Then he said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, please do not go on past your servant.

Then Rebekah took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were in the house, and had her younger son Jacob wear them.

Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and take them down to the man as a gift—some balsam and some honey, aromatic gum and resin, pistachios and almonds.

Get your father and your families, and come back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you can eat from the richness of the land.’

Do not be concerned about your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

He sent his father the following: 10 donkeys carrying the best products of Egypt and 10 female donkeys carrying grain, food, and provisions for his father on the journey.

the land of Egypt is open before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They can live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”

Then Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

But Moses replied to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent—either in the past or recently or since You have been speaking to Your servant—because I am slow and hesitant in speech.”

So they took furnace soot and stood before Pharaoh. Moses threw it toward heaven, and it became festering boils on man and beast.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven and let there be hail throughout the land of Egypt—on man and beast and every plant of the field in the land of Egypt.”

Throughout the land of Egypt, the hail struck down everything in the field, both man and beast. The hail beat down every plant of the field and shattered every tree in the field.

But against all the Israelites, whether man or beast, not even a dog will snarl, so that you may know that Yahweh makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

“I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. I am Yahweh; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt.

he took 600 of the best chariots and all the rest of the chariots of Egypt, with officers in each one.

“When a man lets a field or vineyard be grazed in, and then allows his animals to go and graze in someone else’s field, he must repay with the best of his own field or vineyard.

“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your land to the house of the Lord your God.

“You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

“Bring the best firstfruits of your land to the house of the Lord your God.

“You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

I am giving you all the best of the fresh olive oil, new wine, and grain, which the Israelites give to the Lord as their firstfruits.

You must present the entire offering due the Lord from all your gifts. The best part of the tenth is to be consecrated.

“Tell them further: Once you have presented the best part of the tenth, and it is credited to you Levites as the produce of the threshing floor or the winepress,

You will not incur guilt because of it once you have presented the best part of it, but you must not defile the Israelites’ holy offerings, so that you will not die.”

For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this immense wilderness. The Lord your God has been with you this past 40 years, and you have lacked nothing.’

or the form of any beast on the earth, any winged creature that flies in the sky,

Remember the days of old;
consider the years long past.
Ask your father, and he will tell you,
your elders, and they will teach you.

with the best products of the ancient mountains
and the bounty of the eternal hills;

He chose the best part for himself,
because a ruler’s portion was assigned there for him.
He came with the leaders of the people;
he carried out the Lord’s justice
and His ordinances for Israel.

How happy you are, Israel!
Who is like you,
a people saved by the Lord?
He is the shield that protects you,
the sword you boast in.
Your enemies will cringe before you,
and you will tread on their backs.

Wash, put on perfumed oil, and wear your best clothes. Go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.

Her husband Elkanah replied, “Do what you think is best, and stay here until you’ve weaned him. May the Lord confirm your word.” So Hannah stayed there and nursed her son until she weaned him.

Do not boast so proudly,
or let arrogant words come out of your mouth,
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and actions are weighed by Him.

Why, then, do all of you despise My sacrifices and offerings that I require at the place of worship? You have honored your sons more than Me, by making yourselves fat with the best part of all of the offerings of My people Israel.’

He can take your best fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his servants.

He can take your male servants, your female servants, your best young men, and your donkeys and use them for his work.

Saul and the troops spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, cattle, and choice animals, as well as the young rams and the best of everything else. They were not willing to destroy them, but they did destroy all the worthless and unwanted things.

Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites and spared the best sheep and cattle in order to offer a sacrifice to the Lord your God, but the rest we destroyed.”

The troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder—the best of what was set apart for destruction—to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

Abner conferred with the elders of Israel: “In the past you wanted David to be king over you.

When Joab was besieging the city, he put Uriah in the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers were.

while all his servants marched past him. Then all the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and the Gittites—600 men who came with him from Gath—marched past the king.

“March on,” David replied to Ittai. So Ittai the Gittite marched past with all his men and the children who were with him.

Everyone in the countryside was weeping loudly while all the people were marching past. As the king was crossing the Kidron Valley, all the people were marching past on the road that leads to the desert.

Zadok was also there, and all the Levites with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set the ark of God down, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until the people had finished marching past.

“I will do whatever you think is best,” the king replied to them. So he stood beside the gate while all the troops marched out by hundreds and thousands.

Ziba slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like the Angel of God, so do whatever you think best.

She said, “In the past they used to say, ‘Seek counsel in Abel,’ and that’s how they settled disputes.

‘Your silver and your gold are mine! And your best wives and children are mine as well!’”

The king of Israel answered, “Say this: ‘Don’t let the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off.’”

So to the best of my ability I’ve made provision for the house of my God: gold for the gold articles, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron, and wood for the wood, as well as onyx, stones for mounting, antimony, stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and a great quantity of marble.

When the word spread, the Israelites gave liberally of the best of the grain, new wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field, and they brought in an abundance, a tenth of everything.

Then the king stood at his post and made a covenant in the Lord’s presence to follow the Lord and to keep His commands, His decrees, and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul in order to carry out the words of the covenant written in this book.

You may do whatever seems best to you and your brothers with the rest of the silver and gold, according to the will of your God.

Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate. They built it with beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

and said, “We have done our best to buy back our Jewish countrymen who were sold to foreigners, but now you sell your own countrymen, and we have to buy them back.” They remained silent and could not say a word.

The second thanksgiving procession went to the left, and I followed it with half the people along the top of the wall, past the Tower of the Ovens to the Broad Wall,

The young woman pleased him and gained his favor so that he accelerated the process of the beauty treatments and the special diet that she received. He assigned seven hand-picked female servants to her from the palace and transferred her and her servants to the harem’s best quarters.

Then Haman informed King Ahasuerus, “There is one ethnic group, scattered throughout the peoples in every province of your kingdom, yet living in isolation. Their laws are different from everyone else’s and they do not obey the king’s laws. It is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.

All of my best friends despise me,
and those I love have turned against me.

But let all who take refuge in You rejoice;
let them shout for joy forever.
May You shelter them,
and may those who love Your name boast about You.

I will rejoice and boast about You;
I will sing about Your name, Most High.

I will boast in the Lord;
the humble will hear and be glad.

Your righteousness is like the highest mountains;
Your judgments, like the deepest sea.
Lord, You preserve man and beast.

We boast in God all day long;
we will praise Your name forever.Selah

They trust in their wealth
and boast of their abundant riches.

But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by Him will boast,
for the mouths of liars will be shut.

Rebuke the beast in the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample underfoot those with bars of silver.
Scatter the peoples who take pleasure in war.

I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn.

I consider days of old,
years long past.

I will declare wise sayings;
I will speak mysteries from the past—

God’s anger flared up against them,
and He killed some of their best men.
He struck down Israel’s choice young men.

Do not hold past sins against us;
let Your compassion come to us quickly,
for we have become weak.

But He would feed Israel with the best wheat.
“I would satisfy you with honey from the rock.”

Our lives last seventy years
or, if we are strong, eighty years.
Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow;
indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.

They pour out arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.

All who serve carved images,
those who boast in idols, will be put to shame.
All the gods must worship Him.

They supply water for every wild beast;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

so that I may enjoy the prosperity
of Your chosen ones,
rejoice in the joy of Your nation,
and boast about Your heritage.

Don’t boast about tomorrow,
for you don’t know what a day might bring.

For now the winter is past;
the rain has ended and gone away.

nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,
with all the trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes,
with all the best spices.

Your mouth is like fine wine—

W flowing smoothly for my love,
gliding past my lips and teeth!

Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed.

For the Lord has said to me,
“Go, post a lookout;
let him report what he sees.

Then the lookout reported,
“Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day,
and I stay at my post all night.

Your best valleys were full of chariots,
and horsemen were positioned at the gates.

Your mind will meditate on the past terror:
“Where is the accountant?
Where is the tribute collector?
Where is the one who spied out our defenses?”

There will be no lion there,
and no vicious beast will go up on it;
they will not be found there.
But the redeemed will walk on it,

You will winnow them
and a wind will carry them away,
a gale will scatter them.
But you will rejoice in the Lord;
you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.

“Let them come and tell us
what will happen.
Tell us the past events,
so that we may reflect on them
and know the outcome,
or tell us the future.

Who told about this from the beginning,
so that we might know,
and from times past,
so that we might say: He is right?
No one announced it,
no one told it,
no one heard your words.

The past events have indeed happened.
Now I declare new events;
I announce them to you before they occur.”

“I have kept silent from ages past;
I have been quiet and restrained Myself.
But now, I will groan like a woman in labor,
gasping breathlessly.

“Do not remember the past events,
pay no attention to things of old.

I declared the past events long ago;
they came out of My mouth; I proclaimed them.
Suddenly I acted, and they occurred.

Wake up, wake up!
Put on the strength of the Lord’s power.
Wake up as in days past,
as in generations of long ago.
Wasn’t it You who hacked Rahab to pieces,
who pierced the sea monster?

But you will be called the Lord’s priests;
they will speak of you as ministers of our God;
you will eat the wealth of the nations,
and you will boast in their riches.

In all their suffering, He suffered,
and the Angel of His Presence saved them.
He redeemed them
because of His love and compassion;
He lifted them up and carried them
all the days of the past.

Then He remembered the days of the past,
the days of Moses and his people.
Where is He who brought them out of the sea
with the shepherds of His flock?
Where is He who put His Holy Spirit among the flock?

“For I will create a new heaven and a new earth;
the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.

I planted you, a choice vine
from the very best seed.
How then could you turn into
a degenerate, foreign vine?