Joy

Passages

Every passage tagged with this emotion in the Vela corpus. Search the body text, narrow by source or register, click through to a book’s profile to see how the passage sits with the rest of the work.

Page 209 of 299 · 20 per page

• From The Decameron (1353)

  The countess, hearing that he had departed Florence and returned to his county, was mightily rejoiced and abode at Florence till her time came to be delivered, when she gave birth to two male children, most like their father, and let rear them with all diligence. Whenas it seemed to her time, she set out and came, without being known of any, to Montpellier, where having rested some days and made enquiry of the count and where he was, she learned that he was to hold a great entertainment of knights and ladies at Roussillon on All Saints' Day and betook herself thither, still in her pilgrim's habit that she was wont to wear. Finding the knights and ladies assembled in the count's palace and about to sit down to table, she went up, with her children in her arms and without changing her dress, into the banqueting hall and making her way between man and man whereas she saw the count, cast herself at his feet and said, weeping, 'I am thine unhappy wife, who, to let thee return and abide in thy house, have long gone wandering miserably about the world. I conjure thee, in the name of God, to accomplish unto me thy promise upon the condition appointed me by the two knights I sent thee; for, behold, here in mine arms is not only one son of thine, but two, and here is thy ring. It is time, then, that I be received of thee as a wife, according to thy promise.' The count, hearing this, was all confounded and recognized the ring and the children also, so like were they to him; but yet he said, 'How can this have come to pass?' The countess, then, to his exceeding wonderment and that of all others who were present, orderly recounted that which had passed and how it had happened; whereupon the count, feeling that she spoke sooth and seeing her constancy and wit and moreover two such goodly children, as well for the observance of his promise as to pleasure all his liegemen and the ladies, who all besought him thenceforth to receive and honour her as his lawful wife, put off his obstinate despite and raising the countess to her feet, embraced her and kissing her, acknowledged her for his lawful wife and those for his children. Then, letting clothe her in apparel such as beseemed her quality, to the exceeding joyance of as many as were there and of all other his vassals who heard the news, he held high festival, not only all that day, but sundry others, and from that day forth still honoured her as his bride and his wife and loved and tendered her over all." THE TENTH STORY [Day the Third] ALIBECH, TURNING HERMIT, IS TAUGHT BY RUSTICO, A MONK, TO PUT THE DEVIL IN HELL, AND BEING AFTER BROUGHT AWAY THENCE, BECOMETH NEERBALE HIS WIFE

• From Hot Rods: Gay Erotic Stories (2011)

  “Yes, yes. Please, sir.” “All over my bike again?” “Yes.” “Will you clean up after yourself?” “Yes, sir. Yes. Please.” “Then come for me.” Howard released Teddy’s cock, and as soon as the steel band of his fingers disappeared, Teddy burst. His cock jerked violently, and he shouted from the force of the pleasure sweeping through him. His ass clenched around Howard’s cock—still mostly erect inside him—and words he couldn’t control spilled from him. They were mostly nonsense, but they might have contained the core of Teddy’s hunger, of his desires. They might have contained the truth. Howard barely gave Teddy a chance to catch his breath before he swatted the fleshy part of his thigh. “Get cleaning.” Teddy turned around, maneuvering as gracefully as he could while his limbs felt like lead weights. He lapped at the leather seat, his spunk now tasting familiar against his tongue. Howard stepped back and tucked his cock in his jeans, watching as Teddy finished his task. “You’re pretty good in the garage, aren’t you?” Howard asked when Teddy finished. Teddy straightened and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Yeah. I do most of the work around here.” “Is that why you stick around?” Teddy lifted his shoulder in a half shrug. “My old man needs my help.” “He might, but he sure doesn’t act like he deserves it. Or appreciates it.” “I…well…” Howard shook his head. “It’s okay. This isn’t a trick. You want to leave?” “Yeah, I thought about it. But it’s not like Dad pays me to do shit around here. I wouldn’t get very far.” “No, you want to leave with me?” Teddy stared at him. “Are you serious?” “Yeah. I think you’d be good to have around. You gotta keep the bike tuned up and cleaned.” “I’d love to do that.” Howard smiled. “Yeah, I thought you probably would. I’m leaving at six tomorrow.” “I’ll be ready.” “What are you going to tell your old man?” Teddy pulled on his shorts, not surprised by the fact that he was still semierect. “I don’t know. Nothing, I guess. I can leave him a note.” “As long as he’s not going to come after me.” “I’m over eighteen and he doesn’t own me, so I guess I’ll go wherever I want.” His smile widened. “Go get your shit together, kid. I’ll come back up to the house in a bit.” Teddy didn’t need to be told twice. The smells of leather and exhaust and cum and sweat followed him to his room, and then beckoned him beyond that. To a world waiting to be explored. To a freedom he had never tasted before. URBAN COWBOYS Dominic Santi

• From Hot Rods: Gay Erotic Stories (2011)

  Think about your sister and the man she’s dating who has the same name as your father. Your brother’s girlfriend is the spitting image of your mother’s psyche. You can tell when you are pleasing a man, when your boy is happy. Say: “Sit on me.” Say: “I want to see your face.” Press your palms against the tight smooth skin of his back as he lifts himself off your chest, his face toward the window. Hold onto him so that you stay inside while he slowly turns to face you. Watch his expression change as he says: “Don’t take it out. No, no, no, don’t take it out.” That expression on the edge of abandonment. Say: “My god, but you are so beautiful.” Think how in just under an hour—or has it been longer?—you’ve gone through six different positions. Ha, movement! you think, as you think of your shiatsu guy. Nothing stagnant about this. Think about how the way we fuck tells us truths about ourselves, about the way we want to live our lives. Feel proud of yourself. Feel amazed at how a fag like you who has gone through a childhood and adolescence of ridicule and bullying, his twenties of being made fun of by men and women he could not fuck… think how you are now a big fucking homo daddy. A pleasurer of boys. Feel proud to discover the joy of this, the profound sensation of being inside someone and satisfying him. Feel wonder at how your body has developed in a way that has… in a way that…and all the time you’re thinking these thoughts, urge your boy to keep bouncing like that. Say to him: “Use my cock to pleasure yourself. It’s all for you, baby.” Until he comes on your chest. Beautiful warm ribbons that reach your neck and your face and the pillow to the side of your head. Watch him breathe and smile and his chest rise and fall and the darkgreen tattoo of the swallow with it. Let him straighten his legs and lie on you, his lovely skinny body against yours, cupped in yours, the great largeness of you, and feel his cock press against your middle and your erection. Say to him: “You’re still hard.” And he’ll say, yes, I know, he’ll say, that’s what you do to me, and he’ll put his mouth close to your ear and whisper: “It’s your turn.” He’ll whisper in your ear: “Open up.” And you do, because you like opening up to men who want to be inside you, who want to know you, who will rename you with terms of endearment like: Baby. Like: Mister Professor. Like: Daddy.

• From Hot Rods: Gay Erotic Stories (2011)

  “Yes, yes. Please, sir.” “All over my bike again?” “Yes.” “Will you clean up after yourself?” “Yes, sir. Yes. Please.” “Then come for me.” Howard released Teddy’s cock, and as soon as the steel band of his fingers disappeared, Teddy burst. His cock jerked violently, and he shouted from the force of the pleasure sweeping through him. His ass clenched around Howard’s cock—still mostly erect inside him—and words he couldn’t control spilled from him. They were mostly nonsense, but they might have contained the core of Teddy’s hunger, of his desires. They might have contained the truth. Howard barely gave Teddy a chance to catch his breath before he swatted the fleshy part of his thigh. “Get cleaning.” Teddy turned around, maneuvering as gracefully as he could while his limbs felt like lead weights. He lapped at the leather seat, his spunk now tasting familiar against his tongue. Howard stepped back and tucked his cock in his jeans, watching as Teddy finished his task. “You’re pretty good in the garage, aren’t you?” Howard asked when Teddy finished. Teddy straightened and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Yeah. I do most of the work around here.” “Is that why you stick around?” Teddy lifted his shoulder in a half shrug. “My old man needs my help.” “He might, but he sure doesn’t act like he deserves it. Or appreciates it.” “I…well…” Howard shook his head. “It’s okay. This isn’t a trick. You want to leave?” “Yeah, I thought about it. But it’s not like Dad pays me to do shit around here. I wouldn’t get very far.” “No, you want to leave with me?” Teddy stared at him. “Are you serious?” “Yeah. I think you’d be good to have around. You gotta keep the bike tuned up and cleaned.” “I’d love to do that.” Howard smiled. “Yeah, I thought you probably would. I’m leaving at six tomorrow.” “I’ll be ready.” “What are you going to tell your old man?” Teddy pulled on his shorts, not surprised by the fact that he was still semierect. “I don’t know. Nothing, I guess. I can leave him a note.” “As long as he’s not going to come after me.” “I’m over eighteen and he doesn’t own me, so I guess I’ll go wherever I want.” His smile widened. “Go get your shit together, kid. I’ll come back up to the house in a bit.” Teddy didn’t need to be told twice. The smells of leather and exhaust and cum and sweat followed him to his room, and then beckoned him beyond that. To a world waiting to be explored. To a freedom he had never tasted before. URBAN COWBOYS Dominic Santi

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  36 “When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and hand them over to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to a land far away or near, 37 if they take it to heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and repent and pray to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and have acted wickedly’; 38 if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, and pray facing their land which You have given to their fathers and toward the city which You have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for Your Name; 39 then hear from heaven, from Your dwelling place, their prayer and requests, and maintain their cause and do justice and forgive Your people who have sinned against You. 40 d “Now, O my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. 41 “Now then arise, O LORD God, [and come] to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength and power. Let Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation and let Your godly ones rejoice in [Your] goodness. 42 “O LORD God, do not turn away and reject the face of Your anointed; remember Your lovingkindness and faithfulness to Your servant David.” 2 Chronicles 7 The Shekinah Glory 1 W HEN SOLOMON had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the [a Shekinah] glory and brilliance of the LORD filled the house. [Lev 9:24 ] 2 The priests could not enter the house of the LORD because the glory and brilliance of the LORD had filled the LORD ’s house. 3 When all the people of Israel saw how the fire came down and saw the glory and brilliance of the LORD upon the house, they bowed down on the stone pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and praised the LORD , saying, “For He is good, for His mercy and lovingkindness endure forever.” Sacrifices Offered 4 Then the king and all the people offered a sacrifice before the LORD . 5 King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. In this way the king and all the people dedicated God’s house. 6 The priests stood at their posts [ready for service], and the Levites also, with the musical instruments of the LORD which King David had made to praise the LORD , saying, “For His lovingkindness and mercy endure forever,” whenever David offered praise through their ministry. The priests were opposite the Levites blowing the trumpets and all Israel was standing.

• From Unbought and Unbossed: Transgressive Black Women, Sexuality, and Representation (2014)

  Etta Mae Johnson, Mattie's good friend with southern roots and a penchant for experiencing the fullness of life, is the quintessence of uninhibited female freedom and sensuality. She is neither restrained by rigidity nor encumbered by sexual codes steeped in dissemblance or provincialism. She embodies a subversive nature and defiant spirit, transgressing circumscriptions governing race, gender, and sexuality while invariably contesting the "norm." As the omniscient narrator delineates, Etta "spent her teenage years in constant trouble. Rock Vale had no place for a black woman who was not only unwilling to play by the rules, but whose spirit challenged the very right of the game to exist" (59). Leaving Rock Vale, she travels abundantly, only to realize that "America" itself "wasn't ready for her yet-not in 1937" (60). Etta, a woman before her time and one unwilling to acquiesce and ascribe to the conventions governing womanhood, leads a life and engages in conduct that are not part of the classical black female script; instead, she is, like the records she carries with her, emblematic of the blues. She possesses a consciousness and has experiences not steeped in victimhood-as in the "my man has done me wrong" blues sense-but, rather, in the female liberatory sense that is marked by enactments of autonomous desire. As feminist scholar-activist Angela Davis observes, the blues signify a particular "politicalization of sexuality" in that they represent an exceptionally rich locus: The overarching sexual themes that define the content of the blues form point the way toward a consideration of the historical politics of black sexuality. Considering the stringent taboos on representations of sexuality that characterized most dominant discourses of the time, the blues constitute a privileged discursive site [...], illuminat[ing] the politics of gender and sexuality in working-class black communities.9 Moreover, she discusses the relationship of blues to a particular feminist consciousness, which Etta embodies, in that it offers a counternarrative or deviation from the established cultural "norms" and paradigms, especially in terms of sexuality and its provocative depictions of women's independence and "representational freedom." Blues singers often experimented with established sexual "norms" in their performances-discursively, lyrically, and musically-in ways that complicated sexuality.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  4 “This is what you shall do: a third of you, of the priests and Levites who are resuming service on the Sabbath, shall be gatekeepers, 5 a [second] third shall be at the king’s house (palace), and a [final] third at the Gate of the Foundation; and all the people shall be in the courtyards of the house of the LORD . 6 “But let no one enter the house (temple) of the LORD except the priests and the Levites who minister; they may enter, for they are holy. And let all the people carefully observe the law of the LORD . 7 “The Levites shall surround the [young] king, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the temple [breaking through the ranks of the guard to get near Joash] is to be killed. You are to be with the king when he comes in [from the temple chamber where he is hiding] and when he goes out.” 8 So the Levites and all Judah acted in accordance with everything that Jehoiada the priest had commanded; and every man took his men who were to resume duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss [any of] the divisions [from their duties]. 9 Then Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and the large and small shields which had been King David’s, which were in the house of God. 10 He stationed all the people around the king [as guards for him], every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side to the left side of the house (temple), by the altar and by the house. 11 Then they brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him, and gave him the testimony [a copy of the Mosaic Law] and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, “Long live the king!” [Ex 25:16 , 21 ] Athaliah Killed 12 When Athaliah heard the sound of the people running and praising the king, she went into the house of the LORD to [see what] the people [were doing]. 13 She looked, and there was the [young] king, standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpeters were beside him. And all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and the singers with their musical instruments were directing the [singing of] praise. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason!

• From Vox (1992)

  “Well,” she said, “I mean, if one is in there, I’m not going to tell it to go away. But actually, it’s funny, it’s another little bit of clit-trickery. As I’m starting to get close to coming, and I’m with a man, I get this intense wish at a certain point to have him in me, but if I pull him up from what he’s doing and guide him in, that first moment is great, but then my whole area becomes, as you say, distracted—my clitoris is suddenly in close conference with my vagina, and I’m out of the loop. I like to think about cocks in me, though. Also, yeah, I do unfortunately tend to get yeast complications from real sex, inside sex, the friction seems to cause them.” “Exactly! See that? Who cares about my cock? It’ll fend for itself. We’re talking about your orgasm. We’re talking about your strummed orgasm, the joy of it, the triumph of it, the greatness of it. I think of that moment you described of you coming in the shower after swimming, with the hot and cold water, and it’s like I can hold out my hands and something tremendous and valuable is being dropped in my arms to hold.” “A folded blanket,” she said. “That’s it!” “I think it’s fair to say that you are interested in women masturbating,” she said.

• From Vox (1992)

  “Oh, I’m going to come soon. Put your cock in me, I want to think about your cock in me.” “Are your legs spread apart?” “Yes.” “Oh, and you’re stroking that clit?” “Yes.” “Okay, so I’d take one last long up-lick on your pussy and then I’d straighten up, and I’d still be cupping your ass in my hands, and you’d be completely visible by now, wide open, sopping wet, and I’d take my cock in one hand and kind of vibrate it over your clit, and you’d slide your hands down and hold your lips apart with your fingers, and then I’d push my cock down and I’d feel how hot you were and I’d have to slide myself slowly all the way in, and then I’d pull almost all the way out again and slide in, into that nice nasturtium, and each time I pulled out I’d be able to see your hand circling your clit, and I’d slide in until my pubic bone thumped against you, and I’d watch your breasts move each time I reached this limit, and we would be fucking, sliding in and out …” “Oh!” “And your finger would be flying over your clit, your hand would be lifted and your finger would be flying back and forth, and I’d have your asscheeks cupped in both my hands, so you could feel a pulling on your asshole, and I would be sliding with long strokes out, and in, and out, and in, and I’d see your tits moving each time …” “Oh! Oh! ” “Oh, I’m starting to come for you, my cock is pumping inside you …” “Oh! Nnnnnnnn! Nnn! Nnn! Nnn! Nnn! Nnn! Nnn!” “It’s spurting out! I can’t help it! Ah! Ah! Oooooo.” There was a pause. “Oh man,” she said. “Wow. You there?” “I think so.” He swallowed. “Let me catch my breath.” “That was—that was— man, ” she said. “I saw the great seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts when I came.” “I heard you come and I came,” he said. “Whoo! How long have we been talking?” “Hours and hours.” “Hours and hours and hours,” she said. “My mouth is chapped. Too much making out.” “Is your voice sore?” “It really is. Whoo! Gee, I’m going to have to call in sick again . I’ll sleep all day, mm, sounds delightful. The hiss on the phone is very loud now, isn’t it? That companionable hiss. It’s always louder at the end of conversations.” “Oh, is it the end already?” he said. “Couldn’t we just fade out somehow, talking and talking? I can’t think of a better way to invest my life savings. Not that I’m much of a saver.” “You’re quite a telephoner, though.” “You are too! I mean it! I think really this is one of the nicest conversations I’ve ever had.” “I liked it too,” she said. “I don’t know, though—do you think we talked enough about sex?” “Not nearly enough. I—” “Yes?” she said.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  16 The priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and every unclean thing they found in the temple of the LORD they brought out to the courtyard of the LORD ’s house. Then the Levites received it to take out to the Kidron Valley [for disposal]. 17 Now they began the consecration on the first [day] of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the porch of the LORD . Then for eight days they a consecrated the house of the LORD , and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. 18 Then they went inside to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed the entire house (temple) of the LORD , the altar of burnt offering with all of its utensils, and the table of showbread with all its utensils. 19 “Moreover, we have prepared and consecrated all the utensils which King Ahaz had discarded during his reign in his unfaithfulness; and behold, they are in front of the altar of the LORD .” Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship 20 Then King Hezekiah arose early and assembled the officials of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD . 21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah. He commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the LORD . 22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. They also slaughtered the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar; then they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar. 23 Then they brought the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them [to symbolize the transference of their sin]. 24 The priests slaughtered them and cleansed the altar from sin with their blood to atone for all Israel, because the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering be made for all Israel. 25 Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with harps, and with lyres, in accordance with the command of David [his ancestor] and of Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for the command was from the LORD through His prophets. 26 The Levites stood with the musical instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah gave the order to offer the burnt offering on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song to the LORD also began with the trumpets accompanied by the instruments of David, king of Israel. 28 The entire congregation worshiped, the singers also sang, and the trumpets sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

• From The Decameron (1353)

  As soon as Jehannot knew of his return, he betook himself to him, hoping nothing less than that he should become a Christian, and they greeted each other with the utmost joy. Then, after Abraham had rested some days, Jehannot asked him how himseemed of the Holy Father and of the cardinals and others of his court. Whereto the Jew promptly answered, 'Meseemeth, God give them ill one and all! And I say this for that, if I was able to observe aright, no piety, no devoutness, no good work or example of life or otherwhat did I see there in any who was a churchman; nay, but lust, covetise, gluttony and the like and worse (if worse can be) meseemed to be there in such favour with all that I hold it for a forgingplace of things diabolical rather than divine. And as far as I can judge, meseemeth your chief pastor and consequently all the others endeavour with all diligence and all their wit and every art to bring to nought and banish from the world the Christian religion, whereas they should be its foundation and support. And for that I see that this whereafter they strive cometh not to pass, but that your religion continually increaseth and waxeth still brighter and more glorious, meseemeth I manifestly discern that the Holy Spirit is verily the foundation and support thereof, as of that which is true and holy over any other. Wherefore, whereas, aforetime I abode obdurate and insensible to thine exhortations and would not be persuaded to embrace thy faith, I now tell thee frankly that for nothing in the world would I forbear to become a Christian. Let us, then, to church and there have me baptized, according to the rite and ordinance of your holy faith.' Jehannot, who looked for a directly contrary conclusion to this, was the joyfullest man that might be, when he heard him speak thus, and repairing with him to our Lady's Church of Paris, required the clergy there to give Abraham baptism. They, hearing that the Jew himself demanded it, straightway proceeded to baptize him, whilst Jehannot raised him from the sacred font[45] and named him Giovanni. After this, he had him thoroughly lessoned by men of great worth and learning in the tenets of our holy faith, which he speedily apprehended and thenceforward was a good man and a worthy and one of a devout life." [Footnote 45: _i.e._ stood sponsor for him.] THE THIRD STORY [Day the First] MELCHIZEDEK THE JEW, WITH A STORY OF THREE RINGS, ESCAPETH A PARLOUS SNARE SET FOR HIM BY SALADIN

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  11 Then David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites—Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, 12 and he said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites; consecrate yourselves, both you and your relatives, so that you may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it. 13 “Because you did not [carry it as God directed] the first time, the LORD our God made an [angry] outburst against us, for we did not seek Him in accordance with the ordinance.” [Num 1:50 ; 1 Chr 13:7–10 ] 14 So the priests and the Levites consecrated (dedicated) themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel. 15 The Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses commanded in accordance with the word of the LORD . 16 Then David told the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their relatives as the singers, with instruments of music—harps, lyres, and cymbals—to play loudly and to raise sounds of joy [with their voices]. 17 So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel, and from his relatives, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and from the sons of Merari their relatives, Ethan the son of Kushaiah, 18 and with them their relatives of the second rank: Zechariah, Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, the gatekeepers. 19 So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were appointed to sound aloud the bronze cymbals; 20 and Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah [were to play] with a harps tuned to Alamoth [that is, a high pitch]; 21 and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead with lyres set to Sheminith [that is, the eighth string, a low pitch]. 22 Chenaniah, leader of the Levites, was in charge of the singing; he gave instruction in singing because he was skilled. 23 Berechiah and Elkanah were gatekeepers for the ark. 24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer the priests blew the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah (Jeiel) were also gatekeepers for the ark. 25 So David, with the elders of Israel and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-edom with joy. 26 Because God was helping the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD [to do it carefully and safely], they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. 27 David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who carried the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah, director of the music of the singers. David also wore an ephod (a priestly upper garment) of linen.

• From Vox (1992)

  123 "Exactly! See that? Who cares about my cock? It'll fend for itself. We're talking about your orgasm. We're talking about your strummed orgasm, the joy of it, the triumph of it, the greatness of it. I think of that moment you described of you coming in the shower after swim ming, with the hot and cold water, and it's like I can hold out my hands and something tremendous and valuable is being dropped in my arms to hold." "A folded blanket," she said. "That's it!" "I think it's fair to say that you are interested in women masturbating," she said. "Any woman masturbates anywhere, I want to know about it. No woman is anything but beautiful when she is masturbating. Any plainness or overweightness or boni- ness or even a character flaw, an ungenerousness or something, everything is part of the recipe of her partic ular transfiguration, everything bad is pressed out of her when she shuts her eyes tight and comes. There used to be a tiny ad that ran in a lot of men's magazines, a half-inch-high ad, that had a shot of a woman lying back with what seemed to be, and it was very hard to tell at that scale, but what seemed to be her two middle fingers inside herself, and the headline was, I LOVE TO MASTUR BATE. I probably came fifty times to that little ad. I'd look through at the full-page shots, but then when I was al most there, I would find this ad. You were supposed to send money to Mrs. Somebody in Van Nuys, and she would send you six hot photos and a pair of panties.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  5 “If you would [diligently] seek God And implore the compassion and favor of the Almighty, 6 Then, if you are pure and upright, Surely now He will awaken for you And restore your righteous place. 7 “Though your beginning was insignificant, Yet your end will greatly increase. 8 “Inquire, please, of past generations, And consider and apply yourself to the things searched out by their fathers. 9 “For we are only of yesterday and know nothing, Because our days on earth are [like] a shadow [just a breath or a vapor]. 10 “Will they (the fathers) not teach you and tell you, And utter words from their hearts [the deepest part of their nature]? 11 “Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh? Can the rushes or reed grass grow without water? 12 “While it is still green (in flower) and not cut down, Yet it withers before any other plant [when without water]. 13 “So are the paths of all who forget God; And the hope of the godless will perish, 14 For his confidence is fragile and breaks, And his trust is [like] a spider’s web. 15 “He trusts in his house, but it does not stand; He holds tightly to it, but it does not endure. 16 “He thrives and prospers [like a green plant] before the sun, And his branches spread out over his garden. 17 “His [godless] roots are wrapped around a pile of rocks, And he gazes at a house of stones. 18 “If he is snatched from his place [in the garden], Then his place will forget him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’ 19 “Behold, this is the joy of His way; And from out of the dust others will spring up and grow [to take his place]. 20 “Behold, God will not reject a man of integrity, Nor will He strengthen or support evildoers. 21 “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter And your lips with joyful shouting [if you are found blameless]. 22 “Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, And the tents of the wicked will be no longer.” Job 9 Job Says There Is No Arbitrator between God and Man 1 T HEN JOB answered and said, 2 “Yes, I know it is true. But how can a mortal man be right before God? 3 “If one should want to contend or dispute with Him, He could not answer Him once in a thousand times . 4 “God is wise in heart and mighty in strength; Who has [ever] defied or challenged Him and remained unharmed?

• From Vox (1992)

  26 dark, I hadn't turned on the light in the room. And I was trying to learn all these moves, but tethered to the stereo, so I was almost completely doubled over, like I was track ing some animal, but I was really ecstatic—dancing, sweating, out of breath, flailing my arms, doing little jumps . . . once I got a little too excited and did a big sideways bob of my head and the headphones came off and pulled my glasses off with them—but no problem, I just stylized the motions of picking up my glasses and putting them on and repeated them a few times, incor porated them in. And then suddenly I hear, 'Jim, what are you doing?' in this horrified voice. My younger sister had heard all this breathing and panting coming from me in the darkness and thought of course that I was . . ." "Right." "I said, 'I'm dancing.' And she went away. I danced for a while longer, but with somewhat less conviction. That was my year of heavy stereo use. Unlike you I didn't have a big crush on anyone at the time. I think it was more that I had a crush on the tuner itself, frankly. I used to imagine that the megahertz markings were the skyline of a city at night. The FM markings were all the build ings, and the AM markings were their reflection in water ..." "Ah," she said, "but you're supposed to be telling me something true, not something imagined." "Yes, but the true thing is shading into the imagined thing, all right? And the little moving indicator on our stereo was lit with a yellow light, and I knew where all the

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  8 “Your servant is among Your people whom You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. 9 “So give Your servant an understanding mind and a hearing heart [with which] to judge Your people, so that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge and rule this great people of Yours?” [James 1:5 ] God’s Answer 10 Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this and have not asked for yourself a long life nor for wealth, nor for the lives of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to recognize justice, 12 behold, I have done as you asked. I have given you a wise and discerning heart (mind), so that no one before you was your equal, nor shall anyone equal to you arise after you. 13 “I have also given you what you have not asked, both wealth and honor, so that there will not be anyone equal to you among the kings, for all your days. 14 “If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and My commandments, as your father David e did, then I will lengthen your days.” 15 Then Solomon awoke, and he realized that it was a dream. He came [back] to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD ; he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and he prepared a feast for all his servants. [2 Sam 6:17 ] Solomon Wisely Judges 16 Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 And the one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18 “And on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were [alone] together; no one else was with us in the house, just we two. 19 “Now this woman’s son died during the night, because she lay on him [and smothered him]. 20 “So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from [his place] beside me while your maidservant was asleep, and laid him on her bosom, and laid her dead son on my bosom. 21 “When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead. But when I examined him carefully in the morning, behold, it was not my son, the one whom I had borne.” 22 Then the other woman said, “No! For my son is the one who is living, and your son is the dead one.” But the first woman said, “No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.” [This is how] they were speaking before the king.

• From Vox (1992)

  “I bet.” “Then I held out the trash can, and he threw out the drain slime and the Rescue pad, and he rinsed his hands, and he stood, and in the midst of this newly cleaned tub he started to rinse off his cock and his legs, where a little oil had fallen, and I watched the water go over him, I watched the way the even spray of the showerhead in his hand made all the hairs on his legs into these perfect perfect rows, like some ideal crop, and he was quite hairy, and so I slipped off my shorts and unders and sat on the far end of the bathtub and propped my left foot against a washcloth handle and I hung my right leg out over the edge of the bathtub, so I was wide open, and I said, ‘I’m a bit rank, too, do me,’ so he started playing the water over my legs and then directly on my … femalia, and I held my lips open so that he could see my inner wishbone, and the drops of water exploding on it, and as he sprayed me, he began to get hard again. But I can’t come with just water, so I started strumming myself, while he sprayed my hand, which was a lovely feeling, and I held out my left hand and he maneuvered closer to me and I took hold of his cock and tried to begin to jerk it off, but I didn’t do very well, because my own finger on my clit felt so good, and I couldn’t seem to keep the two kinds of masturbating motion going with my left and right hand independently, I was making big odd circles with his cock, so instead I took the showerhead from him and I said, ‘You’re on your own,’ and I sprayed his cock and some of his Danger Mouse T-shirt, that is, my Danger Mouse T-shirt, while he began stroking away, staring at my legs and my pussy, and I liked spraying him quite a lot, I liked aiming the water at his fist, I liked the sight of his wet T-shirt, and he had, this is rather bad of me to say, but he had a kind of gruesome-looking cock, a real monster, and the relief of not having that girth in me was itself almost enough to put me over the top, and it looked quite a bit more distinguished through the glint of the spray. But I also wanted the water on me—I wanted to spray him, but I wanted the water flowing on me as well—and suddenly it seemed like the most natural thing in the world, I remembered the elephant woman lifting her knee, and so I reached forward and pulled his hips toward me so that his legs straddled my left leg, and I lifted my knee, and he clamped his thighs around it, and I let my other leg sprawl so that I was absolutely wide open, and now, when I sprayed his cock and his hand the water streamed down his thighs and then down my thigh and on me. And it was exactly what I wanted, and it started to feel so good, and I said so, and suddenly he started stroking himself incredibly fast, it was this blur, like a sewing machine, and he produced this major jet of sperm at a diagonal right into the circular spray of the water, so that it fought against all the drops and was sort of torn apart by them, and he was clamping my leg, my smooth leg, extremely tight with those perfectly water-groomed thighs, and I shifted adroitly so that the poached sperm and hot-water runoff wouldn’t pour directly into me and possibly cause trouble, but so that it still poured over me. And then he took the showerhead again, and still holding his cock and still clamping my knee very tight, he sprayed slowly across my hand and my thighs very close with the water until I closed my eyes and came, imagining I was in front of a circus audience. So that was nice.”

• From The Decameron (1353)

  However, as they went most gladsomely thereabout, weaving them the goodliest garlands of the various leafage of the trees and hearkening the while to the carols of belike a score of different kinds of birds, that sang as if in rivalry one of other, they became aware of a delectable beauty, which, wonderstricken as they were with the other charms of the place, they had not yet noted; to wit, they found the garden full of maybe an hundred kinds of goodly creatures, and one showing them to other, they saw on one side rabbits issue, on another hares run; here lay kids and there fawns went grazing, and there was many another kind of harmless animal, each going about his pastime at his pleasure, as if tame; the which added unto them a yet greater pleasure than the others. After they had gone about their fill, viewing now this thing and now that, the queen let set the tables around the fair fountain and at her commandment, having first sung half a dozen canzonets and danced sundry dances, they sat down to meat. There, being right well and orderly served, after a very fair and sumptuous and tranquil fashion, with goodly and delicate viands, they waxed yet blither and arising thence, gave themselves anew to music-making and singing and dancing till it seemed good to the queen that those whom it pleased should betake themselves to sleep. Accordingly some went thither, whilst others, overcome with the beauty of the place, willed not to leave it, but, abiding there, addressed themselves, some to reading romances and some to playing chess or tables, whilst the others slept. But presently, the hour of none being past and the sleepers having arisen and refreshed their faces with cold water, they came all, at the queen's commandment, to the lawn hard by the fountain and there seating themselves, after the wonted fashion, waited to fall to story-telling upon the subject proposed by her. The first upon whom she laid this charge was Filostrato, who began on this wise:

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  7 Moreover, Solomon consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the house of the LORD , for it was there that he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings because the bronze altar which he had made was not sufficient to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat [all together]. The Feast of Dedication 8 At that time Solomon observed the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very large assembly, from the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt. 9 On the eighth day they held a celebration, for they had observed the dedication of the altar for seven days, and the feast for seven days. 10 And on the twenty-third day of the seventh month Solomon sent the people to their tents, rejoicing and happy in heart because of the goodness that the LORD had shown to David, to Solomon, and to His people Israel. God’s Promise and Warning 11 And so Solomon finished the house (temple) of the LORD and the palace of the king. He successfully accomplished all that he had planned to do in the house of the LORD and in his palace. 12 Then the LORD appeared to Solomon by night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 “If I shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or if I command locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence and plague among My people, 14 and My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear [them] from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 “Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer offered in this place. 16 “For now I have chosen and sanctified and set apart for My purpose this house that My Name may be here forever, and My eyes and My heart will be here perpetually. 17 “As for you [Solomon], if you will b walk before me as your father David walked, and do everything that I have commanded you, and observe My statutes and My ordinances, [1 Kin 11:1–11 ] 18 then I will establish your royal throne just as I covenanted with your father David, saying, ‘You will not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’ 19 “But if you [people] turn away and abandon My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and you go and serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot Israel from My land which I have given them; and I will cast this house, which I have consecrated for My Name, out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and an object of scorn among all nations.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  6 “Why then do you harden your hearts [allowing pride to cause your downfall] just as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had severely dealt with them and mocked them, did they not allow the people [of Israel] to go, and they departed? 7 “Now then, make a new cart and prepare two b milk cows on which a yoke has never been placed; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves back home, away from them. 8 “Then take the ark of the LORD and put it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a guilt offering in a box beside it. Then send it away [without a driver]. 9 “But watch, c if it goes up by the way of its own territory to d Beth-shemesh, then [you will know that] He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we will know that it was not His hand that struck us; this disaster happened to us by chance.” 10 And the men did so, and took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and corralled their calves at home. 11 They put the ark of the LORD on the cart, and the box containing the golden mice and the replicas of their tumors. 12 And the cows went straight toward Beth-shemesh along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn away to the right or the left. And the Philistine lords (governors) followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh. 13 Now the men of Beth-shemesh were gathering their wheat harvest in the valley, and they looked up and saw the ark and rejoiced to see it. 14 The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. A large stone was there; and the men split up the wood of the cart [for firewood] and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD . 15 The Levites had taken down the ark of the LORD and the box beside it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. And the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices that day to the LORD . 16 When the five lords of the Philistines saw what happened, they returned to Ekron that day. 17 These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the LORD : one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath and one for Ekron [the five chief cities of the Philistines]; 18 also the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and [unwalled] country villages. The large stone on which the Levites set the ark of the LORD remains a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.