Ephraim has mixed itself like flour ¹  among the nations; Ephraim is like a ruined cake of bread that is scorched on one side. ² 

The sunlight will be turned to darkness and the moon to the color of blood, ¹  before the day of the Lord comes – that great and terrible day!

When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling another man about a dream he had. ¹  The man ²  said, “Look! I had a dream. I saw ³  a stale cake of barley bread rolling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard it knocked it over and turned it upside down. The tent just collapsed.” ⁴ 

When he drove ¹  the man out, he placed on the eastern side ²  of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries ³  who used the flame of a whirling sword ⁴  to guard the way to the tree of life.

“Very well,” he replied, ¹  “I will grant this request too ²  and will not overthrow ³  the town you mentioned.

So he overthrew those cities and all that region, ¹  including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew ²  from the ground.

Go to Pharaoh in the morning when ¹  he goes out to the water. Position yourself ²  to meet him by the edge of the Nile, ³  and take ⁴  in your hand the staff ⁵  that was turned into a snake.

The priest will then examine it, ¹  and if ²  a white swelling is on the skin, it has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling, ³ 

the priest must then examine it, ¹  and if ²  the disease covers his whole body, he is to pronounce the person with the infection clean. ³  He has turned all white, so he is clean. ⁴ 

The priest will then examine it, ¹  and if ²  it appears to be deeper than the skin ³  and its hair has turned white, then the priest is to pronounce the person unclean. ⁴  It is a diseased infection that has broken out in the boil. ⁵ 

As Saul ¹  turned ²  to leave Samuel, God changed his inmost person. ³  All these signs happened on that very day.

for they had not met the Israelites with food ¹  and water, but instead had hired Balaam to curse them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into blessing.)

Then you will look and smile, ¹  you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride. ²  For the riches of distant lands ³  will belong to you and the wealth of nations will come to you.

May that man be like the cities ¹  that the Lord destroyed without showing any mercy. May he hear a cry of distress in the morning and a battle cry at noon.

You must no longer say that the Lord’s message is burdensome. ¹  For what is ‘burdensome’ ²  really pertains to what a person himself says. ³  You are misrepresenting ⁴  the words of our God, the living God, the Lord who rules over all. ⁵ 

Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully: ¹  Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby? Why then do I see all these strong men grabbing their stomachs in pain like ²  a woman giving birth? And why do their faces turn so deathly pale?

The Lord says, ¹  “At that time young women will dance and be glad. Young men and old men will rejoice. ²  I will turn their grief into gladness. I will give them comfort and joy in place of their sorrow.

ר (Resh) Look, O Lord! I am distressed; ¹  my stomach is in knots! ²  My heart is pounding ³  inside me. Yes, I was terribly rebellious! ⁴  Out in the street the sword bereaves a mother of her children; ⁵  Inside the house death is present. ⁶ 

ו (Vav) The punishment ¹  of my people ²  exceeded that of ³  of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment with no one to help her. ⁴ 

Look here, I will tie you up with ropes, so you cannot turn from one side to the other until you complete the days of your siege. ¹