“Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord!

Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.”

See, I have apportioned to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have cut off, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun.

and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which has not been plowed or sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley.

However, his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners who are not of the sons of Israel; but we will go on as far as Gibeah.”

So Moses took the rod from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him;

Then on the eighth day he shall take for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and come before the Lord to the doorway of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest;

They camped by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

The sons of Zebulun according to their families: of Sered, the family of the Seredites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites.

and put fire in them, and lay incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy. You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”

A people who continually provoke Me to My face,
Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks;

You shall live in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children and your flocks and your herds and all that you have.

The Lord has commanded to do as has been done this day, to make atonement on your behalf.

the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them; desirable young men, governors and officials all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.

Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘If you will indeed go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will survive.

“You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.”

I will appoint over them four kinds of doom,” declares the Lord: “the sword to slay, the dogs to drag off, and the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.

My lovingkindness and my fortress,
My stronghold and my deliverer,
My shield and He in whom I take refuge,
Who subdues my people under me.

“His rock will pass away because of panic,
And his princes will be terrified at the standard,”
Declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

“The Lord will surely save me;
So we will play my songs on stringed instruments
All the days of our life at the house of the Lord.”

There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death,
Prisoners in misery and chains,

For my iniquities are gone over my head;
As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.

Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.

“Let the outcasts of Moab stay with you;
Be a hiding place to them from the destroyer.”
For the extortioner has come to an end, destruction has ceased,
Oppressors have completely disappeared from the land.

Blessed are You, O Lord;
Teach me Your statutes.

O God, restore us
And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.

“They are wet with the mountain rains
And hug the rock for want of a shelter.

I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.

For the Lord will not abandon His people,
Nor will He forsake His inheritance.

They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation,
That the name of Israel be remembered no more.”

The voice of the nobles was hushed,
And their tongue stuck to their palate.

Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.

Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built for the name of the Lord.”

The priests: the sons of Jedaiah of the house of Jeshua, 973;

Then the king of Israel assembled the prophets, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.”

This was their muster according to their fathers’ households: of Judah, commanders of thousands, Adnah was the commander, and with him 300,000 valiant warriors;

While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, “Behold, this evil is from the Lord; why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”

Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”

But the man of God said to the king, “If you were to give me half your house I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place.

David said to his men, “Each of you gird on his sword.” So each man girded on his sword. And David also girded on his sword, and about four hundred men went up behind David while two hundred stayed with the baggage.

Azel had six sons, and these were their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel.

and said to them, “Return to your tents with great riches and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and with very many clothes; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.”

She shall also remove the clothes of her captivity and shall remain in your house, and mourn her father and mother a full month; and after that you may go in to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife.

The west border was at the Great Sea, even its coastline. This is the border around the sons of Judah according to their families.

He acted valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them.

Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon.

Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to Debir, and they fought against it.

Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.

Every valuation of yours, moreover, shall be after the shekel of the sanctuary. The shekel shall be twenty gerahs.

“Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel.
I will disperse them in Jacob,
And scatter them in Israel.

But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

Their numbered men in the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, were 6,200.

But if the scale spreads farther in the skin after his cleansing,

Now when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning for the Egyptians.” Therefore it was named Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to make sport of us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I screamed.

I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.

But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.”

They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went forth.

Behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them.

These then are the records of the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.

When they have completed the days, it shall be that on the eighth day and onward, the priests shall offer your burnt offerings on the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you,’ declares the Lord God.”

“Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies,
And your gates of crystal,
And your entire wall of precious stones.

so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.

I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your doings;
I muse on the work of Your hands.

“For thus says the Lord,
‘Your wound is incurable
And your injury is serious.

For if you men will indeed perform this thing, then kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people.

But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been driven away, in order to reside in the land of Judah—

“Therefore thus says the Lord,
‘Ask now among the nations,
Who ever heard the like of this?
The virgin of Israel
Has done a most appalling thing.

Light is sown like seed for the righteous
And gladness for the upright in heart.

“You who are far away, hear what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”

My steps have held fast to Your paths.
My feet have not slipped.

When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together?

Deliver my soul from the sword,
My only life from the power of the dog.

“I will fetch my knowledge from afar,
And I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

“For he has not arranged his words against me,
Nor will I reply to him with your arguments.

These were they who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon and Immer; but they could not show their fathers’ houses or their descendants, whether they were of Israel:

Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath and Benaiah were overseers under the authority of Conaniah and Shimei his brother by the appointment of King Hezekiah, and Azariah was the chief officer of the house of God.

They taught in Judah, having the book of the law of the Lord with them; and they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.

But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.”’”

His relatives by Eliezer were Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son and Shelomoth his son.

The men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines as far as the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the slain Philistines lay along the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron.

And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

He shall then go out from you, he and his sons with him, and shall go back to his family, that he may return to the property of his forefathers.

He captured it and its king and all its cities, and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed every person who was in it. He left no survivor. Just as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king, as he had also done to Libnah and its king.

Then the south side was from the edge of Kiriath-jearim, and the border went westward and went to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah.

“Every vow and every binding oath to humble herself, her husband may confirm it or her husband may annul it.

Kedemoth with its pasture lands and Mephaath with its pasture lands; four cities.

You shall make its pails for removing its ashes, and its shovels and its basins and its forks and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze.

Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the way as you came out of Egypt.

The sons of Reuben: Hanoch and Pallu and Hezron and Carmi.

“Son of man, wail for the hordes of Egypt and bring it down, her and the daughters of the powerful nations, to the nether world, with those who go down to the pit;

Now the bronze pillars which belonged to the house of the Lord and the stands and the bronze sea, which were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried all their bronze to Babylon.

the sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin;

“They keep saying to those who despise Me,
‘The Lord has said, “You will have peace”’;
And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart,
They say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you.’

But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a desolation.”’”

“Therefore the desert creatures will live there along with the jackals;
The ostriches also will live in it,
And it will never again be inhabited
Or dwelt in from generation to generation.

And the fishermen will lament,
And all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn,
And those who spread nets on the waters will pine away.

“How Sheshak has been captured,
And the praise of the whole earth been seized!
How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!

“For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city;
He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.

That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying:

Then your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
And the horsemen took up fixed positions at the gate.

He sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.

Let the godly ones exult in glory;
Let them sing for joy on their beds.

Also he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to the law of the Lord.

They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the people.

It came about whenever the chest was brought in to the king’s officer by the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, then the king’s scribe and the chief priest’s officer would come, empty the chest, take it, and return it to its place. Thus they did daily and collected much money.

So that godless men would not rule
Nor be snares of the people.

Under his authority were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shecaniah in the cities of the priests, to distribute faithfully their portions to their brothers by divisions, whether great or small,

And it was so. When he arose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, he drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water.

Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son became king in his place.

For behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.

and the weight of gold for the golden lampstands and their golden lamps, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for the silver lampstands, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps according to the use of each lampstand;

So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel; 70,000 men of Israel fell.

Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And Jehoiada said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the Lord has spoken concerning the sons of David.

Surely such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah.

because they have done evil in My sight, and have been provoking Me to anger since the day their fathers came from Egypt, even to this day.’”

Mikloth became the father of Shimeam. And they also lived with their relatives in Jerusalem opposite their other relatives.

Now the rest of the acts of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and fell upon him so that he died.Thus the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon.

So the people went by stealth into the city that day, as people who are humiliated steal away when they flee in battle.

When he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down.

Behold their two sons are with them there, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and by them you shall send me everything that you hear.”

Then it shall come about, when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify before them as a witness (for it shall not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants); for I know their intent which they are developing today, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.”

You shall present a burnt offering, an offering by fire as a soothing aroma to the Lord: thirteen bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old, which are without defect;

to those who were in Bethel, and to those who were in Ramoth of the Negev, and to those who were in Jattir,

It continued to the side in front of the Arabah northward and went down to the Arabah.

When the jubilee of the sons of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; so their inheritance will be withdrawn from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”

But if her husband indeed says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all her obligations which are on her; he has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard them.

Thus the one who kills an animal shall make it good, but the one who kills a man shall be put to death.

Every bed on which the person with the discharge lies becomes unclean, and everything on which he sits becomes unclean.

Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed?
Does he continually turn and harrow the ground?

He shall keep the lamps in order on the pure gold lampstand before the Lord continually.

‘Behold, there is a people who came out of Egypt and they cover the surface of the land; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I may be able to fight against them and drive them out.’”

Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offerings, and the priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar, on the offerings by fire to the Lord. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

the woven garments for ministering in the holy place and the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.

Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you.

chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These are the chiefs descended from the Horites, according to their various chiefs in the land of Seir.

Fools, because of their rebellious way,
And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.

When I pondered to understand this,
It was troublesome in my sight

Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord!
For He has delivered the soul of the needy one
From the hand of evildoers.

“Those who err in mind will know the truth,
And those who criticize will accept instruction.

And I will clothe him with your tunic
And tie your sash securely about him.
I will entrust him with your authority,
And he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

On the glorious splendor of Your majesty
And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.

May he vindicate the afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor.

Elam took up the quiver
With the chariots, infantry and horsemen;
And Kir uncovered the shield.

He also said to the Levites who taught all Israel and who were holy to the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built; it will be a burden on your shoulders no longer. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel.

The Lord will protect him and keep him alive,
And he shall be called blessed upon the earth;
And do not give him over to the desire of his enemies.

The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock;
And exalted be the God of my salvation,

Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”

Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah; and he did what was good, right and true before the Lord his God.

The sixth for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; and in his division were 24,000.

And all the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down, and they broke in pieces his altars and his images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king’s son and Azrikam the ruler of the house and Elkanah the second to the king.

Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold, the words of the prophets are uniformly favorable to the king. So please let your word be like one of them and speak favorably.”

All these were of the sons of Obed-edom; they and their sons and their relatives were able men with strength for the service, 62 from Obed-edom.

“From the brightness before Him
Coals of fire were kindled.

He called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Take up your son.”

otherwise the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in the heat of his anger, and overtake him, because the way is long, and take his life, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated him previously.

the fifth for Malchijah, the sixth for Mijamin,

For You have separated them from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, as You spoke through Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers forth from Egypt, O Lord God.”

He said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, for I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem in Judah. But I am now going to my house, and no man will take me into his house.

Then all the people departed each to his house, and David returned to bless his household.

You shall offer a burnt offering as a soothing aroma to the Lord: one bull, one ram, and seven male lambs one year old without defect;

when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to the Lord.

Now the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man or any valiant man, he attached him to his staff.

and Eltekeh and Gibbethon and Baalath,

They captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and he utterly destroyed that day every person who was in it, according to all that he had done to Lachish.

then I will act with hostility against you; and I, even I, will strike you seven times for your sins.

Moreover, it took place while she was giving birth, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.”

For Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Jordan; but he did not give an inheritance to the Levites among them.

Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp.

But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge.

And he made the holy anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense of spices, the work of a perfumer.

Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

on that day I swore to them, to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had selected for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands.

You shall make two rings of gold and shall place them on the two ends of the breastpiece, on the edge of it, which is toward the inner side of the ephod.

God gave heed to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

The lizard you may grasp with the hands,
Yet it is in kings’ palaces.

“O Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares the Lord,
“For I am with you.
For I will make a full end of all the nations
Where I have driven you,
Yet I will not make a full end of you;
But I will correct you properly
And by no means leave you unpunished.”

I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with pestilence; and I will make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and a horror and a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them,

Let our sons in their youth be as grown-up plants,
And our daughters as corner pillars fashioned as for a palace;

“She who bore seven sons pines away;
Her breathing is labored.
Her sun has set while it was yet day;
She has been shamed and humiliated.
So I will give over their survivors to the sword
Before their enemies,” declares the Lord.

Like one who binds a stone in a sling,
So is he who gives honor to a fool.

In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

He raises the poor from the dust
And lifts the needy from the ash heap,

They came to Hilkiah the high priest and delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the doorkeepers, had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Which the clouds pour down,
They drip upon man abundantly.

They tore down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars that were high above them he chopped down; also the Asherim, the carved images and the molten images he broke in pieces and ground to powder and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.

“And now, because He has not visited in His anger,
Nor has He acknowledged transgression well,

These were the divisions of the gatekeepers of the sons of Korah and of the sons of Merari.

But the man who touches them
Must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And they will be completely burned with fire in their place.”

the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was observed to the Lord in Jerusalem.

These were the appointed cities for all the sons of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them, that whoever kills any person unintentionally may flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the congregation.

Then the Lord will single him out for adversity from all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant which are written in this book of the law.

He said to him, “It is I. Go, say to your master, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’”

David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, and you will surely rescue all.”

On the fifteenth day of this month shall be a feast, unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days.

Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside.

“His eyes are dull from wine,
And his teeth white from milk.

and they were for the sons of Aaron, one of the families of the Kohathites, of the sons of Levi, for the lot was theirs first.

a person who touches any such shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy gifts unless he has bathed his body in water.

They journeyed from Iyim and camped at Dibon-gad.

Throughout all their journeys whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out;

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Number every firstborn male of the sons of Israel from a month old and upward, and make a list of their names.

From it Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet.

Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

He spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

They will ask for the way to Zion, turning their faces in its direction; they will come that they may join themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.

I will call for a sword against him on all My mountains,” declares the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother.

He took one of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land,

“As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord God, “Go, serve everyone his idols; but later you will surely listen to Me, and My holy name you will profane no longer with your gifts and with your idols.

“For the moth will eat them like a garment,
And the grub will eat them like wool.
But My righteousness will be forever,
And My salvation to all generations.”

and Oholibamah bore Jeush and Jalam and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

“Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any wood of a branch which is among the trees of the forest?

“There is praise for Moab no longer;
In Heshbon they have devised calamity against her:
‘Come and let us cut her off from being a nation!’
You too, Madmen, will be silenced;
The sword will follow after you.

but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.’ For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.

“For the day of vengeance was in My heart,
And My year of redemption has come.

For this reason my loins are full of anguish;
Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in labor.
I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see.

and said to him, “Are you well aware that Baalis the king of the sons of Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them.

which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,

Then the channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were laid bare
At Your rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

“As often as it passes through, it will seize you;
For morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night,
And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means.”

(But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,
And from infancy I guided her),

of gold for the things of gold and of silver for the things of silver, that is, for all the work done by the craftsmen. Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the Lord?”

The land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in dread of it, because of the purpose of the Lord of hosts which He is purposing against them.

I will rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness,
Because You have seen my affliction;
You have known the troubles of my soul,

You have given him his heart’s desire,
And You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.

He may prepare it, but the just will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.

“Have the men of my tent not said,
‘Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’?

the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub,

if you carefully observe all this commandment which I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in His ways always—then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three.

All the prophets were prophesying thus, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

It came about when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers ministering to Ahaziah, and slew them.

As you did not obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day.

So both of them sat down and ate and drank together; and the girl’s father said to the man, “Please be willing to spend the night, and let your heart be merry.”

the nineteenth for Pethahiah, the twentieth for Jehezkel,

Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained the people.

And I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance; for they have committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel.

Then a wise woman called from the city, “Hear, hear! Please tell Joab, ‘Come here that I may speak with you.’”

Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.

No man among the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a defect is to come near to offer the Lord’s offerings by fire; since he has a defect, he shall not come near to offer the food of his God.

Libnah and Ether and Ashan,

He made the ephod of gold, and of blue and purple and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen.

Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land, and let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance.

Thus you shall do with his donkey, and you shall do the same with his garment, and you shall do likewise with anything lost by your countryman, which he has lost and you have found. You are not allowed to neglect them.

‘For your eastern border you shall also draw a line from Hazar-enan to Shepham,

Then on the seventh day the priest shall look at the scale, and if the scale has not spread in the skin and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; and he shall wash his clothes and be clean.

and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you shall return and be free of obligation toward the Lord and toward Israel, and this land shall be yours for a possession before the Lord.

and the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst;

Please take my gift which has been brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have plenty.” Thus he urged him and he took it.

He turned away from them and wept. But when he returned to them and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.

And on that same day the Lord brought the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.

He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.”

And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.”’”

and said, “Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?”

It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to speak either good or bad to Jacob.’

They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her debris from her and make her a bare rock.

You shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “A city shedding blood in her midst, so that her time will come, and that makes idols, contrary to her interest, for defilement!

Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or done according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they.

You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You are also the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.

“Come,” they say, “let us get wine, and let us drink heavily of strong drink;
And tomorrow will be like today, only more so.”

saying, ‘Turn now everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and dwell on the land which the Lord has given to you and your forefathers forever and ever;

“As for you, son of man, make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to the city.

Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

O you who dwell by many waters,
Abundant in treasures,
Your end has come,
The measure of your end.

“Through your servants you have reproached the Lord,
And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I came up to the heights of the mountains,
To the remotest parts of Lebanon;
And I cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypresses.
And I will go to its highest peak, its thickest forest.

For the ruthless will come to an end and the scorner will be finished,
Indeed all who are intent on doing evil will be cut off;

“A drought on her waters, and they will be dried up!
For it is a land of idols,
And they are mad over fearsome idols.

To Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying,

You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me.

In their streets they have girded themselves with sackcloth;
On their housetops and in their squares
Everyone is wailing, dissolved in tears.

‘What right do you have here,
And whom do you have here,
That you have hewn a tomb for yourself here,
You who hew a tomb on the height,
You who carve a resting place for yourself in the rock?

I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke and rejection; for children have come to birth, and there is no strength to deliver.

Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law
And keep it with all my heart.

They joined themselves also to Baal-peor,
And ate sacrifices offered to the dead.

You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten,
And waste your compliments.

The sea is His, for it was He who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.

Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
For they are ever mine.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
From everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.

‘My root is spread out to the waters,
And dew lies all night on my branch.

And my soul shall rejoice in the Lord;
It shall exult in His salvation.

but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot as the house of Ahab played the harlot, and you have also killed your brothers, your own family, who were better than you,

Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his deeds of devotion, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet,

Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hagri,

and Kedesh and Edrei and En-hazor,

But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt.”

‘But if he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring it, a female without defect.

For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.

“When the infection of leprosy is on a man, then he shall be brought to the priest.

He made the breastpiece, the work of a skillful workman, like the workmanship of the ephod: of gold and of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen.

But he said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds which are nursing are a care to me. And if they are driven hard one day, all the flocks will die.

“Then you shall take the breast of Aaron’s ram of ordination, and wave it as a wave offering before the Lord; and it shall be your portion.

Lift up a signal against the walls of Babylon;
Post a strong guard,
Station sentries,
Place men in ambush!
For the Lord has both purposed and performed
What He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

“For even the doe in the field has given birth only to abandon her young,
Because there is no grass.

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For He commanded and they were created.

Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;

‘Thus says the Lord God, “No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel, shall enter My sanctuary.

“This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that He has spoken:

“Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
And lift up your voice in Bashan;
Cry out also from Abarim,
For all your lovers have been crushed.

“A voice of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple,
The voice of the Lord who is rendering recompense to His enemies.

And blessed be His glorious name forever;
And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen, and Amen.

I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant,
For I do not forget Your commandments.

For the cry of distress has gone around the territory of Moab,
Its wail goes as far as Eglaim and its wailing even to Beer-elim.

Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.

You forgave the iniquity of Your people;
You covered all their sin. Selah.

“The arrow cannot make him flee;
Slingstones are turned into stubble for him.

Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,
In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has wrought desolations in the earth.

Then He declares to them their work
And their transgressions, that they have magnified themselves.

Their horses were 736; their mules, 245;

So the king commanded, and they made a chest and set it outside by the gate of the house of the Lord.

So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.

“Do not say,
‘We have found wisdom;
God will rout him, not man.’

the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Ami.

He stationed the gatekeepers of the house of the Lord, so that no one would enter who was in any way unclean.

Now you, arise, go to your house. When your feet enter the city the child will die.

Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were appointed over the army and said to them, “Bring her out between the ranks; and whoever follows her, put to death with the sword.” For the priest said, “Let her not be put to death in the house of the Lord.”

Thus they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.

Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant in marriage, and she bore him Attai.

also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil.

Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the Lord lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army are pleasing in my sight; for I have not found evil in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, you are not pleasing in the sight of the lords.

Now therefore, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering; but if it is men, cursed are they before the Lord, for they have driven me out today so that I would have no attachment with the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

“They will call peoples to the mountain;
There they will offer righteous sacrifices;
For they will draw out the abundance of the seas,
And the hidden treasures of the sand.”

Then He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the sons of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and I will be with you.”

and her husband heard it, but said nothing to her and did not forbid her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she bound herself shall stand.

“Take a census of the people from twenty years old and upward, as the Lord has commanded Moses.”Now the sons of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were:

The sons of Naphtali according to their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites;

That one shall purify himself from uncleanness with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and then he will be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean.

Moreover, whoever goes into the house during the time that he has quarantined it, becomes unclean until evening.

and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”

and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.

and take your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the fat of the land.’

The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and furthermore he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

She said, “Drink, my lord”; and she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink.

These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath and Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field,

The first of all the first fruits of every kind and every contribution of every kind, from all your contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the first of your dough to cause a blessing to rest on your house.

“Behold, then, I smite My hand at your dishonest gain which you have acquired and at the bloodshed which is among you.

“For her blood is in her midst;
She placed it on the bare rock;
She did not pour it on the ground
To cover it with dust.

“Their Redeemer is strong, the Lord of hosts is His name;
He will vigorously plead their case
So that He may bring rest to the earth,
But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.

“Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.”

For they will drink and forget what is decreed,
And pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

“Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart.

To deprive a man of justice
In the presence of the Most High,

Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah with its neighbors,” says the Lord, “no one will live there, nor will a son of man reside in it.

‘Therefore all who devour you will be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, will go into captivity;
And those who plunder you will be for plunder,
And all who prey upon you I will give for prey.

For by their own sword they did not possess the land,
And their own arm did not save them,
But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence,
For You favored them.

“Get out of the way, turn aside from the path,
Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”

“I, the Lord, am its keeper;
I water it every moment.
So that no one will damage it,
I guard it night and day.

Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish.

“For their princes are at Zoan
And their ambassadors arrive at Hanes.

Let the mountains bring peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.

The singers went on, the musicians after them,
In the midst of the maidens beating tambourines.

Now Hezekiah had immense riches and honor; and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuable articles,

An unjust man is abominable to the righteous,
And he who is upright in the way is abominable to the wicked.

For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,
That they may be ready on your lips.

O continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.

The period which he reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned in Hebron seven years and in Jerusalem thirty-three years.

He hired also 100,000 valiant warriors out of Israel for one hundred talents of silver.

Joahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.

The fifth for the fifth month was the commander Shamhuth the Izrahite; and in his division were 24,000.

and he said, “Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.”

Now therefore, know and consider what you should do, for evil is plotted against our master and against all his household; and he is such a worthless man that no one can speak to him.”

Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they would be the Lord’s people.

Now Hiram made the basins and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram finished doing all the work which he performed for King Solomon in the house of the Lord:

Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he would rise up against me by lying in ambush as it is this day?”

When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the River, with Shophach the commander of the army of Hadadezer leading them.

for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed.