<p class="bodytext">&#8220;You must not blaspheme<n id="1" /> God<n id="2" /> or curse the ruler of your people.p>

Leah&#8217;s eyes were tender,<n id="1" /> but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.)<n id="2" />

Then seven fat and fine-looking cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds.<n id="1" />

if you should see among them<n id="1" /> an attractive woman whom you wish to take as a wife,

But God said to Balaam, &#8220;You must not go with them; you must not curse the people,<n id="1" /> for they are blessed.&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

The man&#8217;s name was Nabal,<n id="1" /> and his wife&#8217;s name was Abigail. She was both wise<n id="2" /> and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite.p>

(Now his father had never corrected<n id="1" /> him<n id="2" /> by saying, &#8220;Why do you do such things?&#8221; He was also very handsome and had been born right after Absalom.<n id="3" />)

<p class="poetry">He sprouted up like a twig before God,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">like a root out of parched soil;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">no special appearance that we should want to follow him.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">I, the <sc>Lordsc>, once called<n id="1" /> you a thriving olive tree,p> <p class="poetry">one that produced beautiful fruit.p> <p class="poetry">But I will set you<n id="2" /> on fire,p> <p class="poetry">fire that will blaze with a mighty roar.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">Then all your branches will be good for nothing.<n id="4" />p>

So Potiphar<n id="1" /> left<n id="2" /> everything he had in Joseph&#8217;s care;<n id="3" /> he gave no thought<n id="4" /> to anything except the food he ate.<n id="5" />p> <p class="bodytext">Now Joseph was well built and good-looking.<n id="6" />

Then<n id="1" /> seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows<n id="2" /> as these in all the land of Egypt!

So<n id="1" /> now, please come and curse this nation<n id="2" /> for me, for they are too powerful for me. Perhaps I will prevail so that we may conquer them<n id="3" /> and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed,<n id="4" /> and whoever you curse is cursed.&#8221;p>

One of his attendants replied,<n id="1" /> &#8220;I have seen a son of Jesse in Bethlehem<n id="2" /> who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave warrior<n id="3" /> and is articulate<n id="4" /> and handsome,<n id="5" /> for the <sc>Lordsc> is with him.&#8221;p>

Now he was acting as the guardian<n id="1" /> of Hadassah<n id="2" /> (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, for neither her father nor her mother was alive.<n id="3" /> This young woman was very attractive and had a beautiful figure.<n id="4" /> When her father and mother died, Mordecai had raised her<n id="5" /> as if she were his own daughter.p>