The woman conceived; and she sent word and told David, “I am pregnant.”

And when the time of mourning was past, David sent word and had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done [with Bathsheba] was evil in the sight of the Lord.

Now the Philistines were at war again with Israel. David went down with his servants, and as they fought against the Philistines, David became weary.

“Foreigners pretend obedience to me;
As soon as they hear [me], they obey me.

Rezon gathered men to himself and became leader of a marauding band, after David killed those in Zobah. They went to Damascus and stayed there and they reigned in Damascus.

Now this thing became a sin [for Israel]; because the people went to worship before the one [or the other of them] as far as Dan.

The king answered and said to the man of God, “Please entreat [the favor of] the Lord your God and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” So the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it was before.

And this thing (idol worship) became the sin of the house of Jeroboam to blot it out and eliminate it from the face of the earth.

At that time Abijah the son [and crown prince, heir] of Jeroboam became sick.

It happened after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.

Then he went up and lay on the child and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself out on him and held him, the boy’s skin became warm.

In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah became king.

In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, became king.

Shalmaneser [V] king of Assyria came up against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute (money).

They rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers, as well as His warnings that he gave them. And they followed vanity [that is, false gods, idols] and became vain (empty-headed). They followed the [pagan practices of the] nations which surrounded them, although the Lord had commanded that they were not to do as they did.

In those days [when Sennacherib first invaded Judah] Hezekiah became deathly ill. The prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not recover.’”

In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him.

David became greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him.

Of the three in the second [rank] he was the most honored and became their captain; however, he did not attain to the first three [Jashobeam, Eleazar, and Shammah].

They helped David against the band of raiders, for they were all courageous men, and [all seven] became commanders in his army.

Then David took more wives at Jerusalem, and he became the father of more sons and daughters.

You made Your people Israel Your own people forever, and You, Lord, became their God.

He defeated Moab, and the Moabites became David’s servants and brought tribute (gifts).

Then David put military outposts among the Arameans in Damascus; and the Arameans became David’s servants and brought tribute. Thus the Lord helped David wherever he went.

He put military outposts in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. Thus the Lord helped David wherever he went.

When the servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became subject to and served him. And the Arameans (Syrians) were not willing to help the Ammonites anymore.

But Abijah became powerful. He took fourteen wives for himself and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa developed a disease in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his illness he did not seek the Lord, but [relied only on] the physicians.

So Jehoshaphat became greater and greater. He built fortresses and storage cities in Judah.

Now when Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, he died. He was a hundred and thirty years old at his death.

The Ammonites paid tribute (money) to Uzziah, and his fame spread abroad, even as far as the border of Egypt, for he became very strong.

But when Uzziah became strong, he became so proud [of himself and his accomplishments] that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful and sinned against the Lord his God, for he went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.

In the time of his distress, this same King Ahaz became yet more unfaithful to the Lord.

But Hezekiah did nothing [for the Lord] in return for the benefit bestowed on him, because his heart had become proud; therefore God’s wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.

Further, he did not humble himself before the Lord as his father Manasseh [finally] had done, but Amon multiplied his guilt and his sin.

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem.

“They captured fortified cities and a fertile land.
They took possession of houses full of all good things,
Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves,
And fruit trees in abundance.
So they ate and were filled and became fat,
And they reveled and were delighted in Your great goodness.

In each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king’s command and his decree arrived, the Jews celebrated with gladness and joy, a feast and a holiday. And many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the fear of the Jews [and their God] had fallen on them.

For Mordecai was great and respected in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai became greater and greater.

But Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became indignant. His indignation was kindled and burned and he became upset with Job because he justified himself rather than God [and even expressed doubts about God’s character].

And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of these three men, he burned with anger.

When I made sackcloth my clothing [as one in mourning],
I became a byword [a mere object of scorn] to them.

Who were destroyed at En-dor,
Who became like dung for the earth.

Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion.

So I became great and excelled more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also remained with me.

And they were on great waters.
The grain of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile River, was Tyre’s revenue;
And she was the market of nations.

In those days Hezekiah [king of Judah] became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said, “For the Lord says this, ‘Set your house in order and prepare a will, for you shall die; you will not live.’”

Just as many were astonished and appalled at you, My people,
So His appearance was marred more than any man
And His form [marred] more than the sons of men.

“Israel was holy [something set apart from ordinary purposes, consecrated] to the Lord,
The first fruits of His harvest [in which no outsider was allowed to share].
All who ate of it [injuring Israel] became guilty;
Evil came on them,” says the Lord.’”

Thus says the Lord,

“What injustice or unrighteousness did your fathers find in Me,
That they have wandered far from Me
And [habitually] walked after emptiness and futility and became empty?

Therefore My wrath and My anger were poured out and burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; so they have become a ruin and a desolation, as it is this day.

I made you (Israel) multiply like plants [which grow] in the field, and you grew up and became tall and you reached the age for [wearing] fine jewelry; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown, yet you were naked and bare.

“Then I passed by you [again] and looked on you; behold, you were maturing and at the time for love, and I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore [an oath] to you and entered into a covenant with you,” says the Lord God, “and you became Mine.”

Then it sprouted and grew and became a low, spreading vine whose branches turned [in submission] toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and yielded shoots and sent out branches.

‘When she [the royal mother-city] brought up [Jehoahaz] one of her cubs,
He became a [young] lion,
And he learned to catch and tear the prey;
He devoured men.

‘And he moved among the lions;
He became a young lion,
He learned to tear the prey;
He devoured men.

Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister, and they became Mine and they gave birth to sons and daughters. And as for [the identity of] their names, Oholah is Samaria (capital city of Israel) and Oholibah is Jerusalem (capital city of Judah).

They uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters and they killed her with the sword. So she became notorious among women, and they executed judgments on her.

“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army work hard [at My command] against Tyre; every [soldier’s] head became bald and every shoulder was worn and peeled [from carrying loads of dirt and stones for siege works]. Yet he had no wages from Tyre [in proportion to the time and labor expended during the siege], either for himself or his army, for the work that he had done against it [for Me].”

‘Therefore it towered higher than all the trees of the forest
And its boughs multiplied and its branches grew long;
Because there was so much water they spread outward.

They were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the predators of the field.

“As I live,” says the Lord God, “certainly because My flock has become prey, My flock has even become food for every predator of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock;

therefore prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “For good reason they have made you a desolation, and they crushed you from every side so that you would become a possession of the rest of the nations and you have become the talk and the whispering of the people.”’”

The side chambers became wider at each successive level as they encompassed the temple. Because the structure surrounding the temple went higher by stages on all sides of the temple, for that reason the width of the temple increased as it went higher; and thus one went up from the lowest story to the highest one by way of the second story.

Because the priests ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of sin to the house of Israel, therefore I have lifted up My hand and have sworn [an oath] against them,” says the Lord God, “that they shall bear the punishment for their sin and guilt.

Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together and became like the chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them could be found. And the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

Now when Gomer had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and gave birth to a son.

I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness [an unexpected and refreshing delight];
I saw your fathers (ancestors) as the first ripe fruit on the fig tree in its first season,
But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to shamefulness [the worship of Baal],
And [because of their spiritual and physical adultery] they became as detestable and loathsome as the thing they loved.

But I have been the Lord your God since [you became a nation in] the land of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
As in the days of the appointed and solemn festival.

When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling and terror.
He exalted himself [above the other tribes] in Israel;
But through [the worship of] Baal he became guilty and died [spiritually, and then came ruin, sealing Israel’s doom as a nation].

Yet I have been the Lord your God
Since [the time you became a nation in] the land of Egypt;
And you were not to know any god except Me,
For there is no savior besides Me.

Then they said to him, “What should we do to you, so that the sea will become calm for us?”—for the sea was becoming more and more violent.

Nevertheless, the men rowed hard [breaking through the waves] to return to land, but they could not, because the sea became even more violent [surging higher] against them.

Josiah became the father of Jeconiah [also called Coniah and Jehoiachin] and his brothers, at the time of the deportation (exile) to Babylon.

After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.

Immediately they left their nets and followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

And His appearance changed dramatically in their presence; and His face shone [with heavenly glory, clear and bright] like the sun, and His clothing became as white as light.

When He entered Jerusalem, all the city was trembling [with excitement], saying, “Who is this?”

The guards shook, paralyzed with fear [at the sight] of him and became like dead men [pale and immobile].

Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured (changed in form) before them [and began to shine brightly with divine and regal glory];

and His clothes became radiant and dazzling, intensely white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.

Now after this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for five months she secluded herself completely, saying,

The child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel [as John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah].

And the Child continued to grow and become strong [in spirit], filled with wisdom; and the grace (favor, spiritual blessing) of God was upon Him.

Judas [also called Thaddaeus] the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor [to the Lord].

As He was praying, the appearance of His face became different [actually transformed], and His clothing became white and flashing with the brilliance of lightning.

For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man also be [a sign] to this generation.

It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the sky found shelter and nested in its branches.”

But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.

And being in agony [deeply distressed and anguished; almost to the point of death], He prayed more intently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down on the ground.

Now that very day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other—before this they had been enemies.

And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception).

So when the Lord learned that the Pharisees had been told that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John

Immediately the man was healed and recovered his strength, and picked up his pallet and walked.

Now that day was the Sabbath.

And many there believed and confidently trusted in Him [accepting Him as Savior, and following His teaching].

All the people in Jerusalem learned about this, so in their own dialect—Aramaic—they called the piece of land Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

Then he seized the man’s right hand with a firm grip and raised him up. And at once his feet and ankles became strong and steady,

And God gave Abraham a covenant [a formal agreement to be strictly observed] of [which] circumcision [was the sign]; and so [under these circumstances] Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac [became the father] of Jacob, and Jacob [became the father] of the twelve patriarchs.

And on the second visit Joseph identified himself to his brothers, and Joseph’s family and background were revealed to Pharaoh.