“We can’t,” they said, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water ¹  the sheep.”

Amos replied ¹  to Amaziah, “I was not a prophet by profession. ²  No, ³  I was a herdsman who also took care of ⁴  sycamore fig trees. ⁵ 

Your priests ¹  did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ ²  Those responsible for teaching my law ³  did not really know me. ⁴  Your rulers rebelled against me. Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal. ⁵  They all worshiped idols that could not help them. ⁶ 

They will rule ¹  the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod ²  with a drawn sword. ³  Our king ⁴  will rescue us from the Assyrians should they attempt to invade our land and try to set foot in our territory.

What do you think? If someone ¹  owns a hundred ²  sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray? ³ 

Then she gave birth ¹  to his brother Abel. ²  Abel took care of the flocks, while Cain cultivated the ground. ³ 

When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing ¹  water there,

So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is out with the sheep.

Yet he brought out his people like sheep; he led them through the wilderness like a flock.

My beloved is like a fragrant pouch of myrrh ¹  spending the night ²  between my breasts.

My beloved is like a cluster of henna blossoms ¹  in the vineyards of En-Gedi. ² 

The Beloved to Her Lover: Oh, how handsome you are, my lover! ¹  Oh, ²  how delightful ³  you are! The lush foliage ⁴  is our canopied bed; ⁵ 

The Beloved about Her Lover: Listen! ¹  My lover is approaching! ²  Look! ³  Here he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills!

¹ “Foreigners will take care of ²  your sheep; foreigners will work in your fields and vineyards.

When ¹  they saw him, ²  they related what they had been told ³  about this child,

It was he ¹  who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ² 

This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son, ¹  was taking care of ²  the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster ³  working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. ⁴  Joseph brought back a bad report about them ⁵  to their father.

So David got up early in the morning and entrusted the flock to someone else who would watch over it. ¹  After loading up, he went just as Jesse had instructed him. He arrived at the camp ²  as the army was going out to the battle lines shouting its battle cry.

the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled ¹  with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac ²  named the well ³  Esek ⁴  because they argued with him about it. ⁵ 

Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers ¹  are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” “I’m ready,” ²  Joseph replied. ³