The Gibeonites said to him, "We have no claim to silver or gold from Saul or from his family, nor would we be justified in putting to death anyone in Israel." David asked, "What then are you asking me to do for you?"

When David was told what Rizpah daughter of Aiah, Saul's concubine, had done,

"Go, tell David, 'This is what the Lord says: I am offering you three forms of judgment. Pick one of them and I will carry it out against you.'"

Gad went to David and told him, "Shall seven years of famine come upon your land? Or shall you flee for three months from your enemy with him in hot pursuit? Or shall there be three days of plague in your land? Now decide what I should tell the one who sent me."

When he saw the angel who was destroying the people, David said to the Lord, "Look, it is I who have sinned and done this evil thing! As for these sheep -- what have they done? Attack me and my family."

Bathsheba bowed down on the floor before the king. The king said, "What do you want?"

"You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me -- how he murdered two commanders of the Israelite armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. During peacetime he struck them down like he would in battle; when he shed their blood as if in battle, he stained his own belt and the sandals on his feet.

Do to him what you think is appropriate, but don't let him live long and die a peaceful death.

Then the king said to Shimei, "You are well aware of the way you mistreated my father David. The Lord will punish you for what you did.

One night in Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream. God said, "Tell me what I should give you."

Furthermore, I am giving you what you did not request -- riches and honor so that you will be the greatest king of your generation.

Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, wrote down what happened. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records.

He said, "The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because he has fulfilled what he promised my father David.

You have kept your word to your servant, my father David; this very day you have fulfilled what you promised.

Listen from heaven and make a just decision about your servants' claims. Condemn the guilty party, declare the other innocent, and give both of them what they deserve.

I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn't hear even half the story! Your wisdom and wealth surpass what was reported to me.

King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, besides what he had freely offered her. Then she left and returned to her homeland with her attendants.

besides what he collected from the merchants, traders, Arabian kings, and governors of the land.

Pharaoh said to him, "What do you lack here that makes you want to go to your homeland?" Hadad replied, "Nothing, but please give me permission to leave."

This is what prompted him to rebel against the king: Solomon built a terrace and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David.

Then he told Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces, for this is what the Lord God of Israel says: 'Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon's hand and I will give ten tribes to you.

I am taking the kingdom from him because they have abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like Solomon's father David did.

You must obey all I command you to do, follow my instructions, do what I approve, and keep my rules and commandments, like my servant David did. Then I will be with you and establish for you a lasting dynasty, as I did for David; I will give you Israel.

With the authority of the Lord he cried out against the altar, "O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says, 'Look, a son named Josiah will be born to the Davidic dynasty. He will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer sacrifices on you. Human bones will be burned on you.'"

When the king heard what the prophet cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam, standing at the altar, extended his hand and ordered, "Seize him!" The hand he had extended shriveled up and he could not pull it back.

and he cried out to the prophet from Judah, "This is what the Lord says, 'You have rebelled against the Lord and have not obeyed the command the Lord your God gave you.

Some men came by and saw the corpse lying in the road with the lion standing beside it. They went and reported what they had seen in the city where the old prophet lived.

Take ten loaves of bread, some small cakes, and a container of honey and visit him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy."

But the Lord had told Ahijah, "Look, Jeroboam's wife is coming to find out from you what will happen to her son, for he is sick. Tell her so-and-so. When she comes, she will be in a disguise."

Go, tell Jeroboam, 'This is what the Lord God of Israel says: "I raised you up from among the people and made you ruler over my people Israel.

I tore the kingdom away from the Davidic dynasty and gave it to you. But you are not like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me wholeheartedly by doing only what I approve.

He did this because David had done what he approved and had not disregarded any of his commandments his entire lifetime, except for the incident involving Uriah the Hittite.

Asa did what the Lord approved like his ancestor David had done.

For this is what the Lord God of Israel says, 'The jar of flour will not be empty and the jug of oil will not run out until the day the Lord makes it rain on the surface of the ground.'"

Obadiah said, "What sin have I committed that you are ready to hand your servant over to Ahab for execution?

Certainly my master is aware of what I did when Jezebel was killing the Lord's prophets. I hid one hundred of the Lord's prophets in two caves in two groups of fifty and I brought them food and water.

He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, then I will follow you." Elijah said to him, "Go back! Indeed, what have I done to you?"

He said to him, "This is what Ben Hadad says, 'Your silver and your gold are mine, as well as the best of your wives and sons.'"

The messengers came again and said, "This is what Ben Hadad says, 'I sent this message to you, "You must give me your silver, gold, wives, and sons."

Now a prophet visited King Ahab of Israel and said, "This is what the Lord says, 'Do you see this huge army? Look, I am going to hand it over to you this very day. Then you will know that I am the Lord.'"

Ahab asked, "By whom will this be accomplished?" He answered, "This is what the Lord says, 'By the servants of the district governors.'" Ahab asked, "Who will launch the attack?" He answered, "You will."

The prophet visited the king of Israel and instructed him, "Go, fortify your defenses. Determine what you must do, for in the spring the king of Syria will attack you."

The prophet visited the king of Israel and said, "This is what the Lord says: 'Because the Syrians said, "The Lord is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys," I will hand over to you this entire huge army. Then you will know that I am the Lord.'"

The prophet then said to him, "This is what the Lord says, 'Because you released a man I had determined should die, you will pay with your life and your people will suffer instead of his people.'"

This is what she wrote: "Observe a time of fasting and seat Naboth in front of the people.

Say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: "Haven't you committed murder and taken possession of the property of the deceased?"' Then say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: "In the spot where dogs licked up Naboth's blood they will also lick up your blood -- yes, yours!"'"

Zedekiah son of Kenaanah made iron horns and said, "This is what the Lord says, 'With these you will gore Syria until they are destroyed.'"

But Micaiah said, "As certainly as the Lord lives, I will say what the Lord tells me to say."

Say, 'This is what the king says, "Put this man in prison. Give him only a little bread and water until I safely return."'"

He followed in his father Asa's footsteps and was careful to do what the Lord approved. However, the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places.

Therefore this is what the Lord says, "You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!"'" So Elijah went on his way.

They replied, "A man came up to meet us. He told us, "Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, 'This is what the Lord says: "You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die."'"

The king sent another captain and his fifty soldiers to retrieve Elijah. He went up and told him, "Prophet, this is what the king says, 'Come down at once!'"

Elijah said to the king, "This is what the Lord says, 'You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. You must think there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek an oracle! Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.'"

When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, "What can I do for you, before I am taken away from you?" Elisha answered, "May I receive a double portion of the prophetic spirit that energizes you."

He went out to the spring and threw the salt in. Then he said, "This is what the Lord says, 'I have purified this water. It will no longer cause death or fail to produce crops."

and he said, "This is what the Lord says, 'Make many cisterns in this valley,'

for this is what the Lord says, 'You will not feel any wind or see any rain, but this valley will be full of water and you and your cattle and animals will drink.'

Elisha said to her, "What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?" She answered, "Your servant has nothing in the house except a small jar of olive oil."

Elisha said to Gehazi, "Tell her, 'Look, you have treated us with such great respect. What can I do for you? Can I put in a good word for you with the king or the commander of the army?'" She replied, "I'm quite secure."

So he asked Gehazi, "What can I do for her?" Gehazi replied, "She has no son, and her husband is old."

But his attendant said, "How can I feed a hundred men with this?" He replied, "Set it before the people so they may eat, for this is what the Lord says, 'They will eat and have some left over.'"

Naaman went and told his master what the girl from the land of Israel had said.

Gehazi, the prophet Elisha's servant, thought, "Look, my master did not accept what this Syrian Naaman offered him. As certainly as the Lord lives, I will run after him and accept something from him."

The prophet's attendant got up early in the morning. When he went outside there was an army surrounding the city, along with horses and chariots. He said to Elisha, "Oh no, my master! What will we do?"

He replied, "Do not strike them down! You did not capture them with your sword or bow, so what gives you the right to strike them down? Give them some food and water, so they can eat and drink and then go back to their master."

Then the king asked her, "What's your problem?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Hand over your son; we'll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow.'

When the king heard what the woman said, he tore his clothes. As he was passing by on the wall, the people could see he was wearing sackcloth under his clothes.

Elisha replied, "Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says, 'About this time tomorrow a seah of finely milled flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.'"

When the men with a skin disease reached the edge of the camp, they entered a tent and had a meal. They also took some silver, gold, and clothes and went and hid it all. Then they went back and entered another tent. They looted it and went and hid what they had taken.

Then they said to one another, "It's not right what we're doing! This is a day to celebrate, but we haven't told anyone. If we wait until dawn, we'll be punished. So come on, let's go and inform the royal palace."

The king got up in the night and said to his advisers, "I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know we are starving, so they left the camp and hid in the field, thinking, 'When they come out of the city, we will capture them alive and enter the city.'"

One of his advisers replied, "Pick some men and have them take five of the horses that are left in the city. (Even if they are killed, their fate will be no different than that of all the Israelite people -- we're all going to die!) Let's send them out so we can know for sure what's going on."

So they picked two horsemen and the king sent them out to track the Syrian army. He ordered them, "Go and find out what's going on."

This is exactly what happened to him. The people trampled him to death in the city gate.

He left Elisha and went to his master. Ben Hadad asked him, "What did Elisha tell you?" Hazael replied, "He told me you would surely recover."

Take the container of olive oil, pour it over his head, and say, 'This is what the Lord says, "I have designated you as king over Israel."' Then open the door and run away quickly!"

So Jehu got up and went inside. Then the prophet poured the olive oil on his head and said to him, "This is what the Lord God of Israel says, 'I have designated you as king over the Lord's people Israel.

When Jehu rejoined his master's servants, they asked him, "Is everything all right? Why did this madman visit you?" He replied, "Ah, it's not important. You know what kind of man he is and the kinds of things he says."

But they said, "You're lying! Tell us what he said." So he told them what he had said. He also related how he had said, "This is what the Lord says, 'I have designated you as king over Israel.'"

So the horseman went to meet him and said, "This is what the king says, 'Is everything all right?'" Jehu replied, "None of your business! Follow me." The watchman reported, "The messenger reached them, but hasn't started back."

So he sent a second horseman out to them and he said, "This is what the king says, 'Is everything all right?'" Jehu replied, "None of your business! Follow me."

"Know for sure that I saw the shed blood of Naboth and his sons yesterday," says the Lord, "and that I will give you what you deserve right here in this plot of land," says the Lord.' So now pick him up and throw him into this plot of land, just as the Lord said."

When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what happened, he took off up the road to Beth Haggan. Jehu chased him and ordered, "Shoot him too." They shot him while he was driving his chariot up the ascent of Gur near Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo and died there.

Ahab had seventy sons living in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the leading officials of Jezreel and to the guardians of Ahab's dynasty. This is what the letters said,

So the palace supervisor, the city commissioner, the leaders, and the guardians sent this message to Jehu, "We are your subjects! Whatever you say, we will do. We will not make anyone king. Do what you consider proper."

Therefore take note that not one of the judgments the Lord announced against Ahab's dynasty has failed to materialize. The Lord had done what he announced through his servant Elijah."

He ordered them, "This is what you must do. One third of the unit that is on duty during the Sabbath will guard the royal palace.

Throughout his lifetime Jehoash did what the Lord approved, just as Jehoiada the priest taught him.

He did what the Lord approved, but not like David his father. He followed the example of his father Joash.

But he did not execute the sons of the assassins. He obeyed the Lord's commandment as recorded in the law scroll of Moses, "Fathers must not be put to death for what their sons do, and sons must not be put to death for what their fathers do. A man must be put to death only for his own sin."

He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Amaziah had done.

His assassination brought to fulfillment the Lord's word to Jehu, "Four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel." That is exactly what happened.

He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Uzziah had done.

Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what pleased the Lord his God, in contrast to his ancestor David.

He did what the Lord approved, just as his ancestor David had done.

The chief adviser said to them, "Tell Hezekiah: 'This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: "What is your source of confidence?

Now look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If a man leans for support on it, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him.

This is what the king says: 'Don't let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you from my hand!

Don't listen to Hezekiah!' For this is what the king of Assyria says, 'Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern,