Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord.

I have chosen him so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then the Lord will give to Abraham what he promised him."

When they had brought them outside, they said, "Run for your lives! Don't look behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!"

Later the older daughter said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby to have sexual relations with us, according to the way of all the world.

In three more days Pharaoh will decapitate you and impale you on a pole. Then the birds will eat your flesh from you."

God sent me ahead of you to preserve you on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

"If they do not believe you or pay attention to the former sign, then they may believe the latter sign.

The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, so that when I see the blood I will pass over you, and this plague will not fall on you to destroy you when I attack the land of Egypt.

It will be a sign for you on your hand and a memorial on your forehead, so that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth, for with a mighty hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.

So God brought the people around by the way of the desert to the Red Sea, and the Israelites went up from the land of Egypt prepared for battle.

Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you? -- majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, working wonders?

You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I lifted you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.

but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates.

"If a man strikes the eye of his male servant or his female servant so that he destroys it, he will let the servant go free as compensation for the eye.

You are to make the altar hollow, out of boards. Just as it was shown you on the mountain, so they must make it.

Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you on the way."

for the life of every living thing is in the blood. So I myself have assigned it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives, for the blood makes atonement by means of the life.

or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or one with a spot in his eye, or a festering eruption, or a feverish rash, or a crushed testicle.

"'If a resident foreigner who is with you prospers and your brother becomes impoverished with regard to him so that he sells himself to a resident foreigner who is with you or to a member of a foreigner's family,

I will send the wild animals against you and they will bereave you of your children, annihilate your cattle, and diminish your population so that your roads will become deserted.

"Tell the Israelites, 'If any of you or of your posterity become ceremonially defiled by touching a dead body, or are on a journey far away, then he may observe the Passover to the Lord.

(Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites were living in the valleys.) Tomorrow, turn and journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea."

If a resident foreigner is living with you -- or whoever is among you in future generations -- and prepares an offering made by fire as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, he must do it the same way you are to do it.

Then the Israelites said to him, "We will go along the highway, and if we or our cattle drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We will only pass through on our feet, without doing anything else."

So now, go back where you came from! I said that I would greatly honor you; but now the Lord has stood in the way of your honor."

But if her husband clearly nullifies them when he hears them, then whatever she says by way of vows or obligations will not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the Lord will release her from them.

Now it is ordinarily an eleven-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by way of Mount Seir.

So we turned away from our relatives the descendants of Esau, the inhabitants of Seir, turning from the desert route, from Elat and Ezion Geber, and traveling the way of the Moab wastelands.

You will be blessed beyond all peoples; there will be no barrenness among you or your livestock.

the gods of the surrounding people (whether near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other).

If the owner does not live near you or you do not know who the owner is, then you must corral the animal at your house and let it stay with you until the owner looks for it; then you must return it to him.

Remember what the Amalekites did to you on your way from Egypt,

Be strong and courageous! Do not fear or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who is going with you. He will not fail you or abandon you!"

The Lord is indeed going before you -- he will be with you; he will not fail you or abandon you. Do not be afraid or discouraged!"

There is no one like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the sky to help you, on the clouds in majesty.

No one will be able to resist you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not abandon you or leave you alone.

When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword. Joshua approached him and asked him, "Are you on our side or allied with our enemies?"

All the troops that were with him marched up and drew near the city. They camped north of Ai on the other side of the valley.

No men were left in Ai or Bethel; they all went out after Israel. They left the city wide open and chased Israel.

He hung the king of Ai on a tree, leaving him exposed until evening. At sunset Joshua ordered that his corpse be taken down from the tree. They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and erected over it a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day).

But he went back once he reached the carved images at Gilgal. He said to Eglon, "I have a secret message for you, O king." Eglon said, "Be quiet!" All his attendants left.

The Lord routed Sisera, all his chariotry, and all his army with the edge of the sword. Sisera jumped out of his chariot and ran away on foot.

Now Sisera ran away on foot to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, for King Jabin of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite had made a peace treaty.

Gaal again said, "Look, men are coming down from the very center of the land. A unit is coming by way of the Oak Tree of the Diviners."

The priest said to them, "Go with confidence. The Lord will be with you on your mission."

But keep an eye on it. If it should go up by the way of its own border to Beth Shemesh, then he has brought this great calamity on us. But if that is not the case, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us; rather, it just happened to us by accident."

They got up at dawn and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, "Get up, so I can send you on your way." So Saul got up and the two of them -- he and Samuel -- went outside.

While they were going down to the edge of town, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go on ahead of us." So he did. Samuel then said, "You remain here awhile, so I can inform you of God's message."

But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "The only way I will make a treaty with you is if you let me gouge out the right eye of every one of you and in so doing humiliate all Israel!"

The Lord sent you on a campaign saying, 'Go and exterminate those sinful Amalekites! Fight against them until you have destroyed them.'

So Saul was keeping an eye on David from that day onward.

So Jonathan spoke on David's behalf to his father Saul. He said to him, "The king should not sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, his actions have been very beneficial for you.

Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me this way by sending my enemy away? Now he has escaped!" Michal replied to Saul, "He said to me, 'Help me get away or else I will kill you!'"

David replied to Ahimelech the priest, "The king instructed me to do something, but he said to me, 'Don't let anyone know the reason I am sending you or the instructions I have given you.' I have told my soldiers to wait at a certain place.

Saul said to his servants who were stationed around him, "Listen up, you Benjaminites! Is Jesse's son giving fields and vineyards to all of you? Or is he making all of you commanders and officers?

But David struck them down from twilight until the following evening. None of them escaped, with the exception of four hundred young men who got away on camels.

They had entered the house while Ish-bosheth was resting on his bed in his bedroom. They mortally wounded him and then cut off his head. Taking his head, they traveled on the way of the Arabah all that night.

King David went in, sat before the Lord, and said, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you should have brought me to this point?

And you didn't stop there, O Lord God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant's family. Is this your usual way of dealing with men, O Lord God?

You made Israel your very own people for all time. You, O Lord, became their God.

for you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have told your servant, 'I will build you a dynastic house.' That is why your servant has had the courage to pray this prayer to you.

Now be willing to bless your servant's dynasty so that it may stand permanently before you, for you, O sovereign Lord, have spoken. By your blessing may your servant's dynasty be blessed on into the future!"

So Absalom's servants did to Amnon exactly what Absalom had instructed. Then all the king's sons got up; each one rode away on his mule and fled.

But he said, "Whatever happens, I want to go!" So Joab said to him, "Then go!" So Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Jordan plain, and he passed the Cushite.

"The time will come when your people will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry with them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their own land, whether far away or close by.

After all, you picked them out of all the nations of the earth to be your special possession, just as you, O sovereign Lord, announced through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt."

"But if you or your sons ever turn away from me, fail to obey the regulations and rules I instructed you to keep, and decide to serve and worship other gods,

May the Lord your God be praised because he favored you by placing you on the throne of Israel! Because of the Lord's eternal love for Israel, he made you king so you could make just and right decisions."

But he replied, "I can't go back with you or eat and drink with you in this place.

Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are the true God and that you are winning back their allegiance."

Elisha said, "As certainly as the Lord who rules over all lives (whom I serve), if I did not respect King Jehoshaphat of Judah, I would not pay attention to you or acknowledge you.

When he arrived, the officers of the army were sitting there. So he said, "I have a message for you, O officer." Jehu asked, "For which one of us?" He replied, "For you, O officer."

The Lord solemnly warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and all the seers, "Turn back from your evil ways; obey my commandments and rules that are recorded in the law. I ordered your ancestors to keep this law and sent my servants the prophets to remind you of its demands."

But a spirit empowered Amasai, the leader of the thirty warriors, and he said: "We are yours, O David! We support you, O son of Jesse! May you greatly prosper! May those who help you prosper! Indeed your God helps you!" So David accepted them and made them leaders of raiding bands.

David went in, sat before the Lord, and said: "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you should have brought me to this point?

You made Israel your very own nation for all time. You, O Lord, became their God.

Now you are willing to bless your servant's dynasty so that it may stand permanently before you, for you, O Lord, have blessed it and it will be blessed from now on into the future."

King David replied to Ornan, "No, I insist on buying it for top price. I will not offer to the Lord what belongs to you or offer a burnt sacrifice that cost me nothing.

David said to his son Solomon: "Be strong and brave! Do it! Don't be afraid and don't panic! For the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not leave you or abandon you before all the work for the service of the Lord's temple is finished.

"The time will come when your people will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry at them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their land, whether far away or close by.

May the Lord your God be praised because he favored you by placing you on his throne as the one ruling on his behalf! Because of your God's love for Israel and his lasting commitment to them, he made you king over them so you could make just and right decisions."

You will not fight in this battle. Take your positions, stand, and watch the Lord deliver you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Don't be afraid and don't panic! Tomorrow march out toward them; the Lord is with you!'"

Now don't let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this. Don't believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my power or the power of my predecessors. So how can your gods rescue you from my power?'"

The eye of him who sees me now will see me no more; your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.

If I have sinned -- what have I done to you, O watcher of men? Why have you set me as your target? Have I become a burden to you?

"But now, ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds of the sky and they will tell you.

Or speak to the earth and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea declare to you.

Would it turn out well if he would examine you? Or as one deceives a man would you deceive him?

Do you fix your eye on such a one? And do you bring me before you for judgment?

Are God's consolations too trivial for you; or a word spoken in gentleness to you?

For the years that lie ahead are few, and then I will go on the way of no return.

And the eye of the adulterer watches for the twilight, thinking, 'No eye can see me,' and covers his face with a mask.

Certainly the Lord guards the way of the godly, but the way of the wicked ends in destruction.

I will be happy and rejoice in you! I will sing praises to you, O sovereign One!

But you, O Lord, do not remain far away! You are my source of strength! Hurry and help me!

You loyal followers of the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him!

My heart tells me to pray to you, and I do pray to you, O Lord.

By David. To you, O Lord, I cry out! My protector, do not ignore me! If you do not respond to me, I will join those who are descending into the grave.

A psalm -- a song used at the dedication of the temple; by David. I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up, and did not allow my enemies to gloat over me.

To you, O Lord, I cried out; I begged the Lord for mercy: