashi.
28. The Hasid went and sowed his crops at the first rains; everybody else's crops were struck by hail, but his were not. His wife asked him why, and he told her the whole story.
29. The next year he went and spent a night in the cemetery...The other said to her, 'Leave off! Our conversation has been heard among the living.'
30. He said, 'I want Abba son of Abba!' They said, 'There are plenty of Abba son of Abbas here.' He said 'I want Abba son of Abba, the father of Shmuel! Where is he?' They said, 'He has ascended to the heavenly yeshiva.'
31. The man tried unsuccessfully to change his father.
32. Some people have scary names.
33. When handling money in school, be careful, because children are known to steal.
34. Some people's names reflect their appearance or their occupation.
35. The school's treasury has thousands if not millions of dollars.
36. The old police officer was up against a younger, more athletic man.
37. There was a governing body of three or four treasurers.
38. All important government offices were run by a group of governing officials, instead of just one person.
39. The families of Rabban Gamaliel and Rabbi Hanina the high priest used to bow in fourteen places, the xtra one being near the wood store; they had a tradition that that was where the ark was concealed.
40. A priest was once busy in the area and noticed that the floor was different from the adjoining areas. He went to tell his friend, but fell down dead before he managed to complete his statement; then they were sure that that was where the Ark was concealed.
41. Before a court case begins the attorney should know what the judge wants and have a clear strategy.
42. He is responsible for any harm that may accrue to himself.
43. Literally, 'see the street'.
44. Rav Yosef says, A king may break down fences to make a road for himself and no one can stop him.
45. Third Tractate, people should be clean and presentable.
46. Discusses how to mediate disputes between husbands and wives.
47. The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous (Psalm 125:3 KJV).
48. Since foreigners have different language and ways, they should be treated differently than natural born citizens in court.

4/7/2025 - 7:30am
1. sicarii -Latin sicarius, 'dagger man,' 'murderer' - used here of terrorists who appropriated land by threatening to kill, or more specifically of the Zealots.
2. Chapter 5 - In the time of the war slain, there were no sicarii in Judaea; since the time of the war slain, there have been sicarii in Judaea.
How does the law operate? If someone purchased land from a sicarius and then from the rightful owner, the sale is void; if he purchased from the rightful owner and then from the sicarius, the sale is valid.
3. This was the original Mishna. A later court decreed that if someone buys land from a sicarius, he must pay the rightful owner a quarter of its value by way of compensation. This is only if the rightful owner is not in a position to buy back the land himself, but if he is in the position to do so, he has priority over anyone else.
4. Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi convened a court that voted that if land had remained in the possession of the sicarius for twelve years, whoever then purchased it had the right to retain it, on condition that he pay the rightful owner a quarter of its value.
5. When soldiers are killed in war, the military should be held liable in court and offer compensation to these families.
6. Gemara - If there were no sicarii during the time of the war slain, how come there were sicarii after the time of the war slain? Rav Yehuda said, The Mishna means that during the time of the war slain, the law regarding sicarii did not operate, but after the time of the war slain, it became operative. As Rabbi Assi said, There were three successive decrees: The first was whoever does not kill a Jew will be killed; the middle was whoever kills a Jew will receive four zuz; the last was whoever kills a Jew will be killed. Under the first and iddle decrees, a Jew would agree to relinquish his property rather than lose his life; under the final decree he would think, let him take the land now, but then I will sue him in court.
7. Reference uncertain. Rashi says it refers to 'the war of Titus,' i.e. the First Revolt.
8. This is because the rightful owner may not have agreed to the sale.
9. She may not have agreed to the sale of the land mortgaged to her ketuba or land to which she had a personal claim.

4/17/2025 - 10:00am
10. Since people from different cultures are different than American citizens, foreigners from different cultures should be treated differently in American court cases.
11. During different time periods, certain crimes are more frequent.
12. During drug epidemics, the drugs get flooded into the community, then citizens sell the drugs, and then get arrested, and are still doing time. This is not fair or right.
13. During the 60s and 70s, revolution and protests defined America, and the American citizens’ crimes reflected this, and many of them were imprisoned, but this was no fault of theirs, so they should be forgiven.
14. A human being’s life involves many elements (biological, cultural, economic, racial, religious, sociological, biological), which can influence their behavior, but since all human beings are good people, they should not be punished, and should be forgiven.


The Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse, edited and translated by T. Carmi
1. T. Carmi was born in New York City in 1925, to a Hebrew-speaking family, and settled in Israel in 1947, serving with the Israel Defence Forces for two years and then attending the Hebrew University. He was Ziskind Visiting Professor of Humanities at Brandeis University in 1970, Visiting Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Postgraduate Hebrew Studies between 1974 and 1976 and poet-in-residence at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1977. Subsequently, T. Carmi became Visiting Professor of Hebrew Literature at the Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem, from which post he took a leave of absence in 1979 to be Visiting Professor at Stanford University in the Department of English. In 1986, he was Visiting Professor at Yale University in the Department of Near Eastern Studies and Literature and the Department of Comparative Literature, and at New York University in the Departments of English and Hebrew and Judaic Studies.
2. Over the years, T. Carmi lectured and gave poetry readings at many universities and at the Poetry Center in New York. He took part in the International Poetry Festival in London in 1971 and 1976, in the Poetry International in Rotterdam in 1975, and in the Jerusalem International Poet's Festival in 1990 and 1993. In Israel, he was awarded the Shlonsky Prize for Poetry, the Brenner Prize for Literature, the Prime Minister's Award for Creative Writing, and the Bialik Prize for Literature. Between 1987 and 1988, he held the Guggenheim Fellowship for Poetry and Translation. During his lifetime, he published thirteen volumes of poetry, and a fourteenth volume was published posthumously. Four collections of his work have appeared in English translation: The Brass Serpent, Somebody Like You, T. Carmi and Dan Pagis: Selected Poems, and At the Stone of Losses. His work has also been translated into other languages, among them French and German. He also translated several well-known plays into Hebrew, including A Midsummer Night's Dream, Measure for Measure, Hamlet, Othello, and Cyrano de Bergerac. T. Carmi died in Jerusalem in 1994.
3. Omitted.
4. Preface This anthology spans the full range of Hebrew poetry, from the Bible to contemporary Israeli writing. To the best of my knowledge, it is the first such collection in English. More surprisingly, it is also the first comprehensive selection in Hebrew. This strange state of affairs is partially explained by the fact that the texts representing the first thousand years of post-biblical poetry came to light only at the turn of the century. Many of the major poets are not yet available in collected or critical editions. Scholars are still engaged in the arduous task of processing thousands of manuscripts from the hoard of the Cairo Genizah. No one can predict how much of this will prove to be of literary interest or how it will affect our overall view of the development of Hebrew poetry. Unknown poems, and even poets, are constantly being retreived from the vast storehouse of undeciphered manuscripts. A comprehensive anthology of Hebrew poetry is, therefore, in the nature of a draft which should be revised periodically as new material is presented to the reader.
5. There are, to be sure, Hebrew editions of individual authors, especially from the Andalusian period onwards, and collections which encompass a specific age or geographic area. No student of Hebrew poetry can fail to be indebted to the monumental compilations of J. Schirmann: Hebrew Poetry in Spain and Provence (Jerusalem-Tel Aviv, 1956) and Anthology of Hebrew Poetry in Italy (Berlin, 1934). The innovative publications of H. Brody, M. Zulay and E. Fleisher have radically changed the picture of medieval Hebrew poetry. The collections of D. Yellin, A.M. Habermann, S. Mirsky, D. Yarden, and others have acquainted us with a large variety of previously unknown texts.
6. In compiling this selection I have, of course, drawn on these, and many other, standard sources. However, the desire to present a comprehensive anthology obliged me to track down a multitude of scholarly publications in out-of-the-way journals and Festschriften, rare editions that have not been reprinted for centures, and liturgical collections from all over the world which have never been ransacked for their poetic gems. As a result, this volume includes many poems which have never been previously anthologized or even published in critical editions; poems which have never been dislodged from their original setting in a local liturgical rite; and even poems (e.g., some of the Hekhalot hymn) which have never been printed as poetry, but, strange as it may seem, are printed as prose in the few editions in which they are to be found. Early in the work of the compilation - I should add that, except in rare cases, I have limited myself to printed sources - I realized that I must give chance a chance to proffer its unexpected gifts. Such a moment of delight was the 'discovery' of the unusual 'Death of Moses Sequence' in an Italian rite (Bologne, 1538). The poems were clearly lying in wait for me and testing my patience and persistence.
7. Although I have attempted a systematic review of the corpus of Hebrew poetry, I am fully aware of the extent to which such an endeavour exceeds the capabilities of a single person. Suffice it to mention that I. Davidson's classic Thesaurus of Mediaeval Hebrew Poetry (New York, 1924-33) lists about thirty-five thousand poems from printed sources, and since the index was printed, thousands of additional poems have been published. Ideally, the preparation of a comprehensive anthology should be undertaken by a team of experts. Professor Schirmann has pointed out that the study of Hebrew poetry demands a knowledge of many subsidiary subjects, such as history, bibliography, palaeography, linguistics and liturgy. The full comprehension of Hebrew texts occasionally necessitates their comparison with texts written in other languages...The research into their origins entails a knowledge of several languages (e.g., Aramaic, Syriac, Byzantine Greek, Latin , Arabic, Spanish, Italian and Provencal) and the closer we approach our own time, the more languages are required.
8. Obviously, poems culled from such a wide variety of sources have presented serious textual problems. Many of the editions are corrupt, the readings are often suspect and the meanings obscure. I would not have been able to cope with these problems withouth the help of the many scholars I consulted over the years. I am especially indebted to Professor Gershom G. Schloem for having placed his unpublished version of the Hekhalot hymns at my disposal; and to Professor Ezra Fleischer for his elucidations of many textual difficulties. Professor M. Greenberg, Dr. J. Licht, Professor Y. Ben Shlomo, Professor H. Blanc, Dr I. Gruenwald and Professor Y. Ratzaby all gave me valuable advice in their respective fields. Other acknowledgements are noted in the Table of Poems; but even a partial list of my benefactors would turn this preface into a 'Scroll of Thanksgiving.' I am, of course, solely responsible for all sins of omission and commission. 'Who can be aware of errors? Cleanse me from mu unknown faults...' (Psalms 19.13).
9. The notes to the biblical translations in this anthology are far from exhaustive. They are meant to indicate to the reader the surprising range of plausible interpretations advanced by authoritative biblical studies. My brief foray into the enchanting maze of biblical scholarship has convinced me of the truth of Professor Greenberg's conclusion: 'The beginning of wisdom in biblical study is the realization that the Bible is an exotic book about which modern readers understand very little."
10. I have not included any poems in order to 'represent' a specific school of poetry, although I have attempted to offer as varied a selection as possible and to draw attention to lesser known centres, such as Yemen, Turkey and North Africa.
11. Mr Stephen Mitchell reviewed the entire English manuscript with a 'cold eye'; I could not wish for a finer blend of critical severity and warm sympathy. Mr Dom Moraes edited some of my earliest drafts and, in fact, initiated the project by suggesting it to Penguin Books in 1963. Mr Hans Schmoller and Mr Nikos Stangos, formerly of Penguin, and Mr William Sulkin, the present peotry editor, have been unfailingly helpful and encouraging. To Dr Moshe Spitzer I am indebted for invaluable typographical, as well as scholarly, guidance. My deepest thanks are due to the Librarian and staff of the Schocken Institute, Jerusalem, and of the Oriental Reading Room of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, for their cooperation.
12. Cultural diffusion with Palestine has affected Hebrew poetry.
13. Hebrew poetry was written in Italy and Spain.
14. Sa'adiah...paved the way for the introduction of philosophical themes into sacred poetry.
15. At the end of the ninth centurty Hebrew poetry made its first appearance on European soil, in southern Italy. The early Italian school was an offshoot of Palestine, and produced a distinctive synthesis of Palestinian (classical) and late Eastern elements. Germany, under the direct influence of Italy, produced its first major poet, Simeon the Great, in the tenth century. Here again, the Palestinian-Babylonian blend is clearly discernible.
16. It was only with Hayim Nahman Bialik (1873-1934) that Hebrew recovered from its stroke of amnesia, began to rediscover important chapters of its long history, and found its modern voice...Under the influence of Yiddish, Russian and German, the syllabic system was discarded in favour of the tonic-syllabic or accentual system. This change was effected mainly by Bialik, the acknowledged leader of the Odessa circle...Bialik had the distinction of providing Hebrew poetry with a new idion which fused together the various strate of the language. The result in Haskalah poetry was a mosaic technique, a patchwork quilt of involuntary quotations and allusions that stifled the individual voice.
17. Songs of everyday life: vestiges of work songs; watchman's songs; drinking songs; elaborate taunt songs; love songs; war and victory songs; and personal or collective dirges. Early Israelite poetry was sung to the accompaniment of music and choral dancing.
18. 'I shall sing to the Lord' Exodus 15. 1b-18. 'The Song of the Sea,' which celebrates the crucial event in Israel's history, is a hymn, incorporating elements of the victory song and thanksgiving song.
19. 'For the warriors, in Israel' Judges 5.1-31. 'The Song of Deborah', noted for its dramatic vitality and rapid contrasts, is a religious victory song with a hymn-like beginning and conclusion, and motifs borrowed from taunt songs.
20. 'There is a source for silver' Job 28 - a wisdom poem with a characteristic refrain, was composed as an independent lyrical unit.
21. 'Return, return, O Shulammite' Song of Songs 7.1-10 - On the eve of her wedding the bride performs a sword dance to the rhythm of a descriptive song (known in Arabic as the wasf) that celebrates her beauty and her adornments.
22. The Talmud, a vast corpus of law, commentaries and legends, took shape in Palestine and Babylonia over a period of almost five centuries. It occasionally contains short poems: prayers designed for synagogal use, private devotions, elegies, and random snatches of popular verse. The personal prayers are often distinguished by great simplicity of diction and structure; the elegies, however, are highly stylized and because of their frequent use of epithets can sound like riddles. But both genres trstify to a growing freedom from biblical models and to the evolution of new styles, under the impact of rabbinic Hebrew.
1. Eleazar Ben Kallir or Killir - the outstanding representative of the classical piyut, probably lived in Palestine before the Arab conquest. Though his poems have figured prominently in printed rituals, and hundreds more have come to light in manuscript collections, his biography remains one of the great mysteries of Hebrew literary history. His radical innovations in the diction, style, and structure of the piyut had a great influence on the poets who succeeded him in Palestine and in other lands of the Near East and Europe. The 'Kallir style' involves a highly allusive use of language, packed with references to written and oral traditions. The 'Kallir style' was severely criticized in the twelfth century by Abraham ibn Ezra for having corrupted 'classical' (i.e., biblical) Hebrew and for being unduly obscure and esoteric. But Kallir - like other great innovators of the classical and late Eastern periods -- was also capable of writing simple and direct poetry, both lyrical and dramatic, as some of the selections demonstrate.
2. Sa'adiah Gaon - the father of medieval Jewish philosophy, was born in the Faiyum district in Egypt. From 928, except for a period of conflict with the exilarch, he held the post of gaon ('eminence') of the Academy of Sura in Babylonia (Iraq). A bold innovator in many areas, he translated the Bible into Arabic (which had replaced Aramaic as the principle language spoken by the Jews); edited the first 'scientific' prayer-book; and compiled the first comprehensive Hebrew dictionary, including a rhyming dictionary for the use of poets. He was the first to wed Hebrew poetry and philosophy...
3. Joseph Albardani - was chief hazan in the Great Synagogue of Baghdad, and was succeeded in this post by his son and grandson. The following poem, attributed to Albardini, is based on a Midrashic elaboration of the episode in Exodus 14.
4. Simeon Ben Isaac - a native of Mainz, was the outstanding synagogal poet of Ashkenazi Jewry. His distinctive style clearly reflects the influence of the Palestinian classical school, or merkava mysticism, and of his older contemporary, Moses ben Kalonymus. In several of his piyutim, he introduced his son's name in the acrostic. A venerated Talmudic authority, he became the hero of many folk legends. One tradition has it that his son embraced Christianity and rose to the rank of Pope. When Simeon the Great went to Rome to plead his people's cause, he played chess with the Pope and, by the style of his game, recognized him as his son.
5. Poems from the Dead Sea Scrolls
6. The Mystery to Come A poem which suggests that what will happen in our life is a mystery. "...and they do not know the mystery to come; they have not brooded over the past; they do not know what will befall them; they have not saved their lives from the mystery to come."
7. Anonymous - The Death of Moses Sequence "How then shall I die? How then shall I die? I sinfully answered: 'I am slow of speech,' and angered You who give man speech - if this is my crime, blot it out and do not call it to mind!"
8. Wine, by Samuel Hanagid - Wine in the cup looks like a normal liquid, but remember that it can be a dangerous substance when it is consumed. "When it is in the bowls, it is feeble; but once it goes to the head, it holds sway over swaying heads."
9. The Jasmine, by Samuel Hanagid - A poem praising jasmine.
10. Wine Song For Spring, by Moses Ibn Ezra "Give me the cup that will enthrone my joy and banish sorrow from my heart. Drink all day long, until the day wanes and the sun coats its silver with gold; and all night long, until the night flees like a Moor, while the hand of dawn grips its heel."
11. If you're lame, and have trouble walking, but you can still get from Point A to Point B, then you should not be discriminated against in the workplace or in public. --Penguin Hebrew Verse, T. Carmi
The Innkeeper's Love Song, Immanuel Francis
1. There may be times in our lives when things happen that we don't understand. To His Gadabout Wife, Immanuel Frances
2. Try to lead a simple, instead of complex life. The Doctor who Fell Prey to Love, Ephraim Luzzato
3. A beautiful girl, very much in love, came to the doctor's house, seeking a cure. These many days, she said, her soul had been in pain and even at night peace had eluded her.
4. Now, as this queenly girl stood beside him, he put his hand out to discover if she had a fever. And, suddenly, a flame was kindled in his heart. He, too, fell in love, and into the pit.
5. The gentleman was overcome and dumbstruck, until the patient again spoke up discreetly: 'Please, sir, is there no cure for my complaint?'
6. Then he: 'O my dearest, do not hold back! You dress my wound, for this once - I am not the doctor, but the patient.'
5. Due to the weather, our days may be difficult during the winter time. --From the Winter Songs, Hayim Nahman Bialik
A Twig Alighted, Hayim Nahman Bialik
6. Illustrates the cycle of a man's experience in a land.
7. The eagle loves to fly free. --Eagle! Eagle Over Your Mountains, Saul Tchernikhovsky
8. Three asses trudge down the road, three asses plodding from Beersheba to Dan: one brown, one black, one white. --Three Asses, Saul Tchernikhovsky
9. The bubonic plague, known as the Black Death, which devastated much of Europe in the middle of the fourteenth century, was not widespread in the ghettos. The Jews were accused of having poisoned waters and some 300 communities were destroyed. In several cities, the Jews set fire to their own houses and died in the flames.
The Shulammite, Jacob Fichman
10. You are the Shulammite. A bird forgotten in a vineyard; a heart that flowered in a desolate land. And, lost among the spicebearing mountains, heartsick, you seek your lover.
11. Are you so overwrought because your brothers shamed you? So hurt because the shephers sneered at you? You only, with your innocent charm, like a sword, split the heart of the world. You are loved.
Like Two Beasts of Prey, Jacob Steinberg
12. Like two beasts of prey, lost in the night and stricken by thirst, who had scurried about, panting for the vapour of sweet waters, then dropped beside the banks of a soundless pool...
13. ...and overhearing something in the darkness, desperate and wary in the same breath, they only let their tongues gently lick the edges of the still waves, for an instant, then stop...
14. Not an Enclosed Garden, Jacob Steinberg
Don't be Afraid, David Vogel
15. Don't be afraid, my child, those are only two mice, jumping down form the table to the chair. They are smaller than you and couldn't gobble you up. Don't be afraid, my child, that's only the rain's finger tapping wetly on the window. We won't let it in.
16. Hide deep inside me, I am your mother. We'll pull the dark night over our heads and no one will find us.
My Childhood Cities
17. My childhood cities, by now I've forgotten them all, and you in one of them.
You still dance for me in a puddle of rainwater - but surely you're already dead.
How quickly I galloped out of my distant childhood, until I reached the white palace of old age, and found it wide and empty.
I can no longer see my road's beginning; I cannot see you or the self that I was.
The caravan of days, from afar, will move on its way, from nothingness to nothingness, without me.
The Moon-Poet, Joseph Jedidiah Carmi
1. ...look down from heaven and behold: the moon which you set in place and then looked kindly upon -- how its face has turned blacker than soot, and its harp has been tuned to a dirge
2. What more can I say, my Rock, since my moon has turned into a moan, my globe into a glob, my crescent to putrescence. But Yours is the right of redemption.
Song for the Minor Day of Atonement, Judah Aryeh Modena
3. On this day, may the weight of all my sins dwindle to nothing like the crescent moon. Today, may the sum of my merits alone grow and bud and blosom.
Oh, I am aware of my insolent heart, my threads of wrong and my web of wickedness...And through your great love, my King, you will arise and have mercy on our holy Zion.
4. Rise up, dispatch urgent couriers to your hell, and issue an edict to all the provinces of your kingdom, commanding them to buy tar, kerosene, brimstone, and logs in plenty.
5. Scorch him with flames, and do not lose heart when you recall that, only yesterday, he filled the depth of your abyss with souls. --Jacob Frances
The Triumph of Wine, Jacob Frances
6. My friends, let us sing, in honour of these two lovers, drunk with wine.
7. Let our praise and acclaim go to the choice wine which has no dregs at all.
8. Then let me sing lustily: Long live wine! It has triumphed over love. It is worthy of awe and praise. It works wonders!
The Lover Recants, Jacob Frances
9. Friends, let me praise the goodness of my sleep, for in a dream it showed me my beloved. Truly, my mistress showered me with goodness, when, with this vision, she brought me back to life. But when I am awake, she does nothing but wear me out. If only I could sleep and never wake!
10. May my dream return and make me dream again. Then I shall call her slumber 'my queen' for it is she who gives me life and heals me(11).
11. A play on the root halom, which means both 'to dream' and 'to heal'.
For His Brother's Marriage, Jacob Frances
12. Leave off, you poetasters, leave off your singing! Pooh, pooh to you pooh and a thousand poohs!
Enough! You have already broken my head with your empty rhetoric. When you hear my words, words coated with gold, you will take a rope and hang yourselves out of envy.
13. Then you will concede that your wit and I are beyond compare. Even my shoe knows more than all of you put together.
14. Let me now proclaim that this lover is, in all things, a real man: his face is like a sun untouched by eclipse; he is God-fearing and devout, and for the sake of a good deed would grow wings and fly as far as Calicut(15). He is wise beyond the wisest, and his mind -- but, mark you, not out of emptiness -- has given itself to poetry. In short: he is the father of all insight, a good man, a mild man, a man worth his weight in gold.
15. His bride is a beautiful woman, but she is also difficult to please.
16. The artist painted a perfect painting of a beautiful woman, and when the woman saw it, she said, "What is this crap?" Then she ripped the portrait to shreds, threw it away and walked off.
17. The prince kissed sleeping beauty to wake her, and then she woke up. When she woke up and saw the prince, she asked him "Why did you do that? I didn't ask to be woken up, because I was getting some good beauty sleep."
18. Lose Your Temper, and You Lose Your Bet by Italo Calvino, is an Italian folktale about two brothers who play a game. They work together, and tell each other stories, and whoever gets mad first loses the game.
Sabbath Song
1. Old and grey as I am, I hurry forth on Friday, filled with love, to meet the Sabbath. My joy approaches, my grief disappears and I sing out: 'Welcome!'
For love of this day, I purify my soul, I bless the Lord. I leap and dance, 'Yes, this is it! A foretaste of the world to come!'
Make the words of the seers come true, my God. Hasten the advent of King, Priest, and Prophet. Then, rearing up like lions, we shall go up to Zion and build the Temple, majestic in splendour.
2. The Star, Anonymous - The comforting star is sent by the friend who has gone on a voyage. The comforting star looked down and shone into his room, when he was sad...star-light touched his face and brought him joy. Knowing that he was sick at heart, the star sent him this balm of kindness to help him.
May God send the friend blessings all the days of his life, and may his light shine forever. May He guide him, in abundant peace, to his desired haven, and may he flourish like a palm-tree.
3. Let God do the job of God, and let man do the job of man. --You and I, Anonymous
4. ...Do not let the evil spirit incite you, let him not encroach on your domain.
5. Now leave the pit of exile(6), spurn the screech owl and the fisher owl(7).
6. Lit. Be'er-Sheva, 'the well (pit) of seven (countries) into which the world was divided.
7. 'Unclean' birds, representing foreign cultures.
8. Set aside a tithe as holy to the Lord, and give the priest his gift of dough before you eat the bread.
9. My soul longs for the candle and the fragrant spices; won't you pour me a cup of wine for havdalah(10)?
10. The ceremony, employing a cadle, spices, and wine, which marks the end of the Sabbath. --Song for Havdalah, Sa'adiah
A Wedding Song, Shalem Shabazi
11. The wise and pure of heart are assured of a good name, for they firmly rule their passions. Their desire to do good prevails. They will go up to the Garden of Eden and inherit everlasting life. All the love in my soul surges to the goodness of God. Blessed is He who rewards each and every workman! May peace flow over my flock like a river, over old and young, over all the little children.
12. Refers to 'the terrible one,' an epithet for Daughter-Zion.
The Seal, Shalem Shabazi
13. His mother brought her lips to his face, and kissed him.
14. Once, she kissed him until he almost fainted, and and then apologized for this.
15. She said, "Son, I love you very much; more than the sun and the moon and the stars."
16. Away, you foreigners, leave my land, flee before the sword that breaks vengeance...The angels will break into songs of praise as the lovely daughter hymns his glories. Kings and rulers will be devastated by divine judgement and smitten bt the right hand of the Lord.
17. As they were when Israel marched through the desert (e.g. Numbers 2.2).
18. The Garden of Nut Trees - An epithet for the Land of Israel.
19. May peace be yours, my soul, and a long life of piety, singing psalms of joy. Now, in my dream, I kiss the faces of my elect companions with the letters of my song. These shall be for us like a seal [of friendship].
1. It is wrong to wage war on an entire people, based on the acts of only a few individuals. --The Famine in Jerusalem, Israel Najara
2. It is important for the people of the famine in Jerusalem to remain optimistic and keep hope alive.
3. Sleep deserts my eyes and I toss like a ship in the sea of my yearning for You as I imagine these things....I would long to serve you, I would never choose freedom. --If I Were, Israel Najara
4. What have the the righteous been doing? Have you been awaiting my return? --God's Beloved, Anonymous
The Seduction of Shalom
5. You will sleep upon the bed which I have perfumed with burning sticks of myrrh. I have sprinkled the choicest spices on the bed of my beloved Shalom.
6. Do not be afraid of me, for I am of noble lineage. My father was a prince in days gone by. Know this and you will understand, Shalom.
7. This girl shines with a brightness like the sun's.
8. Come, my friend, let us drink together. Let me have my fill of fresh wine.
9. “I’m 6’2, 220 pounds, and I’m Italian. I’m trying to be a nice guy, but it’s kind of hard to do this under the present circumstances."
10. “Now be a good boy and make your bed and do your homework and say your prayers…you don’t want to be a bad boy because then you’ll have a lot of problems."
11. "I can claim family ancestry dating back to the Prophet Muhammad."


The Arabian Nights, Penguin Classics
1. Introduction - The first book to be written with this content was the book Hazar Afsan, which means ‘A Thousand Stories’. The basis for this was that one of their kings used to marry a woman, spend a night with her and kill her the next day.
2. In their originating habitat, the stories were basically meant as entertainments for coffeehouse audiences and urban communities at a time when storytelling was a central entertainment.
3. It is understandable that European neoclassicists rejected writing that did not correspond to their standards of composition, but their disdain did not keep the tales from becoming popular, given their appeal to perennial sentiments and human needs. Writers and poets in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe and America received the tales with joy and admiration. There were, for example, the enthusiastic responses of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Herman Melville in America, and of Samuel Johnson, Horace Walpole, William Beckford, Samuel T. Coleridge, William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, John Keats, Charles Dickens, George Elliot, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and George Meredith in Britain.
4. The Arabian Nights include elements of criticism, history, philosophy, comedy and more.
5. These tales, according to critic William E. A. Axon, came at a time when the European reading public was sick “of sham classical romances of interminable and portentous unreality.”
6. Indeed, while some tales in the Arabian Nights are realistic, others operate by means of magical machinery and supernatural agency. The natural and the supernatural fuse in many tales, something that appealed not only to the Romantics but also to their late-nineteenth-century descendants. Les Mille et une nuits, contes arabes, in its first translation in French and then in English, was next to the Bible in popularity among readers in England, France, and other countries. In 1889 C. H. Toy wrote for the Atlantic Monthly on the vogue of the tales in France. He emphasized their Oriental garb, their charming sentiments, the mystery they conveyed of a “strange life,” and their delicacy of humor.
7. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, for Longman’s Magazine that the collection was “more generally loved than Shakespeare,” for it “captivates in childhood, and still delights in age.”
8. In other words, knowledge becomes power when it is exercised; Scheherazade resorts to storytelling and suspense to captivate the Sultan, keeping him thereby from further brutality.
9. Arose during a time when unremarkable literature was being written.
10. Warnings increase curiosity, and may interfere with clear thinking, for the propensity to satisfy one’s curiosity can be more powerful than contravening considerations of comfort and security. In “The History of the Third Calender, the Son of a King,” the third calender is told: “Friend, sit down upon the carpet in the centre of this room, and seek not to know anything that regards us, nor the reason why we are all blind of the right eye”
11. Oaths and promises are effective narrative devices, too; to breach them is to invite consequences. In “The History of the Greek King and Douban the Physician,” the physician who cures the King is promised wealth but instead receives death at the hands of the King (p. 34). For breaking his promise, the King himself suffers death. The same happens to the genie rescued by the fisherman in “The Story of the Merchant and the Genie”: He is imprisoned in the sealed jar again, and not released until he vows to serve the fisherman.
12. Finally, the Arabian Nights narrative celebrates the art of storytelling by celebrating itself: To tell a good story is to put yourself in the way of great rewards. The ransom motive (especially in this edition’s part two, the ransom frame) is central to Scheherazade’s initiative.9 Believing in her art, she not only encourages the Sultan to let her survive as queen and live happily ever after but also saves other women and influences a new social order of merits and punishments.
13. To the non-Arabist their world is out of space, out of time.
14. Influenced artists such as John Keats and Samuel Taylor Coleridge
15. The pleasure gotten by both poets and the common reader from the Arabian Nights should be seen, too, in relation to a growing Orientalism that fed the colonial desire for lands and riches. More than any other book, the tales became for eighteenth- and nineteenth-century readers an unparalleled repository for images of the Orient (that is, the present Middle East) as sensuous, luxurious, rich, dormant and exotic.
16. In the tales the supernatural has a religious explanation, for the jinn (genies) are recognized in the Qur’an. Third, there are human concerns that relate to love, beauty, women, jealousy, travel, geography, business, social mobility, and culture; a feeling for these themes shapes the tales as a whole and give a reader the sense that the unifying subject matter is something immutably human.
17. There is always an association between love and beauty, for beauty in itself can arouse the lover; music and singing—the more beautiful the better—are often part of courtship.
18. But love can lead to death, for separation from one’s partner drives a lover to languish in agony, an issue that always appealed to the Romantics. The topic drew the attention of many, including George Meredith, as it brought something new to the concept of love.
19. All the tales of Iraqi origin treat wine in a very free manner; Abu Hanifa’s advice is to drink in moderation to avoid intoxication.
20. Genie (Jinn). Demons are among the spirits that populate the universe, as mentioned in the Qur’an. In the tales, these powerful creatures can be subdued through human intelligence, by other supernatural beings, or by caliphs, in their role as vicars of God. In the Qur’an genies belong to another world, but they are part of this universe, too. Only Solomon has been endowed with control over the world of the genies; those who disobey Solomon are punished, usually by imprisonment in a sealed jar. Among genies there are believers and unbelievers; the Koran (Qur’an) divides them as such, exactly as it does human beings.
21. In The Story of the Three Calenders, Sons of Kings, and of Five Ladies of Bagdad, a man got intoxicated and then his friends sent him on a 21. In The Story of the Three Calenders, Sons of Kings, and of Five Ladies of Bagdad, a man got intoxicated and then his friends sent him on a mission to go get things from the store.
22. He got into trouble when he went out, since he was drunk. The moral of the story is be careful when drinking.
1. In The Arabian Nights tale the Three Calendars, Sons of Kings, there is a government official who gets drunk and then tries to pass laws. This injures one honest man, who is then saved by an honest politician.
2. “You are not allowed in the castle, because you are uncircumcised and eat fish.” —The Arabian Nights
3. “This rebellious vizier had conceived a strong hatred against me, and had for a long time cherished it. The cause of his hostility was as follows: When I was very young, I was fond of shooting with a cross-bow. One day I carried my weapon to the upper part of the palace, and amused myself with it on the terrace. A bird happened to fly up before me; I shot at it, but missed; and the arrow, by chance, struck the vizier on the eye, and destroyed the sight, as he was taking the air on the terrace of his own house." As a result of this, he has been trying to prosecute and jail me ever since.
4. “Read commentary about the Koran.”
5. “Write in script as an excellent alternative to print. Use them both to show off your handwriting skills.”
6. “I met the king, who made me swear an oath of secrecy, made me swear that I would never tell anyone his secret.”
7. “As I spoke, the count could tell that I was lying, that I had something to hide.”
8. “Many biblical peoples had to undergo the covenant of circumcision.”
1. When a woman wants something, nothing can get the better of her."
2. What is a cause for wonder is a man, Whom women have not trapped by their allure."
3. "Shahrazad had read books and histories, accounts of past kings and stories of earlier peoples, having collected, it was said, a thousand columes of these, covering peoples, kings and poets."
4. "You must know, my daughter, that a certain merchant had both wealth and animals and had been given by Almighty God a knowledge of the languages of beasts and birds."
5. "Time passes slowly sometimes."
6. "You think your life is bad now, well you could have it worse."
7. The old man owned a gazelle, which he had on a leash. The gazelle used to be his sister, but was trapped in the gazelle's animal body by a magic spell. The gazelle can speak to the man.
8. The old man also owned two Salukis (dogs). The two dogs used to be his brothers, and were also trapped in their animal bodies by a sorcerer. The dogs can also speak to the old man.
9. A good idea for a movie is to have animals who talk.
10. "The evil-doer's own deeds are punishment enough for him."
11. Omitted.
12. "I wandered into a butcher shop, where one of the butcher's daughters sprinkled some water over my head, said some magic words, and I then returned to human form."
11. A poor old fisherman is out one morning casting his net to catch fish. He casts the net several times unsuccessfully, bringing in worthless fish, mud, wood pieces. After several hours of this, he casts his net, and in it he retrieves a bottle, an ancient bottle with text inscribed on it indicating that it belongs to Solomon, son of David. After examining the bottle for some time, a genie appears.
12. At first, the old fisherman is scared of the powerful genie, but then the two men begin to speak.
13. The genie explains his past, that he was the son of David, a warrior enmeshed in a holy war. A magician trapped him inside the bottle, and this was his state, for four hundred years, until now.
14. Omitted.
15. The genie will now grant the fisherman three wishes.
16. Briefly refers to the mamluks, slave warriors.
1. "Muslims are required to pray five times a day."
2. There is an Egyptian term that refers to the patterns of sexual intercourse, or the patterns people go through when they're having sex.
3. "I met a woman, who I befriended and we spent a great deal of time together. We enjoyed ourselves. The woman told me, however, that she was ill. Soon afterwards, she died, and after I saw to it that she was properly laid to rest, a clerk came to me and informed me that the woman had left me a great deal of money. I became rich overnight."
4. "I met a beautiful woman who also had the sweetest voice. We spent a good deal of time together. Unfortunately, she swindled me and took a great deal of money from me."
1. "On a business trip to Cairo, I met a girl, and we hung out. We got drunk on several nights. It was a great deal of fun."
2. I met her friend, another girl. We hung out too, and one night I even fed her mouthfuls of food. We fell asleep, and when I woke up, this second girl was dead. The first girl, who had learned of evil ways from the Egyptians, killed the second girl in the night and absconded.
3. I was scared, so I buried the girl and left the house. I was questioned by the authorities, who beat me, and eventually, because I was scared, I confessed to the murder, plead guilty, and spent a great deal of time in jail.
4. A kind governor intervened, and talked with me. I told him my story and that I was innocent. He freed me. For my courage and suffering, he also made me the mayor of a nearby village.
5-6. Omitted.
7. "The old woman said: 'You have plenty of time, so why not go to the baths and have your hair cut, especially after your illness? That would restore you.' 'A good idea,' I said." After having my head shaved, and being sprinkled with oils, I felt better, and it was the first time that I viewed the barber as being a "holistic barber," a barber who is also an astrologer, a chemist, an expert in philology, rhetoric, logic, religious law, the traditions of the Prophet and the interpretation of the Quran."
9. Muslims use perfumed oils for the body.
10. "There is also a proverb: 'Whoever has no elder to help him will not himself be an elder.'
11. "Master, haste comes from the devil and patience from the Merciful God. Act slowly and not with haste in what you want."
12. "Crafts are like necklaces, and here this barber Is like the pearl hung on a necklace string, Standing above all men of wisdom, While under his hand are the heads of kings."
13. He prayed when the sun rose.
14. "Rather, I would like to know the time exactly, for guesswork leads to shame."
15. "You're trying to deceive me so that you can go alone and involve yourself in a disaster from which you won't be able to escape."
1. Omitted.
2. He was stopped in the street by a man. "I was carrying a quantity of gold in readiness for a day or a crisis like this. So I began to scatter it among the people to distract their attention, which it did, as they picked it up. Then I started to make my way throught the lanes of Baghdad, with this man on my heels."
3. "You wanted to go by yourself, but I don't hold your folly against you, as you are an impatient young man of limited intelligence." You should try to increase your intelligence.
4. There was a governor. This governor loved the poor and unfortunate and would sit with men of learning and virtue.
5. "All this, my friends, was caused by my sense of chivalry and the fact that, as a man of few words, I kept silence and did not allow myself to speak."
8. “When you’re with a friend, and you two are getting along well, that’s what friendship is all about, that's success.”
1. "Don't grind or clench your teeth together."
2. "The government does not allow you to earn more money than can buy you food, shelter, and other basic necessities."
3. "Watch out, or they'll play another trick on you."
4. "He is a man of few words, not loquacious."
5. "All the maids stood up and their mistresses told them to perfume my brother and sprinkle rosewater on his face."
6. "Whoever disobeys me, I expel, but whoever endures reaches his goal."
7. "She is going to pluck out your moustache. Plucking out a moustache is a painful business, so do not disobey the old woman."
Night 32
8. Omitted.
9. "I took him back into the city secretly and, I gave him an allowance for food and drink."
10. "The caliph laughed at the story and ordered that I should be given a reward and allowed to leave..."
11. "Citizens are under an unwritten contract with their governments."
12. "The man laughed until he fell over, and then spoke."
13. "I ask you in God's Name to listen to what I have to say and not to judge me hastily."
14. Omitted.
15. "I shall enter the city, with my mamluks behind and in front of me, as well as to my right and left. It will be a grand scene."
16. "If he addresses me in ten words, I shall reply in two."
17. "When they bring her, I shall again look down towards the ground and I shall continue in this way until the ceremony is complete."
18. "People who get rich, sometimes do not adequately compensate the people who helped them earn their riches."
19. "He is a bearded man with a young face."
20. "Eat this delicious white bread, plain bread."
21. “He pretended to be drunk, and then left the house.”
22. His captor said, “Buy your life from me with cash, or else I’ll kill you.”

1. "Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what he had been allowed to say."
2. "I have heard, that the king of China said: 'Fetch me the barber, for he is the reason why I am letting you all go free.'"
3. "He looked at the dead man's face and then laughed until he fell over backwards. 'Every death is a wonder,' he said, 'but the death of this man deserves to be written in letters of gold.'"
4. "He passed a hand over his face and said: 'I bear witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Apostle of God.'"
5. There was a leader who loved the poor, the beggars and all his subjects, distributing his wealth to those who believed in Muhammad -- may God bless him and give him peace."
6. "...for she has studied calligraphy, grammar, philology, Quranic interpretation, the foundations of jurisprudence, religion, medicine, precise calculation and how to play musical instruments."
7. The beautiful young woman, the man's wife, in the end, reverted to her true form, and turned into an old woman, as a result of a magic spell wearing off.
8. Speak for quality, not quantity.
9. "He meets a man who has the power to restore people back to life, he has the magical ability to bring the dead back to life."
10. Omitted.
11. Aladdin is a movie/play that people should watch, while examining the presence of Middle Eastern and Arabic influence within it.
12. The man’s wife, the beautiful woman turns into an old woman, his expensive house also turns into a shack, his money becomes lost, he turns out ruined as a result of the spell wearing off. These elements are similar to those contained in Cinderella.
13. "Some of us are born into negative paths in life."
15. Omitted.
16. “He drinks for a time and then falls asleep, leaving me on my own…”

1. "Many people are born of pure race."
2. "Thirty days have now passed, during which I have not tasted sleep."
Night 39
3. During the night, they had brought candles and lamps.
4. During the night, when he was outside, he saw two men, one carrying a lantern, and one carrying a chest.
5. The man who died, "was a man of importance."
2. "He enjoyed eating dried fruits."
3. "Time waits for no man. No matter what man does, time of the earth passes."
4. "On seeing that he was hungry, they brought him a bowl of honey and two loaves of bread."
5. "The day will come when Lord God will be the judge, and his angels will be the witnesses."
6. "We love the poor and needy because it is our Christian duty to do so."
7. "Although his body was weak, when he saw the man, his spirit returned."
8. "The caliph gave orders that the history of the town from beginning to end should be written down and placed in the treasury, so that future generations might read it."
9. "Things went on like this until she reached the term of her pregnancy and sat on the birthing chair."
10. "She had hoped for a virtuous son and an easy labor, and received these."

11. He gave instructions that she was to bring the children up with a good education.
12. The people of Baghdad are extremely delighted at the birth of twins.
13. The caliph of Baghdad knew the king of Greece, the ruler of Macedonia, the leader of Christendom, and other leaders. These leaders brought the caliph gifts on special occasions.
14. "Read Arabic literature."
15. "Listen to Arabic music."
16. "When the lovely girl commits a single fault, for her beauty she is forgiven."
17. "You are covered by my protection, and so you can set your mind at rest. Should anyone wish you harm, they could only reach you after I had lost my life in your defense."
18. "Don't do too much of one thing: don't stay in bed for too long, don't watch too much tv, don't study one thing too much, enjoy the variety of life."
19. "In the evenings, read for one hour."
21. They discuss the poet Jamil Buthaina. Then he recited Jamil's lines: ...And all their victims die a martyr's death. When I tell her my love is killing me, She answers: 'Stand firm and it will increase.'"
22. Then she recited: "Time is both wrapped away and then spread out, Now an extended line and now a cone."
23. She then indicates that parting is unfortunate, when two friends have to part from each other, or when a person has to part from a pleasant environment.
24. "Masura replied: 'Your anger will not hurt me but your father's anger will.'"
25. "When Sharkan heard this, he said to himself: 'This girl has played a trick on me and has kept me here."
26. "The king is waiting for us to return with this prince, who is the thorn of the army of Islam..."
27. O auspicious king: 'He is one single man and you are a hundred knights. If you want to fight him, go out to meet him one by one, so that the king may see who is the champion among you.'
28. Reminds us of the presence of guerilla warfare.
29. The king wrote a letter to the leader of the other army, stating his demands and terms.
30. You have the winner of a battle by physical, tangible means, and then you have the hero of the battle in terms of pride and respect, who are often two different people. This means that you can "lose" the battle, but still be its hero.

31. "To be given a "decent burial," means to be buried in a traditional Christian way, so as not to have your remains scattered by wild animals, and to have a pastor preside at your funeral." --James Fenimore Cooper
32. In Arabic mythology, certain gems have possessed magical properties.
33. "I'm doing a job, and time is money." --Ivanov, Anton Chekhov
34. "After he got drunk, he lost all his senses and became rather wild."
1. As a result of his hard work and dedication, the king increased his servant's rank, and put him in charge of more people.
2. In the Middle East, during this time, it was common for people to sing songs to themselves if they were alone, and faced with problems.
3. Indicates the presence of electuaries.
4. "In my struggles against the miseries of Time, God has forbidden me many things."
5. "The magic of your eyes has captured hearts."
6. "Fearing for his life, he killed her."
7. The couple eat fruits, fresh and dried, as well as meats.
8. "Fetch me students and then bring the wisest men of the age to teach them philosophy and poetry. The teachers are to talk to them on philosophical and religious subjects. They must show patience and endurance."
9. The group enjoyed drinking different sugary drinks.
11. One girl was very wise, knew the Quran by heart, and had read Aphorisms of Hippocrates; the Mufradat, or the Comprehensive Book on Simple Drugs and Foods; and the Meccan Canon, Avicenna's Canon of Medicine. She also had a great deal of knowledge in other areas.
12. "Expectant mothers should read books about pregnancy."
13. "A good leader has experience and wisdom."
14. "This man, he is kind to his wife, and he spends money liberally on her."

1. Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime.
2. During this time, in Saudi Arabia, it was common for people to ride camels for transportation.
3. "You blame me, I am being blamed, for everything I do."
4. "With a knowledge of the information I've posted about philosophy, now you have knowledge about philosophy."
1. "According to Hasan of Basra, no man's soul leaves this world without regretting three things. The first is that he did not enjoy what he had collected; the second is that he did not achieve what he had hoped for; and the third is that he had not provided himself with sufficient provisions for the journey on which he was embarked."
2. "The caliph said: 'Almighty God sent Muhammad as a blessing to some and a punishment to others.'"
3. The man made a will, and left money to his wife and children.
4. "O king, this girl is the wonder of the age, unique in her time. Never at any time throughout our lives have we heard the likes of this."
5. "About my children...Were it not for visions of them in my dreams, I would not sleep."
1. After getting drunk, he spoke in an incomprehensible tongue, or, he cursed people out.
2. The man also sees invisible men, who he believes talks to him.
3. Describes a “Holy War,” of Christians against Muslims.
4. Recites the words of the poet, who has said, ‘Long hair is of no use except when it streams out, On both sides of the head on the day of battle…’
5. There was a girl, the son of a king, "Unequalled as she was in beauty, she would ride with her father dressed as a man, and no one who saw her would know that she was a girl."
6. The men divided the night into different segments.
7. "The doctor prescribes soup for a bad cold."
1. During the war, the men shouted, "Allahu akbar!"
2. "Jails and prisons should be held accountable when inmates die or get injured in altercations while in their custody. This could involve financial compensation, investigations, prosecution of any guilty parties, and prison reform."
3. "The man was upset, because his friends had played a trick on him."
4. The Great Wave off Kanagawa, or, the Great Wave, by Katsushika Hokusai, is a Japanese artwork that I admire. The painting depicts small boats amid a large sea, with the formidable Mount Fuji in the background, and illustrates man's relationship with nature.
5. "The doctor said, 'Drop everything else, and look after your physical health.'"
1. "In fact, she had told the infidels of the trick she had played."
2. "The woman then told them what had happened in order to spread alarm and fear."
3. "Islam is the religion of the best of mankind."
4. "We camped here and it has water colder than snow." Animals can drink the water from puddles of rain, or melted snow.
5. "We saw a picture on the wall, and it was talking to us."
6. "The infidels had surrounded the Muslims, thinking that they would escape humiliating punishment, and they remained hopeful of success against the followers of the true faith."
7. "He said, 'I am a messenger sent to you all. A messenger's only duty is to deliver his message. Give me safe conduct and permission to speak so that I may deliver mine.' 'You have safe conduct,' said Sharkan, 'so fear neither sword cut nor spear thrust.'"
8. "...God will reward you well, for the reward will be in proportion to the hardship."
9. If the soldiers died, then their families would receive enough money to cover their living expenses and an honorable ceremony.

1. Are tales from the Middle East.
2. Night 107
3. There was a king. "For many years he lived in his kingdom, glorious and secure, but he had neither wife nor child." For this reason he was unhappy.
4. "Buy a slave girl," one of the men says, but be careful, because she comes from a tough background.
5. Night 108
6. There was a king, and while under his rule, his subjects ate well, and his daughter was sent an abundance of gifts and presents.
7. "...My daughter is one of his slave girls, and this is my greatest wish, that she may be my treasure and support."
8. "The celebrations lasted for two months and nothing was omitted that might please the heart or delight the eye."
9. "If they have a child, the child may turn out to be a tyrannical hypocrite and an evil being. She is like a salt marsh, where the seeds that are sown produce bad and weak plants."

10. Night 109
11. "The order was obeyed and a proclamation was made in the city that no girl kept in seclusion, young or old, should stay behind but that they were all to come out to meet the bride."
12. "Days passed and years went by until he was seven years old. The Sulaiman Shah summoned the learned doctors and philosophers and told them to teach his son calligraphy, philosophy and literary culture. They stayed for a number of years doing that until the boy learned all that was needed. Whenever he went out on any business, all who saw him were captivated by him."
13. The prince became a skilled horseman, surpassing all living at his time. Because of his beauty, all who saw him were captivated by him, poems were composed about him and he had many admirers.
14. The prince had a mole on his cheek, and it was thought to be a beautiful mole.
15. "Do not blame him, for blame is hurtful.:
16. "Time did its best with its rough hand."
17. The prince was skilled at hunting, and he often trapped and released many animals, including gazelles.
18. "This year we shall draw up the marriage contract between 'Aziz and 'Aziza."
19. The bride had several gestures each meaning something different.
20. The woman's handwriting was delicate and fine.

21. "Backwards or forwards -- I do not know how love is to be read."
22. Perhaps the old man was under a spell to make him old, and when the spell is broken, he reverts to his youthful form.
23. "I became afraid for myself as I sat there alone, and so I got up, staggering like a drunken man until I got home."
24. Omitted.
25. Because she knew that too much salt is unhealthy, she cooked bland food.
26. "Her grandmother enjoyed it when her granddaughter read the Bible to her."
27. “An education can prepare you for death.” —St. Alphonsus
28. “It is important to have a strong vocabulary.”

1. "Here he gave him a house of his own and supplied him with whatever he needed in the way of food, drink and clothing." This allowance was based on necessity.
2. “Family and friends are positive aspects of being in a relationship.”
3. "A man with a muscular, attractive physique, should have brains to go with it."
4. "With a lamp, you have conquered the night."
5. "Fully wash your feet in the baths at the mosque."
6. "You have come and our hills are clothed in green."
7. Omitted.
8. "The next day, the vizier summoned a house painter, an artist, and a skilled goldsmith, and he produced for them all the tools they would need."

1. "She took a fan and sat by my head, fanning my face until the end of the day."
2. "You who seek for separation, go slowly, Time's nature is treacherous."
3. "She did not express her feelings enough."
4. "A shower can be refreshing."
5. "She was decorated with jewelry, rings, and I stared at her in astonishment."
6. "If a child dies then its parents will be compensated for the loss while in its youth."
7. Standard lamps are useful if you want to do work at night such as reading.
8. “You torture me, but your torture is sweet.”
9. If anyone dies prematurely (not of natural causes), then maybe their death should be investigated and their families should be compensated.

1. Your personality, are you sweet or sour?
2. The claws of a hawk are powerful weapons.
3. On the seas, there is water everywhere, but it is too salty to drink, unfortunately.
4. When he had finished his poem, he told him that he had removed some of his cares.
5. "You can't buy love."
6. "You shouldn't do a thing backwards, and you should do the important things first."
7. "Don't blame others for your mistakes, be a man and take responsibility for your actions."
8. "When he heard that, it brought great relief and joy to him, and allowed him to live a happy life."
9. "The leaders enjoyed talking to the king's son."
10. "When she fainted, he sprinkled water on her face to revive her."

1. “Read the best literature in every culture.”
2. "..after a month, he arrived at al-Ruhba. He then moved on to the outskirts of Baghdad, from where he sent a message to Dau' al-Makan, announcing his arrival."
3. "On his instructions, she was lodged with his son, Kana-ma-Kana, and the two of them grew to be the most intelligent of the people of their age as well as the bravest."
4. "'Do whatever you think right,' replied the vizier to the king, 'for we shall obey your orders.'"
5. The vizier said, "Know that I am leaving the transitory world for the world of eternity."
6. "I shall be the loser in all things, light or serious, If God, my master, does not mend my heart."
7. "The situation of Kana-ma-Kana changed and the Baghdadis deposed him, isolating him and his family."
8. "It is enough for you that death's wonders become plain...
These days are only stages on a journey..."
Nothing so saddens me as the loss of noble men,
Who have been victims of great miseries."
9. "Our house is yours; our place is yours; our wealth is yours, together with all that we have."
10. "His eyes filled with tears and he said: 'If you want to see what the world will be like after you have left it, look at when someone else has gone."
11. "...he told her to be sure that she was given an honorable lodging and her poverty relieved."
12. "A beautiful girl, perfect in loveliness,
Whose eyebrows put to shame the use of kohl."
13. "...when the grand chamberlain became king, he was called al-Malik Sasan. He took his place on the royal throne and treated his subjects well."
14. "It is even more necessary that your daughter be kept away from men, as girls like her should be kept in seclusion."
15. "My heart loves one who has enslaved it;
Look for no grain of patience in me.
16. "Forgive me; in my inmost heart there is a page
For which most clearly tears provide a heading."
17. "I have hear, O fortunate king, that news of this reached King Sasan. It was brought to him by the leading emirs, who told him: 'He is the son of our king, of the stock of King 'Umar ibn al-Nu'man, and we have heard that he has left the country."
18. "This land had drunk from the cups of clouds to the sound of thunder and the cooing of doves."
19. "He replied with gentle eloquence: 'Chief of the Arabs, don't talk of my youth, but tell me how you come to be travelling by night through the desert, reciting poetry."
20. "When we both grew up we were kept away from each other, as my uncle saw that I was poor and penniless. The Arab chiefs and the leaders of the tribes went to see him and criticized him for this. He felt ashamed and he agreed to marry my cousin to me, but only on condition..."

21. "Sabbah replied: 'It may be that you are feeble-witted or the extent of your passion may have driven you out of your mind.'"
22. "My strength has now gone and I am no longer concerned with worldly things."
23. "Sasan was sitting on his throne in a state of perplexity when he heard of his arrival."
24. "'By God,' she said, 'my son, your absence distracted me from everything else, including all thought of your beloved, especially as it was she who was the cause of your exile.'"
25. They complained to each other of the pain of separation.
26. The prince refused to fight a woman.
27. The wild animals of a country belong to the government.
28. “Chivalry dictates that gazelles with young should be released.”
29. Examine the degrees to which anarchy is illegal.

1. "After using drugs, he entered the mosque in a dream state."
2. He meets a woman named Marjana.
3. "Your mother had been converted to Islam by Sharkan, your brother, and he took her off secretly to Baghdad."
4. Tells a story which is the reason for the hostility between the people of Rum and those of Baghdad.
5. The woman talks to the sultan and asks him for help.
6. The kings seek to take vengeance by avenging themselves on Shawahi, the old woman known as Dhat al-Dawahi.
7. "'Uncle,' said Kana-ma-Kana, 'you are the only fitting ruler for this kingdom.'"
8. Throughout the Arabian Nights, are stories which include instances where people are kidnapped.
9. "He kissed her hands and thanked her for what she had done, adding: 'By God, you do not allow good deeds to be wasted.'"
10. "She drew back and the kings said: 'Now tell us a story.' 'Kings of the age, if I tell you a wonderful tale, will you pardon me?' When they agreed to this, he began to tell them of his most remarkable experience."
11. "...but then we saw that it was far too hot for us to start, as not only was the heat oppressive but we were parched with thirst."
12. Omitted.
13. “He used healing lotion for help with his wounds.”
14. Kidnappings were common during these days, and they were not necessarily bad.
15. Omitted.
16. “One of the sultans soldiers was worth a hundred of the other army's fighters.”
17. “When I was a young man, I met a girl, and we spoke. After speaking, we parted and I never saw her again.” —Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
18. "When he had finished, she brought him a jug of wine and, applying himself to this, he drank until the wine went to his head and his face grew red."
19. "The men had convinced her to convert to Islam."

1. A dust cloud, a cloud of dust is visible in the desert, when the dust clears, emerges the sultan's army.
2. "For I am one who throws down heroes on the battlefield, And my sharp sword is like a crescent moon.
3. "You filthy dog, can the highly priced be equal to the low?
4. To the camel, "How can a large creature like you, with your great size, be afraid of the son of Adam, whom you could kill with a single kick?" "Prince," answered the camel, "know that the son of Adam is invincibly cunning and it is only death that can get the better of him. He puts a threat in my nostrils which he calls a nose ring and on my head he puts a halter. Then this little child pulls me along by my nose ring."
5. "While the camel and the lion cub were talking, another dust cloud rose, clearing away after a while to show a small, think-skinned old man, with a basket on his shoulder containing carpenter's tools... when I saw him, I was so afraid that I fell down."
6. When the lion cub heard this, the light turned to darkness in his eyes.
7. He then leapt playfully at the carpenter, struck him with his paw and knocked the basket from his shoulder.
8. "You are a weak creature, carpenter. You have no strength and you can be excused for being afraid of the son of Adam."
9. "Sister, you know how small are my powers of endurance, and had I not seen you here, I would not have done this."
10. "If doom is near at hand, who can save us? No ne dies until he has had the full measure of what has been alotted to him of both sustenance and length of life."
11. "...it eats the grasses that grown on the earth, and, just as you are of the race of birds, so, for its part, it is of the race of beasts. Be calm and don't worry, for worry makes the body thin."
12. Night 148 - Discusses a woman who says, "There is no one with us whom we need fear and I want to stay with you as long as you remain on this mountain. I will be your friend and companion..."
13. "Whether we give prohibitions or commands, We are like the Seven Sleepers, awake but yet asleep."
14. "It is said, that a certain bird flew high up into the sky and then swooped down to settle on a stone in the middle of a running stream."
15. "The company of birds has always derived blessings from you, and your counsel has taught them to recognize what is good. How can they be left with a burden of cares and damage?"
16. At this, the water fowl recited:
There is many a mishap that leaves a man powerless,
But God supplies him an escape from it.
It closes in, but when it has encircled him,
To my surprise, it opens up again."
17. There was a fox and a wolf who lived in the same den. Often, they didn't get along. One day, after speaking, the wolf "felled the fox with a blow which knocked him unconscious. When the fox had recovered his wits, he laughed at the wolf and excused himself for having spoken out of turn."
19. "While the camel and the lion cub were talking, another dust cloud rose, clearing away after a while to show a small, thin-skinned old man with a basket on his shoulder containing carpenter's tools."
20. "Whether we give prohibitions or commands, We are like the Seven Sleepers, awake but yet asleep."

21. "It is said: arrogance is loss; the ignorant have cause to repent; he who fears is safe; justice is one of the characteristics of noble men; and the best thing that can be acquired is culture."
22. "The master pardons the servant who has done wrong and forgives him if he confesses his faults." "I have pardoned your fault and forgiven your error..."
23. "Childbirth is a mixture of pain and joy."
24. "Half of cleverness is caution."
25. "'Abu'l-Husain,' said the wolf, 'you used to pretend to be my friend, to want my favor and to fear my great strength.'"
26. "You ignorant and deluded wolf, wily and treacherous as you are, don't hope to escape, for this is the reward and requital for your evil deeds."
27. The wolf recited these lines,
"You whose favors to me are many
And whose gifts cannot be counted,
No disaster of Time has ever struck me
Without my finding you there to hold my hand."
28. He then recited these lines,
"You who are trying to deceive me,
Your evil intention brought you down."
29. "It is said a sympathetic friend is better than a full brother."
30. "They have pointed out that those with thick bodies and coarse natures are far removed from intelligence and close to stupidity."

31. "To die in company is the best of things, and I shall certainly hurry to kill you before you see my own death."
32. "Pluck fruits, but if you find these out of reach, Content yourself with grass."
33. Illustrates the productive potential of people.
34. "If what he claims is true, then he will have put right what he did wrong; but if he is lying, then it is the Lord who will repay him."
35. "Yesterday I dreamt that I was dancing at your wedding and when I told this to an interpreter of dreams, he said that I was going to fall into great danger and then escape from it."
36. "Fool, jokes have a limit which the joker must not pass."
37. “Doctors give advice and recommendations, not orders and commands.” —Marcel Proust
38. Some people are rabble rousers, who know how to start up a crowd.
39. "...you will not have to leave because of any harm that I might do you and I hope to be able to reward you with all kinds of benefits for the service that you are doing me."
40. "You can see how he repaid her and gave her the most excellent of rewards."

41. "What will bring me joy will bring you joy; what will happen to you will happen to me."
42. There was a monkey who stole things from people and brought them to his master.
43. There was a sparrow who used to go every day to one of the kings of the birds.
44. "Here are two sparrows fighting. I shall act as peacemaker between them."
45. "Her skin was like silk and her voice gentle."
46. The boy and the girl speak in terms of messages and replies.
47. "My love, because you are so often absent,
You teach my eyes how long they can shed tears."
48. From the house of the sultan emerged ten singing girls.
49. "I stretched out one hand to say goodbye...
May this not be the last time we meet..."
50. The singing girls performed several songs.

51. "Time has opposed me, my patience has run short."
52. "On her hand...was a pattern painted on a wrist."
53. Briefly discusses Jujubes, Chinese dates or red dates.
54. The doctor said, "Were I able to cure you, I would do it for you before you asked."
55. "I struggle with patience in my suffering."
56. He went to Basra to meet Basran merchants.
57. "...during the course of their conversation he kept swearing that he had not spoken a word about the matter."
58. "I understand the girl's position, but if God Almighty wills, I can help you to get what you want."
59. "Speak and I listen; order and I shall obey."
60. "My friend, men's souls are matched in their desires and people depend on each other."
61. "I thought that it would be better to tell the truth than to lie. So I told them everything that had happened to me, from start to finish."
62. Compensation for his death was equal to his earnings for his lifetime.
63. Refers to the Middle East as the lands of Islam.

1. Night 216
"Some nights, it is as though the stars and the moon do not move."
2. "She continued to promote him from one grade to the next until she made him a treasurer, giving him control of the revenues."
3. "I shall live poor as far as money goes but rich in ideas and wisdom."
4. "Do not compare a woman to a beardless boy..."
5. "Men ask for pardon with their hands and women with their legs."
6. "If you're in love then you should get married -- that is the ultimate act."
7. "'After tonight you will see nothing to distress you,' she said, and she leaned towards him, kissing and embracing him and twining her legs with his."
8. "This greatly pleased King Armanus, and after assembling the qadis, the witnesses and the leaders of his state, he had a marriage contract drawn up between Qaar al-Zaman and his daughter, Princess Hayat al-Nufus. He organized wedding celebrations, gave magnificent banquets, distributed splendid robes of honour to all the emirs and army commanders, and gave alms to the poor and needy."
9. "...the sequence of my sorrows, the cares that follow on each other's heels, how separation pains me, my melancholy and my burning passion."
10. "When he had read it and grasped its meaning...In a fury, he blamed all women for their actions, and angrily cursed all women."

11. "Budur then perfumed the paper of the letter with pungent musk and wrapped it in her hair bands of Iraqi silk, whose tassels were of emeralds, set with pearls and other gems. This she handed to the old woman, telling her to give it to al-As'ad."
12. Night 219
The two of them, "They advised one another that the affair should be kept secret lest their father, Qamar al-Zaman, come to hear of it and kill the two women. After they had passed a sorrowful night, in the morning Qamar al-Zaman came back from the hunt with his men."
13. After walking for some time in the desert, the men come to a city. “On his way they met a very old man, whose forked beard was quite long and impressive.”
14. “Go slowly, Time! How many injuries will you inflict on me, And for how many days will you part me from my brothers?”
15. “He ate a little, just enough to keep him alive, and drank some water, and he was still uncomfortable.”
16. The Arabian Nights contains several instances of people’s fingers and toes getting amputated or cut off due to torture.
1-3. Omitted.
3. Two travelers were lost in the desert. They were thirsty and tired. They came upon a house and wanted to enter it to seek shelter, but the door was bolted. So the man took a rock and broke the bolt and opened the door. Then they entered the house and ate, drank and restedm and their health was restored. Some time later the owner of the house appeared. She said "It's okay that you have found shelter in my home, as my religion advocates hospitality to others, however, you needn't have broken the door down. Knowledge of mechanics would have taught you that the bolt could have easily been opened by manipulating it in the right way."
4. "Men are the guardians of women, because of the superiority that God has granted to the one sex over the other."
5. "By God, my lady, I thought that Bahadur, my mamluk, had taken some jewelled necklaces of mine, each worth ten thousand dinars."
6. The king said, "Here, take this sword, and kill this man, or I will have you killed."
7. "Additionally, if you kill this man, then I will make you king of your own land."
8. He went into a palace, and in a room, he saw some lines of poetry written on a wall. This may be similar to grafitti.
9. Night 236
10. "...'Are you still alive?' He then took him off to his house, where he had an underground torture chamber for Muslims, and in this he put al-As'ad, with heave fetters on his legs."
11. "It was he, whom he entrusted with the task of torturing al-As'ad night and day until he died."
12. "The father of the daughter, was responsible with torturing the prisoner who had wronged his daughter."
13. “Many clever doctors who were knowledgeable in different subjects existed during this time.”
14. “He was sick because he had no friends.”
15. “The girl’s health is dependent on her seeing him, as the only illness from which she suffers is love for him."
16. The man entered the palace, and in the hallway, instead of turning left, turned right. He saw another hallway with seven doors, and entered the seventh. In the seventh room was a table containing gold treasure. He then wondered what was behind the other doors.
17. "After spending some time in the desert, he drank a lot of water, and then relieved himself under a tree."
18. "While I am on vacation, I miss my family dearly. Even though they are out of my sight, they will always be on my mind, because I am always thinking about them." --The Arabian Nights
19. The Arabian Nights contains several scenes discussing the events in the life of a woman named Marjana.

1. “The night is a perfect opportunity for reading, thinking, and similar intellectual pursuits.” —Islamic author
2. “The king said, ‘What is this enormous army? We are only a small band of resistance fighters.’”
3. We meet ‘Ala’ al-Din, whose grandfather is the leader of a great army.
4. He met a girl. She drew up a marriage contract with him, which included $10,000 savings, then married him, and then the next year divorced him and left with the money.
5. His girlfriend asked him to pay her a monthly sum, for the work that she did in the relationship, or else she wouldn’t do any work.

1. His mother and father said, of their son, "'I want us to find him a wife, as he is now ready for marriage.' Khalid replied: 'He has an ugly face, foul breath and is a filthy brute whom no woman would accept.'" His parents might clean their son up in order to prepare him for marriage.
2. His parents seek to buy him a slave girl, and bid for her, and keep increasing their price in order to get a winning bid for her.
3. One night, a skillful thief robs the caliph's house (of jewels and money). When the caliph awakens to find that he has been robbed, he flies into a rage and threatens to kill whoever robbed him and issues written authorization to break into houses and search them.
4. The group of villains who the thief had fallen in with included a woman. The thief and the woman produced a child.
5. One of the thief's had known the caliph whose house had been robbed, so it was an inside job.
6. "The boy's mother, Yasmin, looked for him and, failing to find him, went up to the sitting room, where she saw the emir Khalid sitting there with the boy playing on his lap, God having filled his heart with love for him. When his mother came, she said: 'Whose child is this?' 'He is my son and the fruit of my heart,' she answered. 'And who is his father?' he asked. 'His father was 'Ala al-Din Abu'l-Shamat,' she said, 'and now he has become your son.'...Khalid told her: 'When the child grows up and asks you who his father was, tell him: "You are the son of the emir Khalid, the wali, the chief of police."' 'To hear is to obey,' she replied.
7. "The emir had Aslan circumcised and gave him the best possible upbringing. He provided him with a faqih, who was also a calligrapher and who taught him to read and write. He read through the Quran a first and then a second time, and memorized the whole of it, and he grew up addressing the emir as 'my father.'...and when he was fourteen years old he was appointed to the rank of emir."
8. Omitted.
9. "The captain now ordered 'Ala' al-Din to be brought up from the cabin, and when this was done they gave him a sniff of the antidote to banj. He opened his eyes and said: 'Where am I?' 'You are with me,' replied the captain, 'and I'm holding you as prisoner. Had you gone on saying "Come, come," I would have offered you more.' 'What is your trade?' asked Ahmad. 'I am a sea captain,' the man replied, 'and I want to bring you to the darling of my heart.'"
10. 'Ala' al-Din gets captured, along with forty Muslims. Each of the Muslims is executed, their heads chopped off by an executioner. The king spares 'Ala' al-Din's life, however.
11. Sherbet is eaten in several passages of The Arabian Nights.

1. "Some crimes are forgivable."
2. The king said, "Here is money for food and rent, and here is an additional sum annually for other expenses."
3. "I like him, he is pleasant, sweet and agreeable!"
4. The caliph said, "I want you to find a man in Basra called Abu Muhammad the sluggard."
5. "There is nothing cowardly in doing what is patient and safe."
6. "Since I have a lot of money, I will tempt him with money, and try to cause him to forget how I wronged him."
7. "In early times its inhabitants had been unbelievers, but Almighty God had transformed them into stones."
8. There was a monkey, and because the monkey was misbehaving, the man put it in a brass jar.
9. "He could not refuse a drink of wine when his companions asked him to drink. It could have gotten him drunk."
10. Some biblical traditions began with the first person receiving the act, and then continued with each successive person.
11. "He presented him with two hundred dirhams, ten Arab horses, five with trappings of silk and five with ornamental processional saddles...as well as an appropriate selection of precious jewels."
12. "Your punishment is to have your beard shaved off."
13. "You cannot return what you have purchased."
14. "For compensation, give me whatever item you have. I will try not to make you poor."
15. "Beware of drinking wine. This is the source of all evil; it does away with reason and brings the drinker into contempt."
16. "If you spend all your days acquiring and amassing wealth, When are you to enjoy what you have got?"
17. There was a beautiful slave girl, and instead of selling her off to the highest bidder, her kind owner allowed her to choose which man she wanted to be with.
18. The slave girl chose the most handsome and intelligent man to be with.
19. "She can recite the Quran in all seven readings; she can write in seven scripts; and she knows more of the sciences than the most learned scholar."
20. "She told the auctioneer: 'Take my hand and bring me to him, so that I may display myself to him and attract him to me.'"
21. "Up till now I have had nothing to eat, but I am embarrased to say in front of the merchants that I have no money."
22. The man met a Christian. He told the Christian, "Follow behind me, with a drink of water, and if I get thirsty, then give me the water, and I'll pay you at the end of the day."

Second update 1/27/2026 5:30PM
1. "In math, two checks are enough, more than two checks are uneccesary."
2. "It's okay to be funny sometimes, but being funny all the time is inappropriate."
3. "It's best to walk at a moderate pace in public, not too fast, and not too slow."
4. "When the sultan got drunk, he would come on to young men, and encourage them to hang out with each other. He also spoke admirably of men who like women."
The Arabian Nights
5. "I know how he travels, I know how he moves, I know how he thinks."
6. The man met a religious monk. The monk said, "First, read what is written in the scrolls, and then decide what you're going to do next."
7. There was a wall protecting the army's base, and the enemy laid siege to it and attacked it, shooting it with guns and missiles, and eventually destroyed the wall.
8. "There was a very old monk who lives in the mountains and who is obeyed by birds, beasts and jinn because of his many conjurations."
1. Janshah was overcome with drowsiness and he now fell asleep on the peak.
2. His father and mother said, “What you did was not lawful in the sight of God.”
3. They were overjoyed to hear this and the king ordered all his servants to come out to meet him. He himself rode out with jinn, ‘ifrits and marids.
4. All of a sudden, the hand of Allah swooped down and brought punishment to the sinners.
5. "By constantly keeping a low haircut, you feel cleaner."
1. The men met a woman, and then paid her to be their servant.
2. “Brother, what are these two tombs and why are you sitting weeping between them?”
3. There was a woman, she left her husband, left her children, and moved back home with her parents.
4. She didn’t like the way her family was treating her, so she left them.
1. "You only had one drink, it doesn't look like it's had any effect on you. Have another."
2. Enjoy life more. You've mastered many subjects in life, now enjoy your knowledge of these subjects, and live and enjoy life more.
3. It is okay for a Muslim to burn a small amount of incense in his home.
4. Burning incense in your home is one form of aromatherapy.
5. In ancient Jerusalem, it was common to hear singers who were also playing a tambourine.
6. In order to clean the sidewalk, the storeowner used a water hose and then sprayed it on the sidewalk.
1. "The man liked big animals: the rhinoceros, the buffalo, the bear..."
2. The man looked like a wild boar with horns.
3. The gorilla has leathery skin.
4. Omitted.
5. Different wild animals have different characteristics.
2:00pm - 3:00pm
1. "You have a lot of money, you don't have to be stingy and refuse to buy us things."
2. He was his uncle, but he was like a father to him.
3:00am - 4:00am
1. I noticed that she had a large quantity of ornaments, robes, necklaces, jewelry and precious stones.
2. …necklaces, pearls, jewelry of silver and gold, together with other rare items.
3. Some people eat Chinese food like it's an addiction. They really like Chinese food, as well as Asian culture.
4. After his first wife divorced him, his friend encouraged him to marry again.
5. If an elephant, or other large animal dies, then dig a hole for it and then bury it there, covering it with soil.
6. The men enter a village. The village has new homes and businesses. When the men enter the buildings however, they find that the people in the buildings are all dead.
7. In the king's palace were several rooms. In the upper room was treasure, gold, silver and gems.
8. One man's home was decorated like a museum.
9. The floor of the man's house "looked like flowing water, and as it gave the impression that whoever tried to pass through it would slip, Musa told Abd al-Samad to scatter something on it that would allow them to walk over it."
10. There was a woman. "She was wearing a dress decked with fine pearls; on her head was a crown of red gold and a jewelled band, while a jewelled necklace, with gems sparkling from its centre, encricled her throat, and on her forehead were two jewels that shone like the sun."
11. Some of the men knew how to start riots in their city. --The Holy Bible
12. In Africa the sun is hot, but not hot enough to kill the Africans.
13. Life is rough, and physical problems only make life rougher. --Book on Dharma
14. When the woman had visitors to her home, she would regularly go into her bedroom to perfume herself.
15. The man owned a dog, who he gave treats to. The dog enjoyed getting the treats, so it always followed the man around the house hoping to get a treat.
16. This trick works for cats too.
17. African hair shops can entertain customers with folktales and information about the history and culture of Africa.
18. The man got sick from urine retention.
19. Since we're dressed up nicely today, we should go to a museum and a restaurant.
Night 623
20. The next morning the king summoned a meeting of his court, which was attended by both high and low. The shaikh al-Islam was there, in addition to other officials.
21. The king offered bonuses of money or other gifts for hard-working employees.
22. After the king built a city, he named it after himself.
23. The soldiers said, "We will take you as our ruler."
24. The senator's advisors advised him when he drew up his marriage contract.
25. He turned out to be strong-minded and a sound thinker who, in addition to his learning, was eloquent and distinguished as a philosopher, associating with men of learning, and filling his father with pride.
26. Every region was subject to him, all his subjects obeyed him, and so for five months he gave judgements, commands and prohibitions, until one night he saw a dream which left him startled and afraid.
27. There was a woman. She led a unique life of touring and traveling. One day her advisors said, "Why don't you continue leading this life forever, and never settle down?"
28. She said, "I don't like this life, I want to settle down." So they said Okay, and she eventually settled down.
29. The two brothers with their hundred men attacked their enemies, and Gharib, growing angrier and angrier, started his own attack. Then entered al-Hamal, who freed the prisoners and rode back to camp.
30. This is the reward for hard work?
31. His men replied with a single shout, "Sons of Qahtan!", a cry which echoed around the mountains until the enemy thought that the whole Qahtanid tribe had attacked them. They all snatched up their weapons and fell on each other.
32. He was talking to his advisor, and his advisor suggested that he should ask Gharib for something beyond his powers.
33. The shaikh told him, this creature is a supernatural being. 'Even if you had ten thousand men, you could not defeat him. He is known as the ghul who eats men, God preserve us from him. He is one of the descendants of Ham, and is the son of Hindi, who colonized India, which is named after him.
34. The manager said that he would give bonuses to workers who were especially hard-working. These bonuses were either cash, clothing, or jewelry.
35. Refers to diving birds, birds that are skilled at diving.
36. The young men were entrusted to a faqih to be given religious instruction, and later to Arab champions who were to teach them athletic skills.
37. At the wedding there was a feast.
38. "My name is Gharib, the hero of my clan;
Few though my men may be, I have no fear.
39. He went to his pavilion and his clansmen began to praise Gharib, saying: 'Had it not been for him, emir, no one in camp would have escaped.' Mirdas renewed his thanks.
40. The prince speaks with the shaikh, and the shaikh feels disrespected. Then the shaikh and his army chase the prince out of the town, and in the desert, the prince meets his own army.
41. Sorrel is a cure for jaundice.
42. When they were home, the man got some ropes and tied up his friend.
43. He admired the beauty of the valley, and how the trees were standing in groups and or alone in isolation.
1. Even though the man had only one eye, it was as though he could see with two.
2. …the God of Abraham His friend, the Omnipotent from Whom nothing is hidden, the One, the All-Powerful, Whom no eye can see.
3. Refers to a woman named Mahdiya.
4. Omitted.
5. Omitted.
6. The women of some Arabic tribes wear face coverings that resemble masks for war.
7. In the land of the Arabs, some wars involved weapons such as swords and maces.
8. Am I dreaming? Am I still sleeping?
9. Sandalwood is a valuable wood in the Middle East. It is the wood that was used to transport the ark of the covenant. Sandalwood incense smells good also.
10. The man asked for gifts of cash from the treasurer.
11. The big dog rushed the man, then bit him and siezed on to his arm, and began shaking it. The dog wouldn't let go until its master commanded it to.
12. The man gave the other man poison in his food, which killed him.
13. Islam is the religion of the Arabs.
14. There are two worlds, the world that you talk about, and the world that you think about.
15. Because he was a man, the sheikh didn't talk too much or explain himself a lot because he didn't want to be like a woman.
16. Eyeliner is a way of drawing lines on your eyes.
1. "The man told the senator, 'I shall give your city a hundred children (with my wives).'"
2. "The man was drunk with an intoxicating love potion."
3. "The man and woman continued to discuss literature and poetry, and then had lunch and went off to rest."
4. A main goal of man is to live a good life, to live the best life possible.
5. Sometimes the woman moaned or sighed.
6. The man was losing track of his finances.
7. Omitted.
8. "He got to his feet to investigate and was followed by some thirty eunuchs."
9. "Our children can do work to benefit the city."
10. "The princess was sitting surrounded with musk, aloes and ambergris."
11. "The eunuch went off…the chief eunuch told them both to lie down on the couch again, and she told Ardashir: ‘This is no time to disobey.’"
12. "The best thing is for me to hold you here, so that we can see each other until I can think of some scheme to allow us to leave the palace together on the same night, after which we can go to your country."
13. "He was to tell her that it was a present beyond all price, sent to her father from a king, and that she was to put it round her neck."
14. "Even though the city is changing, we shall keep much of it the same as it has always been."
Night 736
1. The Wise Man’s Paradox:
2. The man is wise, he doesn’t talk all the time, even though he talks sometimes.
3. When the princess was being held prisoner in the castle, she hired an imposter, a false princess, who looked like her, to take her place, and she escaped.
4. The sultan sent a slave girl to the man, who told him that she would spend the night with him if they smoked and drank together.



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