Has it not been told to my lord [Elijah] what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred of the Lord’s prophets by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water?

Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people [of Israel] did not answer him [so much as] a word.

Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets [of Baal] with the sword.

Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Please observe and see how this man is seeking our destruction. For he sent messengers to me for my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, and I did not refuse him.”

“Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil (catastrophe) in his lifetime, but in his son’s days I will bring evil upon his house.”

But the king [doubted him and] said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”

Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, his might which he displayed and how he made war, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

His servant said, “How am I to set [only] this before a hundred [hungry] men?” He said, “Give it to the people so that they may eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’”

When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes [in shock and outrage at the request] and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me [a request] to heal a man of his leprosy? Just consider [what he is asking] and see how he is seeking an opportunity [for a battle] with me.”

Then his servants approached and said to him, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he has said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean?’”

Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man ahead of him [to behead Elisha]; but before the messenger arrived, Elisha told the elders, “Do you see how this son of [Jezebel] a murderer has sent [a man] to remove my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it securely against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet [just] behind him?”

And [just] as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.”

When Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?” And he answered, “What peace [can exist] as long as the fornications of your mother Jezebel and her sorceries are so many?”

Then Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Pick him up and throw him on the property of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for I remember when you and I were riding together after his father Ahab, that the Lord uttered this prophecy against him:

But they were extremely afraid and said, “Look, the two kings did not stand before Jehu; so how can we stand?”

But Jehoahaz sought the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them.

Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might and how he fought with Amaziah the king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

The rest of the acts of Jeroboam [II], all that he did, his might, how he fought, and how he recovered Damascus and Hamath for Israel, which had belonged to Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

So one of the priests whom they had exiled from Samaria came [back] and lived in Bethel and taught them how they should fear [and worship] the Lord.

How then can you drive back even one official of the least of my master’s servants, when you rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?

‘Have you not heard [asks the God of Israel]?
Long ago I did it;
From ancient times I planned it.
Now I have brought it to pass,
That you [king of Assyria] should [be My instrument to] turn fortified cities into ruinous heaps.

“Please, O Lord, remember now [with compassion] how I have walked before You in faithfulness and truth and with a whole heart [entirely devoted to You], and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

The rest of the acts of Hezekiah and all his might, and how he made the [Siloam] pool and the aqueduct and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home with me?”

When Tou king of Hamath heard how David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah,

When David was told how the men were treated, he sent messengers to meet them, for they were very humiliated and ashamed [to return]. So the king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow [back], and then return.”

“But will God actually dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built!

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.”

Then the king said to him, “How many times must I warn you (make you swear an oath) to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”

But if you do go [in spite of this warning], be strong and courageous for battle; yet God will cause you to stumble and fall before the enemy, for God has power to help and to cause people to stumble.”

So now, do not let Hezekiah deceive or mislead you like this, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God rescue you from my hand!’”

His prayer also and how God heard him, and all his sin, his unfaithfulness, and the sites on which he built high places and set up the Asherim and the carved images, before he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the records of the Hozai.

The king, beside whom the queen was sitting, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I gave him a definite time [for my return].

Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation that we are in—how Jerusalem is desolate and lies in ruins and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, and let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”

Every day Mordecai [who was an attendant in the king’s court] walked back and forth in front of the courtyard of the harem to learn how Esther was getting along and what was happening to her.

Then Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches, the large number of his sons, and every instance in which the king had magnified him and how he had promoted him over the officials and servants of the king.

It was found written there how Mordecai had reported that Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who were doorkeepers, had planned to attack King Ahasuerus (Xerxes).

For how can I endure to see the tragedy that will happen to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?”

‘How much more [will He blame and charge] those who dwell in houses (bodies) of clay,
Whose foundations are in the dust,
Who are crushed like a moth.

“How painful are words of honesty.
But what does your argument prove?

“Will You never turn Your gaze away from me [it plagues me],
Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle?

“How long will you say these things?
And will the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?

“Yes, I know it is true.
But how can a mortal man be right before God?

“How can I answer Him [and plead my case],
Choosing my words [to reason] with Him?

“How many are my iniquities and sins [that so much sorrow should come to me]?
Make me recognize and understand my transgression and my sin.

How much less [pure and clean is] the one who is repulsive and corrupt,
Man, who drinks unrighteousness and injustice like water!

“How long will you hunt for words and continue these speeches?
Do some clear thinking and show understanding and then we can talk.

“How long will you torment and exasperate me
And crush me with words?

“If you say, ‘How shall we [continue to] persecute him?’
And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find [since we claim the root of these afflictions is found in him]?’

“How often [then] is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out,
And that their disaster falls on them?
Does God distribute pain and destruction and sorrow [to them] in His anger?

“How then can you vainly comfort me with empty words,
Since your answers remain untrue?”

“Is not God in the height of heaven?
And behold the distant stars, how high they are!

“You say, ‘What does God know [about me]?
Can He judge through the thick darkness?

“How then can man be justified and righteous with God?
Or how can he who is born of a woman be pure and clean?

How much less man, that maggot,
And the son of man, that worm!”

“What a help you are to the weak (powerless)!
How you have saved the arm that is without strength!

“How you have counseled the one who has no wisdom!
And how abundantly you have provided sound wisdom and helpful insight!

“Indeed, how could the strength of their hands profit me?
Vigor had perished from them.

“Among the bushes they cry out [like wild animals];
Beneath the prickly scrub they gather and huddle together.

“I am a brother to [howling] jackals,
And a companion to ostriches [which scream dismally].

“I have made a covenant (agreement) with my eyes;
How then could I gaze [lustfully] at a virgin?

“For I do not know how to flatter, [in an appropriate way, and I fear that],
My Maker would soon take me away.

“If there is an angel as a mediator for him,
One out of a thousand,
To explain to a man what is right for him [that is, how to be in right standing with God],

Teach me what I do not see [in regard to how I have sinned];
If I have done wrong (injustice, unrighteousness),
I will not do it again’?

“For you say, ‘What advantage have you [by living a righteous life]?
What profit will I have, more [by being righteous] than if I had sinned?’

“If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against Him?
And if your transgressions are multiplied, what have you done to Him?

“Even though you say that you do not see Him [when missing His righteous judgment on earth],
Yet your case is before Him, and you must wait for Him!

“Do you know how God establishes and commands them,
And makes the lightning of His [storm] cloud shine?

“Do you know about the layers of thick clouds [and how they are balanced and poised in the heavens],
The wonderful works of Him who is perfect in knowledge,

“Out of the north comes golden splendor [and people can hardly look on it];
Around God is awesome splendor and majesty [far too glorious for man’s eyes].

O Lord, how my enemies have increased!
Many are rising up against me.

O sons of men, how long will my honor and glory be [turned into] shame?
How long will you [my enemies] love worthless (vain, futile) things and seek deception and lies? Selah.

My soul [as well as my body] is greatly dismayed.
But as for You, O Lord—how long [until You act on my behalf]?

O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth!
You have displayed Your splendor above the heavens.

O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth!

Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord;
See how I am afflicted by those who hate me,
You who lift me up from the gates of death,

In the Lord I take refuge [and put my trust];
How can you say to me, “Flee like a bird to your mountain;

How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?

How long must I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart day after day?
How long will my enemy exalt himself and triumph over me?

O Lord the king will delight in Your strength,
And in Your salvation how greatly will he rejoice!

How great is Your goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who [reverently] fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who take refuge in You,
Before the sons of man!

Lord, how long will You look on [without action]?
Rescue my life from their destructions,
My only life from the young lions.

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
The children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.

“Lord, let me know my [life’s] end
And [to appreciate] the extent of my days;
Let me know how frail I am [how transient is my stay here].

These things I [vividly] remember as I pour out my soul;
How I used to go along before the great crowd of people and lead them in procession to the house of God [like a choirmaster before his singers, timing the steps to the music and the chant of the song],
With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a great crowd keeping a festival.

They return at evening, they howl and snarl like dogs,
And go [prowling] around the city.

They return at evening, they howl and snarl like dogs,
And go [prowling] around the city.

How long will you attack a man
So that you may murder him, all of you,
Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?

Say to God, “How awesome and fearfully glorious are Your works!
Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will pretend to be obedient to You.

Come and see the works of God,
He is awesome in His deeds toward the children of men.

They say, “How does God know?
Is there knowledge [of us] with the Most High?”

When I considered how to understand this,
It was too great an effort for me and too painful

How they are destroyed in a moment!
They are completely swept away by sudden terrors!

We do not see our symbols;
There is no longer any prophet [to guide us],
Nor does any among us know for how long.

O God, how long will the adversary scoff?
Is the enemy to revile Your name forever?

Remember this, O Lord, the enemy has scoffed,
And a foolish and impious people has spurned Your name.

Arise, O God, plead Your own cause;
Remember how the foolish man scoffs at You all day long.

How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness
And grieved Him in the desert!

How He worked His miracles in Egypt
And His wonders in the field of Zoan [where Pharaoh resided],

How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever?
Will Your jealousy [which cannot endure a divided allegiance] burn like fire?