“Look,” the attendant said, “there’s a man of God in this city who is highly respected; everything he says is sure to come true. Let’s go there now. Maybe he’ll tell us which way we should go.”

Today when you leave me, you’ll find two men at Rachel’s Grave at Zelzah in the land of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you went looking for have been found, and now your father has stopped being concerned about the donkeys and is worried about you, asking: What should I do about my son?’

Afterward, the people said to Samuel, “Who said that Saul should not reign over us? Give us those men so we can kill them!”

So Saul inquired of God, “Should I go after the Philistines? Will You hand them over to Israel?” But God did not answer him that day.

His spear shaft was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed 15 pounds. In addition, a shield-bearer was walking in front of him.

David spoke to the men who were standing with him: “What will be done for the man who kills that Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

The Philistine came closer and closer to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him.

Then David responded, “Who am I, and what is my family or my father’s clan in Israel that I should become the king’s son-in-law?”

Saul then ordered his servants, “Speak to David in private and tell him, ‘Look, the king is pleased with you, and all his servants love you. Therefore, you should become the king’s son-in-law.’”

Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul. He said to him: “The king should not sin against his servant David. He hasn’t sinned against you; in fact, his actions have been a great advantage to you.

Saul asked Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this? You sent my enemy away, and he has escaped!”

She answered him, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I kill you?’”

So David inquired of the Lord: “Should I launch an attack against these Philistines?”

The Lord answered David, “Launch an attack against the Philistines and rescue Keilah.”

My lord should pay no attention to this worthless man Nabal, for he lives up to his name: His name is Nabal, and stupidity is all he knows. I, your servant, didn’t see my lord’s young men whom you sent.

Now David said to Achish, “If I have found favor with you, let me be given a place in one of the outlying towns, so I can live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”

“Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Samuel asked Saul.

“I’m in serious trouble,” replied Saul. “The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He doesn’t answer me anymore, either through the prophets or in dreams. So I’ve called on you to tell me what I should do.”

and David asked the Lord: “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?”

The Lord replied to him, “Pursue them, for you will certainly overtake them and rescue the people.”

Mountains of Gilboa,
let no dew or rain be on you,
or fields of offerings,
for there the shield of the mighty was defiled—
the shield of Saul, no longer anointed with oil.

Some time later, David inquired of the Lord: “Should I go to one of the towns of Judah?”

The Lord answered him, “Go.”

Then David asked, “Where should I go?”

“To Hebron,” the Lord replied.

Once again, Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How could I ever look your brother Joab in the face?”

and the king sang a lament for Abner:

Should Abner die as a fool dies?

How much more when wicked men kill a righteous man in his own house on his own bed! So now, should I not require his blood from your hands and wipe you off the earth?”

Then David inquired of the Lord: “Should I go to war against the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?”

The Lord replied to David, “Go, for I will certainly hand the Philistines over to you.”

And Saul’s daughter Michal had no child to the day of her death.

But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I’ll go to him, but he will never return to me.”

“Don’t, my brother!” she cried. “Don’t humiliate me, for such a thing should never be done in Israel. Don’t do this horrible thing!

The king replied to Absalom, “No, my son, we should not all go, or we would be a burden to you.” Although Absalom urged him, he wasn’t willing to go, though he did bless him.

“If not,” Absalom said, “please let my brother Amnon go with us.”

The king asked him, “Why should he go with you?”

Besides, you only arrived yesterday; should I make you wander around with us today while I go wherever I can? Go back and take your brothers with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.”

However, if He should say, ‘I do not delight in you,’ then here I am—He can do with me whatever pleases Him.”

Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut his head off!”

Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give me your advice. What should we do?”

So Hushai came to Absalom, and Absalom told him: “Ahithophel offered this proposal. Should we carry out his proposal? If not, what do you say?”

King David sent word to the priests, Zadok and Abiathar: “Say to the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to restore the king to his palace? The talk of all Israel has reached the king at his house.

You are my brothers, my flesh and blood. So why should you be the last to restore the king?’

David answered, “Sons of Zeruiah, do we agree on anything? Have you become my adversary today? Should any man be killed in Israel today? Am I not aware that today I’m king over Israel?”

Barzillai replied to the king, “How many years of my life are left that I should go up to Jerusalem with the king?

I’m now 80 years old. Can I discern what is pleasant and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or drinks? Can I still hear the voice of male and female singers? Why should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?

Since your servant is only going with the king a little way across the Jordan, why should the king repay me with such a reward?

He asked the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? How can I make atonement so that you will bring a blessing on the Lord’s inheritance?”

my God, my mountain where I seek refuge.
My shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold, my refuge,
and my Savior, You save me from violence.

God—His way is perfect;
the word of the Lord is pure.
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

You have given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your help exalts me.

So Gad went to David, told him the choices, and asked him, “Do you want three years of famine to come on your land, to flee from your foes three months while they pursue you, or to have a plague in your land three days? Now, think it over and decide what answer I should take back to the One who sent me.”

At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, “Ask. What should I give you?”

may You hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of Your servants
and Your people Israel,
so that You may teach them the good way
they should walk in.
May You send rain on Your land
that You gave Your people for an inheritance.

King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold; 15 pounds of gold went into each shield.

He made 300 small shields of hammered gold; about four pounds of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

Then the young men who had grown up with him told him, “This is what you should say to these people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you, make it lighter on us!’ This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins!

The prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, “Go and strengthen yourself, then consider what you should do, for in the spring the king of Aram will march against you.”

Now the king of Aram’s servants said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hill country. That’s why they were stronger than we were. Instead, we should fight with them on the plain; then we will certainly be stronger than they will be.

So the king of Israel gathered the prophets, about 400 men, and asked them, “Should I go against Ramoth-gilead for war or should I refrain?”

They replied, “March up, and the Lord will hand it over to the king.”

So he went to the king, and the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth-gilead for war, or should we refrain?”

Micaiah told him, “March up and succeed. Yahweh will hand it over to the king.”

Then he asked, “Which route should we take?”

Joram replied, “The route of the Wilderness of Edom.”

So he asked, “Then what should be done for her?”

Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.”

The child grew and one day went out to his father and the harvesters.

So he picked him up and took him to his mother. The child sat on her lap until noon and then died.

But 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 should you do it when he tells you, ‘Wash and be clean’?”

When the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, should I kill them? I will kill them.”

While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him. Then he said, “This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”

The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until you had put an end to them, but now you will only strike down Aram three times.”

You have indeed defeated Edom, and you have become overconfident. Enjoy your glory and stay at home. Why should you stir up such trouble that you fall—you and Judah with you?”

So one of the priests they had deported came and lived in Bethel, and he began to teach them how they should fear Yahweh.

Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
He will not enter this city
or shoot an arrow there
or come before it with a shield
or build up an assault ramp against it.

Isaiah said, “This is the sign to you from the Lord that He will do what He has promised: Should the shadow go ahead 10 steps or go back 10 steps?”

The sons of Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 warriors who could serve in the army—men who carried shield and sword, drew the bow, and were trained for war.

Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were fighting men, trained for battle, expert with shield and spear. Their faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles on the mountains.

From the Issacharites, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do: 200 chiefs with all their relatives under their command.

From Naphtali: 1,000 commanders accompanied by 37,000 men with shield and spear.

Then he said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if this is from the Lord our God, let us spread out and send the message to the rest of our relatives in all the districts of Israel, including the priests and Levites in their cities with pasturelands, that they should gather together with us.

so David inquired of God, “Should I go to war against the Philistines? Will You hand them over to me?”

The Lord replied, “Go, and I will hand them over to you.”

Joab replied, “May the Lord multiply the number of His people a hundred times over! My lord the king, aren’t they all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”

three years of famine, or three months of devastation by your foes with the sword of your enemy overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord—a plague on the land, the angel of the Lord bringing destruction to the whole territory of Israel.’ Now decide what answer I should take back to the One who sent me.”

But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your own hand.

That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him: “Ask. What should I give you?”

But who is able to build a temple for Him, since even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain Him? Who am I then that I should build a temple for Him except as a place to burn incense before Him?

may You hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of Your servants
and Your people Israel,
so that You may teach them the good way
they should walk in.
May You send rain on Your land
that You gave Your people for an inheritance.

King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold; 15 pounds of hammered gold went into each shield.

He made 300 small shields of hammered gold; about eight pounds of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

Then the young men who had grown up with him told him, “This is what you should say to the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you, make it lighter on us!’ This is what you should say to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins.

from Benjamin, Eliada, a brave warrior, and 200,000 with him armed with bow and shield;

So the king of Israel gathered the prophets, 400 men, and asked them, “Should we go to Ramoth-gilead for war or should I refrain?”

They replied, “March up, and God will hand it over to the king.”

So he went to the king, and the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth-gilead for war, or should I refrain?”

Micaiah said, “March up and succeed, for they will be handed over to you.”

Then Amaziah gathered Judah and assembled them according to ancestral house, according to commanders of thousands, and according to commanders of hundreds. He numbered those 20 years old or more for all Judah and Benjamin. He found there to be 300,000 choice men who could serve in the army, bearing spear and shield.

Then Amaziah said to the man of God, “What should I do about the 7,500 pounds of silver I gave to Israel’s division?”

The man of God replied, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.”

While he was still speaking to him, the king asked, “Have we made you the king’s counselor? Stop, why should you lose your life?”

So the prophet stopped, but he said, “I know that God intends to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my advice.”

Many people gathered and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land; they said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?”

Who among all the gods of these nations that my predecessors completely destroyed was able to deliver his people from my power, that your God should be able to do the same for you?

that a search should be made in your fathers’ record books. In these record books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces. There have been revolts in it since ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.

I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia, with a message for him and his brothers, the temple servants at Casiphia, that they should bring us ministers for the house of our God.

should we break Your commands again and intermarry with the peoples who commit these detestable practices? Wouldn’t You become so angry with us that You would destroy us, leaving no survivors?

They circulated a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles should gather at Jerusalem.

and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”

But I said, “Should a man like me run away? How can I enter the temple and live? I will not go.”

They found written in the law how the Lord had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should dwell in booths during the festival of the seventh month.

You led them with a pillar of cloud by day,
and with a pillar of fire by night,
to illuminate the way they should go.

You did not abandon them in the wilderness
because of Your great compassion.
During the day the pillar of cloud
never turned away from them,
guiding them on their journey.
And during the night the pillar of fire
illuminated the way they should go.

At that time the book of Moses was read publicly to the people. The command was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God,

Why then should we hear about you doing all this terrible evil and acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?”

The king asked, “According to the law, what should be done with Queen Vashti, since she refused to obey King Ahasuerus’s command that was delivered by the eunuchs?”