53 Bible Verses about Government

Foolish ways are deep-seated in the heart of a child, but the rod of punishment will send them far from him.

Give your son training while there is hope; let not your heart be purposing his death.

Do not keep back training from the child: for even if you give him blows with the rod, it will not be death to him.

He who keeps back his rod is unkind to his son: the loving father gives punishment with care.

A king, by right rule, makes the land safe; but one full of desires makes it a waste.

A king's glory is in the number of his people: and for need of people a ruler may come to destruction.

It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to take wine, or for rulers to say, Where is strong drink? For fear that through drinking they may come to have no respect for the law, wrongly judging the cause of those who are in trouble. Give strong drink to him who is near to destruction, and wine to him whose soul is bitter: read more.
Let him have drink, and his need will go from his mind, and the memory of his trouble will be gone.

The God of Israel said, the word of the Rock of Israel came to me: When an upright king is ruling over men, when he is ruling in the fear of God,

For you, O God, have made answer to my prayers; you have given me the heritage of those who give honour to your name. You will give the king long life; and make his years go on through the generations. May the seat of his authority be before God for ever; may mercy and righteousness keep him safe.

Because your wrath against me and your words of pride have come up to my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my cord in your lips, and I will make you go back by the way you came.

And turning you round, I will put hooks in your mouth and make you come out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them in full war-dress, a great force with breastplate and body-cover, all of them armed with swords:

Who makes the signs of those who give word of the future come to nothing, so that those who have knowledge of secret arts go off their heads; turning the wise men back, and making their knowledge foolish:

The king's heart in the hands of the Lord is like the water streams, and by him it is turned in any direction at his pleasure.

He makes priests prisoners, overturning those in safe positions;

And to the angel of the church in Laodicea say: These things says the true and certain witness, the head of God's new order: I have knowledge of your works, that you are not cold or warm: it would be better if you were cold or warm. So because you are not one thing or the other, I will have no more to do with you. read more.
For you say, I have wealth, and have got together goods and land, and have need of nothing; and you are not conscious of your sad and unhappy condition, that you are poor and blind and without clothing. If you are wise you will get from me gold tested by fire, so that you may have true wealth; and white robes to put on, so that your shame may not be seen; and oil for your eyes, so that you may see. To all those who are dear to me, I give sharp words and punishment: then with all your heart have sorrow for your evil ways. See, I am waiting at the door and giving the sign; if my voice comes to any man's ears and he makes the door open, I will come in to him, and will take food with him and he with me. To him who overcomes I will give a place with me on my high seat, even as I overcame, and am seated with my Father on his high seat.

But I undergo all things for the saints, so that they may have salvation in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. This is a true saying: If we undergo death with him, then will we be living with him: If we go on to the end, then we will be ruling with him: if we say we have no knowledge of him, then he will say he has no knowledge of us:

As for me, Daniel, my spirit was pained because of this, and the visions of my head were troubling me. I came near to one of those who were waiting there, questioning him about what all this was. And he said to me that he would make clear to me the sense of these things. These great beasts are four kings who will be cut off from the earth. read more.
But the saints of the Most High will take the kingdom, and it will be theirs for ever, even for ever and ever. Then it was my desire to have certain knowledge about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, a cause of great fear, whose teeth were of iron and his nails of brass; who took his food, crushing some of it to bits and stamping on the rest with his feet; And about the ten horns on his head and the other which came up, causing the fall of three; that horn which had eyes, and a mouth saying great things, which seemed to be greater than the other horns. And I saw how that horn made war on the saints and overcame them, Till he came, who was very old, and the decision was made and the authority was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came when the saints took the kingdom. This is what he said: The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom which will come on earth, different from all the kingdoms, and it will overcome all the earth, crushing it down and smashing it. And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will come to power; and after them another will come up: he will be different from the first ones and will put down three kings. And he will say words against the Most High, attempting to put an end to the saints of the Most High; and he will have the idea of changing times and law; and the saints will be given into his hands for a time and times and half a time. But the judge will be seated, and they will put an end to his authority, to overcome it and send complete destruction on it. And the kingdom and the authority and the power of the kingdoms under all the heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and all powers will be his servants and do his pleasure.

For it will be done to the Son of man after the purpose of God, but unhappy is that man by whom he is given up. And they were wondering among themselves which of them it was who would do this thing. And there was an argument among them about which of them was the greatest. read more.
And he said, The kings of the Gentiles are lords over them, and those who have authority are given names of honour. But let it not be so with you; but he who is greater, let him become like the younger; and he who is chief, like a servant. For which is greater, the guest who is seated at a meal or the servant who is waiting on him? is it not the guest? but I am among you as a servant. But you are those who have kept with me through my troubles; And I will give you a kingdom as my Father has given one to me, So that you may take food and drink at my table in my kingdom, and be seated like kings, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

And to the angel of the church in Thyatira say: These things says the Son of God, whose eyes are like a flame of fire, and his feet like polished brass: I have knowledge of your works, and your love and faith and help and strength in trouble, and that your last works are more than the first. But I have this against you, that you let the woman Jezebel say she is a prophet and give false teaching, making my servants go after the desires of the flesh and take food offered to false gods. read more.
And I gave her time for a change of heart, but she has no mind to give up her unclean ways. See, I will put her into a bed, and those who make themselves unclean with her, into great trouble, if they go on with her works. And I will put her children to death; and all the churches will see that I am he who makes search into the secret thoughts and hearts of men: and I will give to every one of you the reward of your works. But to you I say, to the rest in Thyatira, even to those who have not this teaching, and have no knowledge of the secrets of Satan, as they say; I put on you no other weight. But what you have, keep safe till I come. He who overcomes, and keeps my works to the end, to him I will give rule over the nations, And he will be ruling them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of the potter they will be broken, even as I have power from my Father: And I will give him the morning star.

Whoever makes any like it, or puts it on one who is not a priest, will be cut off from his people.

Their answer was: You came to birth through sin; do you make yourself our teacher? And they put him out of the Synagogue.

For seven days let your food be unleavened bread; from the first day no leaven is to be seen in your houses: whoever takes bread with leaven in it, from the first till the seventh day, will be cut off from Israel.

But he who is unclean when he takes as food the flesh of the peace-offerings, which are the Lord's, will be cut off from his people.

And does not take it to the door of the Tent of meeting to make an offering to the Lord, that man will be cut off from among his people.

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O Israel, am I not able to do with you as this potter does? says the Lord. See, like earth in the potter's hand are you in my hands, O Israel. Whenever I say anything about uprooting a nation or a kingdom, and smashing it and sending destruction on it; read more.
If, in that very minute, that nation of which I was talking is turned away from its evil, my purpose of doing evil to them will be changed. And whenever I say anything about building up a nation or a kingdom, and planting it; If, in that very minute, it does evil in my eyes, going against my orders, then my good purpose, which I said I would do for them, will be changed.

This order is fixed by the watchers, and the decision is by the word of the holy ones: so that the living may be certain that the Most High is ruler over the kingdom of men, and gives it to any man at his pleasure, lifting up over it the lowest of men.

Who does not see by all these that the hand of the Lord has done this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all flesh of man. Are not words tested by the ear, even as food is tasted by the mouth? read more.
Old men have wisdom, and a long life gives knowledge. With him there is wisdom and strength; power and knowledge are his. Truly, there is no building up of what is pulled down by him; when a man is shut up by him, no one may let him loose. Truly, he keeps back the waters and they are dry; he sends them out and the earth is overturned. With him are strength and wise designs; he who is guided into error, together with his guide, are in his hands; He takes away the wisdom of the wise guides, and makes judges foolish; He undoes the chains of kings, and puts his band on them; He makes priests prisoners, overturning those in safe positions; He makes the words of responsible persons without effect, and takes away the good sense of the old; He puts shame on chiefs, and takes away the power of the strong; Uncovering deep things out of the dark, and making the deep shade bright; Increasing nations, and sending destruction on them; making wide the lands of peoples, and then giving them up.

It is he who is seated over the arch of the earth, and the people in it are as small as locusts; by him the heavens are stretched out like an arch, and made ready like a tent for a living-place. He makes rulers come to nothing; the judges of the earth are of no value.

And give them orders to say to their masters, This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: Say to your masters, I have made the earth, and man and beast on the face of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I will give it to anyone at my pleasure. And now I have given all these lands into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant; and I have given the beasts of the field to him for his use. read more.
And all the nations will be servants to him and to his son and to his son's son, till the time comes for his land to be overcome: and then a number of nations and great kings will take it for their use. And it will come about, that if any nation does not become a servant to this same Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and does not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, then I will send punishment on that nation, says the Lord, by the sword and need of food and by disease, till I have given them into his hands.

And teaching them, he said that the Son of man would have to undergo much, and be hated by those in authority, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be put to death, and after three days come back from the dead.

Now when it was morning, all the chief priests and those in authority took thought together with the purpose of putting Jesus to death. And they put cords on him and took him away, and gave him up to Pilate, the ruler.

And when he had come into the Temple, the chief priests and those in authority over the people came to him while he was teaching, and said, By what authority do you do these things? and who gave you this authority?

And the first thing in the morning the chief priests, with those in authority and the scribes and all the Sanhedrin, had a meeting, and put cords round Jesus, and took him away, and gave him up to Pilate.

Then the chief priests and the rulers of the people came together in the house of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas. And they made designs together to take Jesus by some trick, and put him to death. But they said, Not while the feast is going on, for fear of trouble among the people.

If any man is in need of food, let him take his meal in his house; so that you may not come together to your damage. And the rest I will put in order when I come.

And the Apostles and the rulers of the church came together and gave thought to the question.

For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us, to put on you nothing more than these necessary things;

(For if a man has not the art of ruling his house, how will he take care of the church of God?)

Do not say sharp words to one who has authority in the church, but let your talk be as to a father, and to the younger men as to brothers:

Jesus said to him in answer, If anyone has love for me, he will keep my words: and he will be dear to my Father; and we will come to him and make our living-place with him. He who has no love for me does not keep my words; and the word which you are hearing is not my word but the Father's who sent me. I have said all this to you while I am still with you. read more.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will be your teacher in all things and will put you in mind of everything I have said to you. May peace be with you; my peace I give to you: I give it not as the world gives. Let not your heart be troubled; let it be without fear. Keep in mind how I said to you, I go away and come to you again. If you had love for me you would be glad, because I am going to the Father: for the Father is greater than I. And now I have given you word of it before it comes, so that, when it comes, you may have faith. After this I will not say much to you, because the ruler of this world comes: and he has no power over me;

But if our good news is veiled, it is veiled from those who are on the way to destruction: Because the god of this world has made blind the minds of those who have not faith, so that the light of the good news of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, might not be shining on them.

But what I am saying is true: my going is for your good: for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And he, when he comes, will make the world conscious of sin, and of righteousness, and of being judged: Of sin, because they have not faith in me; read more.
Of righteousness, because I go to the Father and you will see me no more; Of being judged, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

But still we have wisdom for those who are complete in knowledge, though not the wisdom of this world, and not of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing: But we give the news of the secret wisdom of God, which he had kept in store before the world came into existence, for our glory; Of which not one of the rulers of this world had knowledge: for if they had, they would not have put the Lord of glory on the cross:

Let men give praise to the Lord for his mercy, and for the wonders which he does for the children of men! Let them give glory to him in the meeting of the people, and praise among the chiefs. He makes rivers into waste places, and springs of water into a dry land; read more.
He makes a fertile country into a salt waste, because of the sins of those who are living there. He makes a waste land into a place of water, and a dry land into water-springs. And there he gives the poor a resting-place, so that they may make themselves a town; And put seed in the fields and make vine-gardens, to give them fruit. He gives them his blessing so that they are increased greatly, and their cattle do not become less. And when they are made low, and crushed by trouble and sorrow, He puts an end to the pride of kings, and sends them wandering in the waste lands where there is no way.

And with great joy they made a feast before the Lord that day. And they made Solomon, the son of David, king a second time, putting the holy oil on him to make him holy to the Lord as ruler, and on Zadok as priest.

And all the people made an agreement with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, Truly, the king's son will be king, as the Lord has said about the sons of David.

And the Lord said to Moses, Take Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and put your hand on him; And take him before Eleazar the priest and all the meeting of the people, and give him his orders before their eyes. And put your honour on him, so that all the children of Israel may be under his authority. read more.
He will take his place before Eleazar the priest, so that he may get directions from the Lord for him, with the Urim: at his word they will go out, and at his word they will come in, he and all the children of Israel. So Moses did as the Lord said: he took Joshua and put him before Eleazar the priest and the meeting of the people: And he put his hands on him and gave him his orders, as the Lord had said by Moses.

And Samuel said to all the people, Do you see the man of the Lord's selection, how there is no other like him among all the people? And all the people with loud cries said, Long life to the king!

Then all the responsible men of Israel got together and went to Samuel at Ramah, And said to him, See now, you are old, and your sons do not go in your ways: give us a king now to be our judge, so that we may be like the other nations. But Samuel was not pleased when they said to him, Give us a king to be our judge. And Samuel made prayer to the Lord. read more.
And the Lord said to Samuel, Give ear to the voice of the people and what they say to you: they have not been turned away from you, but they have been turned away from me, not desiring me to be king over them. As they have done from the first, from the day when I took them out of Egypt till this day, turning away from me and worshipping other gods, so now they are acting in the same way to you. Give ear now to their voice: but make a serious protest to them, and give them a picture of the sort of king who will be their ruler. And Samuel said all these words of the Lord to the people who were desiring a king. And he said, This is the sort of king who will be your ruler: he will take your sons and make them his servants, his horsemen, and drivers of his war-carriages, and they will go running before his war-carriages; And he will make them captains of thousands and of fifties; some he will put to work ploughing and cutting his grain and making his instruments of war and building his war-carriages. Your daughters he will take to be makers of perfumes and cooks and bread-makers. He will take your fields and your vine-gardens and your olive-gardens, all the best of them, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your seed and of the fruit of your vines and give it to his servants. He will take your men-servants and your servant-girls, and the best of your oxen and your asses and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep: and you will be his servants. Then you will be crying out because of your king whom you have taken for yourselves; but the Lord will not give you an answer in that day. But the people gave no attention to the voice of Samuel; and they said, No, but we will have a king over us, So that we may be like the other nations, and so that our king may be our judge and go out before us to war. Then Samuel, after hearing all the people had to say, went and gave an account of it to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, Give ear to their voice and make a king for them. Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, Let every man go back to his town.

The king who is a true judge in the cause of the poor, will be safe for ever on the seat of his power.

Then your voice came to your holy one in a vision, saying, I have put the crown on a strong one, lifting up one taken from among the people. I have made discovery of David my servant; I have put my holy oil on his head. My hand will be his support; my arm will give him strength. read more.
The deceit of those who are against him will not overcome him; he will not be troubled by the sons of evil. I will have those who are against him broken before his face, and his haters will be crushed under my blows. But my faith and my mercy will be with him; and in my name will his horn be lifted up. I will put his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. He will say to me, You are my father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation. And I will make him the first of my sons, most high over the kings of the earth. I will keep my mercy for him for ever; my agreement with him will not be changed. His seed will keep their place for ever; his kingdom will be eternal, like the heavens. If his children give up my law, and are not ruled by my decisions; If my rules are broken, and my orders are not kept; Then I will send punishment on them for their sin; my rod will be the reward of their evil-doing. But I will not take away my mercy from him, and will not be false to my faith. I will be true to my agreement; the things which have gone out of my lips will not be changed. I have made an oath once by my holy name, that I will not be false to David. His seed will not come to an end for ever; the seat of his kingdom will be like the sun before me. It will be fixed for ever like the moon; and the witness in heaven is true. (Selah.)

Then say these words to my servant David, The Lord of armies says, I took you from the fields, from keeping the sheep, so that you might be a ruler over my people, over my people Israel: And I have been with you wherever you went, cutting off before you all those who were against you; and I will make your name great, like the name of the greatest ones of the earth. And I will make a resting-place for my people Israel, planting them there, so that they may be living in the place which is theirs, and never again be moved; and never again will they be troubled by evil men as they were at the first, read more.
From the time when I put judges over my people Israel; and I will give you peace from all who are against you. And the Lord says to you that he will make you the head of a line of kings. And when the time comes for you to go to rest with your fathers, I will put in your place your seed after you, the offspring of your body, and I will make his kingdom strong. He will be the builder of a house for my name, and I will make the seat of his authority certain for ever. I will be to him a father and he will be to me a son: if he does wrong, I will give him punishment with the rod of men and with the blows of the children of men; But my mercy will not be taken away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. And your family and your kingdom will keep their place before me for ever: the seat of your authority will never be overturned.

Then David the king got up and said, Give ear to me, my brothers and my people; it was my desire to put up a house, a resting-place for the ark of the Lord's agreement, and for the foot-rest of our God; and I had got material ready for the building of it. But God said to me, You are not to be the builder of a house for my name, because you are a man of war and have taken life; Though the Lord, the God of Israel, took me out of all my father's family, to be king over Israel for ever, marking out Judah to be chief, and, of the people of Judah, my father's family; and among the sons of my father he was pleased to make me king over all Israel; read more.
And of all my sons (for the Lord has given me a great number of sons) he has made selection of Solomon to take his place on the seat of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. And he said to me, Solomon your son will be the builder of my house and the open spaces round it; for I have taken him to be my son, and I will be his father. I will keep his kingdom in its place for ever, if he is strong at all times to do my orders and keep my rules, as at this day.

Truly, God gives up the hard-hearted, and will not give life to the sinner. His eyes are ever on the upright, and he gives to the crushed their right; Lifting them up to the seat of kings, and making them safe for ever.

And the Lord said to Samuel, Give ear to the voice of the people and what they say to you: they have not been turned away from you, but they have been turned away from me, not desiring me to be king over them.

And all the people, answering together, said, Whatever the Lord has said we will do. And Moses took back to the Lord the words of the people.

At the order of the Lord the children of Israel went forward, and at the order of the Lord they put up their tents: as long as the cloud was resting on the House, they did not go away from that place.

With the purpose of taking part in the agreement of the Lord your God, and his oath which he makes with you today:

But Gideon said to them, I will not be a ruler over you, and my son will not be a ruler over you: it is the Lord who will be ruler over you.

Now in the fifteenth year of the rule of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being ruler of Judaea, and Herod being king of Galilee, his brother Philip king of the country of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias king of Abilene,

And after five days, the high priest, Ananias, came with certain of the rulers, and an expert talker, one Tertullus; and they made a statement to Felix against Paul.

Now from the time when I was made ruler of the people in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year till the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, for twelve years, I and my servants have never taken the food which was the right of the ruler.

Rehum, the chief ruler, and Shimshai the scribe, sent a letter against Jerusalem, to Artaxerxes the king; The letter was sent by Rehum, the chief ruler, and Shimshai the scribe and their friends; the Dinaites and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the Elamites,

And they put cords on him and took him away, and gave him up to Pilate, the ruler.

A man whose opinions are not those of the church, after a first and second protest, is to be kept out of your society;

Such are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have given up to Satan, so that they may say no more evil words against God.

Now I, Paul, myself make request to you by the quiet and gentle behaviour of Christ, I who am poor in spirit when with you, but who say what is in my mind to you without fear when I am away from you:

That this man is to be handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may have forgiveness in the day of the Lord Jesus.

I said before, and still say it before I come, as being present for the second time, though I am still away from you, to those who have done wrong before, and to all the others, that if I come again I will not have pity;

The Lord says, Heaven is the seat of my power, and earth is the resting-place for my feet: what sort of house will you make for me, and what place will be my resting-place?

Your seat of power, O God, is for ever and ever; the rod of your kingdom is a rod of honour.

The Lord has made ready his high seat in the heavens; his kingdom is ruling over all.

And I saw a great white seat, and him who was seated on it, before whose face the earth and the heaven went in flight; and there was no place for them.

But I say to you, Take no oaths at all: not by the heaven, because it is the seat of God;

For to us a child has come, to us a son is given; and the government has been placed in his hands; and he has been named Wise Guide, Strong God, Father for ever, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his rule and of peace there will be no end, on the seat of David, and in his kingdom; to make it strong, supporting it with wise decision and righteousness, now and for ever. By the fixed purpose of the Lord of armies this will be done.

The Lord is King for ever and ever.

Say to God, How greatly to be feared are your works! because of your great power your haters are forced to put themselves under your feet. Let all the earth give you worship, and make songs to you; let them make songs to your name. (Selah.) Come and see the works of God: he is to be feared in all he does to the children of men. read more.
The sea was turned into dry land: they went through the river on foot: there did we have joy in him. He is ruling in power for ever; his eyes are watching the nations: may his haters have no strength against him. (Selah.)

The Lord will be King for ever; your God, O Zion, will be King through all generations. Praise be to the Lord.

And at the sounding of the seventh angel there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he will have rule for ever and ever. And the four and twenty rulers, who are seated before God on their high seats, went down on their faces and gave worship to God, saying, We give you praise, O Lord God, Ruler of all, who is and who was; because you have taken up your great power and are ruling your kingdom.

Any to whom you give forgiveness, will be made free from their sins; and any from whom you keep back forgiveness, will still be in their sins.

I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever is fixed by you on earth will be fixed in heaven: and whatever you make free on earth will be made free in heaven.

Truly I say to you, Whatever things are fixed by you on earth will be fixed in heaven: and whatever you make free on earth will be made free in heaven.

And on their way through the towns, they gave them the rules which had been made by the Apostles and the rulers of the church at Jerusalem, so that they might keep them.

Give ear to those who are rulers over you, and do as they say: for they keep watch over your souls, ready to give an account of them; let them be able to do this with joy and not with grief, because that would be of no profit to you.

Make clear to them that they are to put themselves under rulers and authorities, to do what they are ordered, to be ready for every good work,

Let everyone put himself under the authority of the higher powers, because there is no power which is not of God, and all powers are ordered by God. For which reason everyone who puts himself against the authority puts himself against the order of God: and those who are against it will get punishment for themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear to the good work but to the evil. If you would have no fear of the authority, do good and you will have praise; read more.
For he is the servant of God to you for good. But if you do evil, have fear; for the sword is not in his hand for nothing: he is God's servant, making God's punishment come on the evil-doer. So put yourselves under the authority, not for fear of wrath, but because you have the knowledge of what is right. For the same reason, make payment of taxes; because the authority is God's servant, to take care of such things at all times. Give to all what is their right: taxes to him whose they are, payment to him whose right it is, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour is to be given.

Give us, then, your opinion of this: Is it right to give tax to Caesar, or not? But Jesus saw their trick and said, Oh false ones, why are you attempting to put me in the wrong? Let me see the tax money. And they gave him a penny. read more.
And he said to them, Whose is this image and name on it? They say to him, Caesar's. Then he said to them, Give to Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and to God the things which are God's.

And he said, Then give to Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and to God the things which are God's.

Keep all the laws of men because of the Lord; those of the king, who is over all, And those of the rulers who are sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers and for the praise of those who do well. Because it is God's pleasure that foolish and narrow-minded men may be put to shame by your good behaviour: read more.
As those who are free, not using your free position as a cover for wrongdoing, but living as the servants of God; Have respect for all, loving the brothers, fearing God, honouring the king.

Then one of the twelve, who was named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, What will you give me, if I give him up to you? And the price was fixed at thirty bits of silver.

So she sent a letter in Ahab's name, stamped with his stamp, to the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority with Naboth. And in the letter she said, Let a time of public sorrow be fixed, and put Naboth at the head of the people; And get two good-for-nothing persons to come before him and give witness that he has been cursing God and the king. Then take him out and have him stoned to death. read more.
So the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority in his town, did as Jezebel had said in the letter she sent them. They gave orders for a day of public sorrow, and put Naboth at the head of the people. And the two good-for-nothing persons came in and took their seats before him and gave witness against Naboth, in front of the people, saying, Naboth has been cursing God and the king. Then they took him outside the town and had him stoned to death. And they sent word to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead.

And before them seventy of the responsible men of the children of Israel had taken their places, every man with a vessel for burning perfumes in his hand, and in the middle of them was Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan; and a cloud of smoke went up from the burning perfume. And he said to me, Son of man, have you seen what the responsible men of the children of Israel do in the dark, every man in his room of pictured images? for they say, The Lord does not see us; the Lord has gone away from the land.

Then Judas, who was false to him, seeing that he was to be put to death, in his regret took back the thirty bits of silver to the chief priests and those in authority, Saying, I have done wrong in giving into your hands an upright man. But they said, What is that to us? it is your business.

Then Jezebel, his wife, said, Are you now the ruler of Israel? Get up, take food, and let your heart be glad; I will give you the vine-garden of Naboth the Jezreelite. So she sent a letter in Ahab's name, stamped with his stamp, to the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority with Naboth. And in the letter she said, Let a time of public sorrow be fixed, and put Naboth at the head of the people; read more.
And get two good-for-nothing persons to come before him and give witness that he has been cursing God and the king. Then take him out and have him stoned to death. So the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority in his town, did as Jezebel had said in the letter she sent them. They gave orders for a day of public sorrow, and put Naboth at the head of the people. And the two good-for-nothing persons came in and took their seats before him and gave witness against Naboth, in front of the people, saying, Naboth has been cursing God and the king. Then they took him outside the town and had him stoned to death. And they sent word to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead. Then Jezebel, hearing that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, said to Ahab, Get up and take as your heritage the vine-garden of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he would not give you for money, for Naboth is no longer living but is dead. So Ahab, hearing that Naboth was dead, went down to the vine-garden of Naboth the Jezreelite to take it as his heritage.

Then King Solomon took an oath by the Lord, saying, May God's punishment be on me if Adonijah does not give payment for these words with his life. Now by the living Lord, who has given me my place on the seat of David my father, and made me one of a line of kings, as he gave me his word, truly Adonijah will be put to death this day. And King Solomon sent Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and he made an attack on him and put him to death.

And news of this came to Joab; for Joab had been one of Adonijah's supporters, though he had not been on Absalom's side. Then Joab went in flight to the Tent of the Lord, and put his hands on the horns of the altar. And they said to King Solomon, Joab has gone in flight to the Tent of the Lord and is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, make an attack on him. And Benaiah came to the Tent of the Lord and said to him, The king says, Come out. And he said, No; but let death come to me here. And Benaiah went back to the king and gave him word of the answer which Joab had given. read more.
And the king said, Do as he has said and make an attack on him there, and put his body into the earth; so that you may take away from me and from my family the blood of one put to death by Joab without cause. And the Lord will send back his blood on his head, because of the attack he made on two men more upright and better than himself, putting them to the sword without my father's knowledge; even Abner, the son of Ner, captain of the army of Israel, and Amasa, the son of Jether, captain of the army of Judah. So their blood will be on the head of Joab, and on the head of his seed for ever; but for David and his seed and his family and the seat of his kingdom, there will be peace for ever from the Lord. So Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up, and falling on him, put him to death; and his body was put to rest in his house in the waste land.

Then the king sent for Shimei, and said to him, Make a house for yourself in Jerusalem and keep there and go to no other place. For be certain that on the day when you go out and go over the stream Kidron, death will overtake you: and your blood will be on your head. And Shimei said to the king, Very well! as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do. And for a long time Shimei went on living in Jerusalem. read more.
But after three years, two of the servants of Shimei went in flight to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And word was given to Shimei that his servants had gone to Gath. Then Shimei got up, and making ready his ass, he went to Gath, to Achish, in search of his servants; and he sent and got them from Gath. And news was given to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back again. Then the king sent for Shimei, and said to him, Did I not make you take an oath by the Lord, protesting to you and saying, Be certain that on the day when you go out from here, wherever you go, death will overtake you? and you said to me, Very well! Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord and the order which I gave you? And the king said to Shimei, You have knowledge of all the evil which you did to David my father; and now the Lord has sent back your evil on yourself. But a blessing will be on King Solomon, and the kingdom of David will keep its place before the Lord for ever. So the king gave orders to Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada; and he went out and, falling on him, put him to death. And Solomon's authority over the kingdom was complete.

And Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all Israel had come together to make him king, And, hearing of it, Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who was still in Egypt, where he had gone in flight from Solomon, and was living there, came back to his town Zeredah, in the hill-country of Ephraim; And all the men of Israel came to Rehoboam and said, read more.
Your father put a hard yoke on us: if you will make the conditions under which your father kept us down less cruel, and the weight of the yoke he put on us less hard, then we will be your servants. And he said to them, Go away for three days and then come back to me again. So the people went away. Then King Rehoboam took the opinion of the old men who had been with Solomon his father when he was living, and said, In your opinion, what answer am I to give to this people? And they said to him, If you will be a servant to this people today, caring for them and giving them a gentle answer, then they will be your servants for ever. But he gave no attention to the opinion of the old men, and went to the young men of his generation who were waiting before him: And said to them, What is your opinion? What answer are we to give to this people who have said to me, Make less the weight of the yoke which your father put on us? And the young men of his generation said to him, This is the answer to give to the people who came to you saying, Your father put a hard yoke on us; will you make it less? say to them, My little finger is thicker than my father's body; If my father put a hard yoke on you, I will make it harder: my father gave you punishment with whips, but I will give you blows with snakes. So all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had given orders, saying, Come back to me the third day. And the king gave them a rough answer, giving no attention to the suggestion of the old men; But giving them the answer put forward by the young men, saying, My father made your yoke hard, but I will make it harder; my father gave you punishment with whips, but I will give it with snakes. So the king did not give ear to the people; and this came about by the purpose of the Lord, so that what he had said by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam, son of Nebat, might be effected. And when all Israel saw that the king would give no attention to them, the people in answer said to the king, What part have we in David? what is our heritage in the son of Jesse? to your tents, O Israel; now see to your people, David. So Israel went away to their tents.

Then Samuel took the bottle of oil, and put the oil on him there among his brothers: and from that day the spirit of the Lord came on David with power. So Samuel went back to Ramah.

But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not take note of his face or how tall he is, because I will not have him: for the Lord's view is not man's; man takes note of the outer form, but the Lord sees the heart.

And the Lord said to Samuel, How long will you go on sorrowing for Saul, seeing that I have put him from his place as king over Israel? Take oil in your vessel and go; I will send you to Jesse, the Beth-lehemite: for I have got a king for myself among his sons.

Then your voice came to your holy one in a vision, saying, I have put the crown on a strong one, lifting up one taken from among the people. I have made discovery of David my servant; I have put my holy oil on his head. My hand will be his support; my arm will give him strength. read more.
The deceit of those who are against him will not overcome him; he will not be troubled by the sons of evil. I will have those who are against him broken before his face, and his haters will be crushed under my blows. But my faith and my mercy will be with him; and in my name will his horn be lifted up. I will put his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. He will say to me, You are my father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation. And I will make him the first of my sons, most high over the kings of the earth. I will keep my mercy for him for ever; my agreement with him will not be changed. His seed will keep their place for ever; his kingdom will be eternal, like the heavens. If his children give up my law, and are not ruled by my decisions; If my rules are broken, and my orders are not kept; Then I will send punishment on them for their sin; my rod will be the reward of their evil-doing. But I will not take away my mercy from him, and will not be false to my faith. I will be true to my agreement; the things which have gone out of my lips will not be changed. I have made an oath once by my holy name, that I will not be false to David. His seed will not come to an end for ever; the seat of his kingdom will be like the sun before me. It will be fixed for ever like the moon; and the witness in heaven is true. (Selah.)

He will be the builder of a house for my name, and I will make the seat of his authority certain for ever. I will be to him a father and he will be to me a son: if he does wrong, I will give him punishment with the rod of men and with the blows of the children of men; But my mercy will not be taken away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. read more.
And your family and your kingdom will keep their place before me for ever: the seat of your authority will never be overturned.

So Joseph went up to put his father in his last resting-place; and with him went all the servants of Pharaoh, and the chief men of his house and all the chiefs of the land of Egypt,

And word came to Pharaoh of the flight of the people: and the feeling of Pharaoh and of his servants about the people was changed, and they said, Why have we let Israel go, so that they will do no more work for us?

And this seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants. Then Pharaoh said to his servants, Where may we get such a man as this, a man in whom is the spirit of God?

And the Lord said to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh: for I have made his heart and the hearts of his servants hard, so that I may let my signs be seen among them:

And Pharaoh's servants said to him, How long is this man to be the cause of evil to us? let the men go so that they may give worship to the Lord their God: are you not awake to Egypt's danger?

Now it came about in the days of Ahasuerus, (that Ahasuerus who was ruler of a hundred and twenty-seven divisions of the kingdom, from India as far as Ethiopia:)

Now in the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goiim,

Now it came about in those days that an order went out from Caesar Augustus that there was to be a numbering of all the world.

Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all the peoples, nations, and languages living in all the earth: May your peace be increased.

Darius was pleased to put over the kingdom a hundred and twenty captains, who were to be all through the kingdom; And over them were three chief rulers, of whom Daniel was one; and the captains were to be responsible to the chief rulers, so that the king might undergo no loss. Then this Daniel did his work better than the chief rulers and the captains, because there was a special spirit in him; and it was the king's purpose to put him over all the kingdom.

And the Lord made Solomon great in the eyes of all Israel, clothing him with glory and honour such as no other king in Israel had had before him.

For the kingdom is the Lord's; he is the ruler among the nations.

And the Lord will put up a king over Israel who will send destruction on the family of Jeroboam in that day;

And the word of the Lord came to Jehu, son of Hanani, protesting against Baasha and saying, Because I took you up out of the dust, and made you ruler over my people Israel; and you have gone in the ways of Jeroboam, and made my people Israel do evil, moving me to wrath by their sins; Truly, I will see that Baasha and all his family are completely brushed away; I will make your family like the family of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. read more.
Anyone of the family of Baasha who comes to death in the town, will become food for the dogs; and he to whom death comes in the open country, will be food for the birds of the air.

Though the Lord, the God of Israel, took me out of all my father's family, to be king over Israel for ever, marking out Judah to be chief, and, of the people of Judah, my father's family; and among the sons of my father he was pleased to make me king over all Israel; And of all my sons (for the Lord has given me a great number of sons) he has made selection of Solomon to take his place on the seat of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.

And Moses went up to God, and the voice of the Lord came to him from the mountain, saying, Say to the family of Jacob, and give word to the children of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I took you, as on eagles' wings, guiding you to myself. If now you will truly give ear to my voice and keep my agreement, you will be my special property out of all the peoples: for all the earth is mine: read more.
And you will be a kingdom of priests to me, and a holy nation. These are the words which you are to say to the children of Israel. And Moses came and sent for the chiefs of the people and put before them all these words which the Lord had given him orders to say. And all the people, answering together, said, Whatever the Lord has said we will do. And Moses took back to the Lord the words of the people.

Today the Lord your God gives you orders to keep all these laws and decisions: so then keep and do them with all your heart and all your soul. Today you have given witness that the Lord is your God, and that you will go in his ways and keep his laws and his orders and his decisions and give ear to his voice: And the Lord has made it clear this day that you are a special people to him, as he gave you his word; and that you are to keep all his orders; read more.
And that he will make you high over all the nations he has made, in praise, in name, and in honour, and that you are to be a holy people to the Lord your God as he has said.

These are the words of the agreement which Moses was ordered by the Lord to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, in addition to the agreement which he made with them in Horeb. And Moses said in the hearing of all Israel, You have seen all the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his servants and all his land; The great tests which your eyes saw, and the signs and wonders: read more.
But even to this day the Lord has not given you a mind open to knowledge, or seeing eyes or hearing ears. For forty years I have been your guide through the waste land: your clothing has not become old on your backs, or your shoes on your feet. You have had no bread, or wine, or strong drink: so that you might see that I am the Lord your God. When you came to this place, Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, came out to make war against us and we overcame them: And we took their land and gave it to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, for their heritage. So keep the words of this agreement and do them, so that it may be well for you in everything you do. You have come here today, all of you, before the Lord your God; the heads of your tribes, the overseers, and those who are in authority over you, with all the men of Israel, And your little ones, your wives, and the men of other lands who are with you in your tents, down to the wood-cutter and the servant who gets water for you: With the purpose of taking part in the agreement of the Lord your God, and his oath which he makes with you today: And so that he may make you his people today, and be your God, as he has said to you, and as he made an oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

But Samuel was not pleased when they said to him, Give us a king to be our judge. And Samuel made prayer to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, Give ear to the voice of the people and what they say to you: they have not been turned away from you, but they have been turned away from me, not desiring me to be king over them.

Now by the purpose of God, Ahaziah's journey to see Jehoram was the cause of his downfall: for when he came there, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu, the son of Nimshi, who had been marked out by the Lord for the destruction of the family of Ahab.

Still I will not take all the kingdom from him; but I will give one tribe to your son, because of my servant David, and because of Jerusalem, the town of my selection.

And Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all Israel had come together to make him king, And, hearing of it, Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who was still in Egypt, where he had gone in flight from Solomon, and was living there, came back to his town Zeredah, in the hill-country of Ephraim; And all the men of Israel came to Rehoboam and said, read more.
Your father put a hard yoke on us: if you will make the conditions under which your father kept us down less cruel, and the weight of the yoke he put on us less hard, then we will be your servants. And he said to them, Go away for three days and then come back to me again. So the people went away. Then King Rehoboam took the opinion of the old men who had been with Solomon his father when he was living, and said, In your opinion, what answer am I to give to this people? And they said to him, If you will be a servant to this people today, caring for them and giving them a gentle answer, then they will be your servants for ever. But he gave no attention to the opinion of the old men, and went to the young men of his generation who were waiting before him: And said to them, What is your opinion? What answer are we to give to this people who have said to me, Make less the weight of the yoke which your father put on us? And the young men of his generation said to him, This is the answer to give to the people who came to you saying, Your father put a hard yoke on us; will you make it less? say to them, My little finger is thicker than my father's body; If my father put a hard yoke on you, I will make it harder: my father gave you punishment with whips, but I will give you blows with snakes. So all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had given orders, saying, Come back to me the third day. And the king gave them a rough answer, giving no attention to the suggestion of the old men; But giving them the answer put forward by the young men, saying, My father made your yoke hard, but I will make it harder; my father gave you punishment with whips, but I will give it with snakes. So the king did not give ear to the people; and this came about by the purpose of the Lord, so that what he had said by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam, son of Nebat, might be effected. And when all Israel saw that the king would give no attention to them, the people in answer said to the king, What part have we in David? what is our heritage in the son of Jesse? to your tents, O Israel; now see to your people, David. So Israel went away to their tents. (But Rehoboam was still king over those of the children of Israel who were living in the towns of Judah.) Then King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, the overseer of the forced work; and he was stoned to death by all Israel. And King Rehoboam went quickly and got into his carriage to go in flight to Jerusalem. So Israel was turned away from the family of David to this day. Now when all Israel had news that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him to come before the meeting of the people, and made him king over Israel: not one of them was joined to the family of David but only the tribe of Judah. When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he got together all the men of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand of his best fighting-men, to make war against Israel and get the kingdom back for Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. But the word of God came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying, Say to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the men of Judah and Benjamin and the rest of the people: The Lord has said, You are not to go to war against your brothers, the children of Israel; go back, every man to his house, because this thing is my purpose. So they gave ear to the word of the Lord, and went back, as the Lord had said.

So the king did not give ear to the people; for this came about by the purpose of God, so that the Lord might give effect to his word which he had said by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.

The Lord has said, You are not to go to war against your brothers: let every man go back to his house, for this thing is my purpose. So they gave ear to the words of the Lord and were turned back from fighting against Jeroboam.

Now on the day after, Moses took his seat to give decisions for the people: and the people were waiting before Moses from morning till evening. And when Moses' father-in-law saw all he was doing, he said, What is this you are doing for the people? why are you seated here by yourself, with all the people waiting before you from morning till evening? And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to get directions from God: read more.
And if they have any question between themselves, they come to me, and I am judge between a man and his neighbour, and I give them the orders and laws of God. And Moses' father-in-law said to him, What you are doing is not good. Your strength and that of the people will be completely used up: this work is more than you are able to do by yourself. Give ear now to my suggestion, and may God be with you: you are to be the people's representative before God, taking their causes to him: Teaching them his rules and his laws, guiding them in the way they have to go, and making clear to them the work they have to do. But for the rest, take from among the people able men, such as have the fear of God, true men hating profits wrongly made; and put such men over them, to be captains of thousands, captains of hundreds and of fifties and of tens; And let them be judges in the causes of the people at all times: and let them put before you all important questions, but in small things let them give decisions themselves: in this way, it will be less hard for you, and they will take the weight off you. If you do this, and God gives approval, then you will be able to go on without weariness, and all this people will go to their tents in peace. So Moses took note of the words of his father-in-law, and did as he had said. And he made selection of able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds and of fifties and of tens. And they were judges in the causes of the people at all times: the hard questions they put before Moses; but on every small point they gave decisions themselves.

And the Lord said to Moses, Send for seventy of the responsible men of Israel, who are in your opinion men of weight and authority over the people; make them come to the Tent of meeting and be there with you. And I will come down and have talk with you there: and I will take some of the spirit which is on you and put it on them, and they will take part of the weight of the people off you, so that you do not have to take it by yourself.

And Moses went out and gave the people the words of the Lord: and he took seventy of the responsible men of the people, placing them round the Tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and had talk with him, and put on the seventy men some of the spirit which was on him: now when the spirit came to rest on them, they were like prophets, but only at that time.

At that time I said to you, I am not able to undertake the care of you by myself; The Lord your God has given you increase, and now you are like the stars of heaven in number. May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times greater in number than you are, and give you his blessing as he has said! read more.
How is it possible for me by myself to be responsible for you, and undertake the weight of all your troubles and your arguments? Take for yourselves men who are wise, far-seeing, and respected among you, from your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. And you made answer and said to me, It is good for us to do as you say. So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men and respected, and made them rulers over you, captains of thousands and captains of hundreds and captains of fifties and captains of tens, and overseers of your tribes. And at that time I gave orders to your judges, saying, Let all questions between your brothers come before you for hearing, and give decisions uprightly between a man and his brother or one from another nation who is with him. In judging, do not let a man's position have any weight with you; give hearing equally to small and great; have no fear of any man, for it is God who is judge: and any cause in which you are not able to give a decision, you are to put before me and I will give it a hearing.

Now it came about in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, that certain of the responsible men of Israel came to get directions from the Lord and were seated before me.

Let a time be fixed for going without food, have a holy meeting, let the old men, even all the people of the land, come together to the house of the Lord your God, crying out to the Lord.

Now in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, when I was in my house and the responsible men of Judah were seated before me, the hand of the Lord came on me there.

Then certain of the responsible men of Israel came to me and took their seats before me.

Son of man, say to the responsible men of Israel, This is what the Lord has said: Have you come to get directions from me? By my life, says the Lord, you will get no directions from me.

And I said, Give ear, now, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the people of Israel: is it not for you to have knowledge of what is right? You who are haters of good and lovers of evil, pulling off their skin from them and their flesh from their bones; Like meat they take the flesh of my people for their food, skinning them and crushing their bones, yes, cutting them up as if for the pot, like flesh inside the cooking-pot. read more.
Then they will be crying to the Lord for help, but he will not give them an answer: yes, he will keep his face veiled from them at that time, because their acts have been evil.

But Jezebel, his wife, came to him and said, Why is your spirit so bitter that you have no desire for food? And he said to her, Because I was talking to Naboth the Jezreelite, and I said to him, Let me have your vine-garden for a price, or, if it is pleasing to you, I will give you another vine-garden for it: and he said, I will not give you my vine-garden. Then Jezebel, his wife, said, Are you now the ruler of Israel? Get up, take food, and let your heart be glad; I will give you the vine-garden of Naboth the Jezreelite. read more.
So she sent a letter in Ahab's name, stamped with his stamp, to the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority with Naboth. And in the letter she said, Let a time of public sorrow be fixed, and put Naboth at the head of the people; And get two good-for-nothing persons to come before him and give witness that he has been cursing God and the king. Then take him out and have him stoned to death. So the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority in his town, did as Jezebel had said in the letter she sent them. They gave orders for a day of public sorrow, and put Naboth at the head of the people. And the two good-for-nothing persons came in and took their seats before him and gave witness against Naboth, in front of the people, saying, Naboth has been cursing God and the king. Then they took him outside the town and had him stoned to death.

Take away evil-doers from before the king, and the seat of his power will be made strong in righteousness.

Then give ear to this, you heads of the children of Jacob, you rulers of the children of Israel, hating what is right, twisting what is straight. They are building up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with evil-doing. Its heads take rewards for judging, and the priests take payment for teaching, and the prophets get silver for reading the future: but still, supporting themselves on the Lord, they say, Is not the Lord among us? no evil will overtake us.

You may not say evil of the judges, or put a curse on the ruler of your people.

Say not a curse against the king, even in your thoughts; and even secretly say not a curse against the man of wealth; because a bird of the air will take the voice, and that which has wings will give news of it.

And he took the book of the agreement, reading it in the hearing of the people: and they said, Everything which the Lord has said we will do, and we will keep his laws.

And Moses came and sent for the chiefs of the people and put before them all these words which the Lord had given him orders to say. And all the people, answering together, said, Whatever the Lord has said we will do. And Moses took back to the Lord the words of the people.

Then Moses came and put before the people all the words of the Lord and his laws: and all the people, answering with one voice, said, Whatever the Lord has said we will do.

You have come here today, all of you, before the Lord your God; the heads of your tribes, the overseers, and those who are in authority over you, with all the men of Israel, And your little ones, your wives, and the men of other lands who are with you in your tents, down to the wood-cutter and the servant who gets water for you: With the purpose of taking part in the agreement of the Lord your God, and his oath which he makes with you today: read more.
And so that he may make you his people today, and be your God, as he has said to you, and as he made an oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And not with you only do I make this agreement and this oath; But with everyone who is here with us today before the Lord our God, as well as with those who are not here:

Keep all the laws of men because of the Lord; those of the king, who is over all, And those of the rulers who are sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers and for the praise of those who do well.

Let everyone put himself under the authority of the higher powers, because there is no power which is not of God, and all powers are ordered by God. For which reason everyone who puts himself against the authority puts himself against the order of God: and those who are against it will get punishment for themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear to the good work but to the evil. If you would have no fear of the authority, do good and you will have praise; read more.
For he is the servant of God to you for good. But if you do evil, have fear; for the sword is not in his hand for nothing: he is God's servant, making God's punishment come on the evil-doer. So put yourselves under the authority, not for fear of wrath, but because you have the knowledge of what is right. For the same reason, make payment of taxes; because the authority is God's servant, to take care of such things at all times. Give to all what is their right: taxes to him whose they are, payment to him whose right it is, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour is to be given.

Give the king your authority, O God, and your righteousness to the king's son. May he be a judge of your people in righteousness, and make true decisions for the poor. May the mountains give peace to the people, and the hills righteousness. read more.
May he be a judge of the poor among the people, may he give salvation to the children of those who are in need; by him let the violent be crushed. May his life go on as long as the sun and moon, through all generations. May he come down like rain on the cut grass; like showers watering the earth. In his days may the upright do well, living in peace as long as there is a moon in heaven. Let his kingdom be from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth. Let those who are against him go down before him; and let his haters be low in the dust. Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands come back with offerings; let the kings of Sheba and Seba give of their stores. Yes, let all kings go down before him; let all nations be his servants. For he will be a saviour to the poor in answer to his cry; and to him who is in need, without a helper. He will have pity on the poor, and be the saviour of those who are in need. He will keep their souls free from evil designs and violent attacks; and their blood will be of value in his eyes. May he have long life, and may gold from Sheba be given to him: may prayers be made for him at all times; may blessings be on him every day. May there be wide-stretching fields of grain in the land, shaking on the top of the mountains, full of fruit like Lebanon: may its stems be unnumbered like the grass of the earth. May his name go on for ever, as long as the sun: may men be blessing themselves by him; may all nations be blessing his name.

A wise king puts evil-doers to flight, and makes their evil-doing come back on them.

And David made answer to Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, By the living Lord, who has kept me safe from all my trouble, When one came to me with the news of Saul's death, in the belief that it would be good news, I took him and put him to death in Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news: How much more, when evil men have put an upright person to death, in his house, sleeping on his bed, will I take payment from you for his blood, and have you cut off from the earth? read more.
And David gave orders to his young men and they put them to death, cutting off their hands and their feet and hanging them up by the side of the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth and put it in its last resting-place with Abner's body in Hebron.

And David said to the young man who had given him the news, Where do you come from? And he said, I am the son of a man from a strange land; I am an Amalekite. And David said to him, Had you no fear of stretching out your hand to put to death the one marked with the holy oil? And David sent for one of his young men and said, Go near and put an end to him. And he put him to death. read more.
And David said to him, May your blood be on your head; for your mouth has given witness against you, saying, I have put to death the man marked with the holy oil.

Now in the morning, David gave Uriah a letter to take to Joab. And in the letter he said, Take care to put Uriah in the very front of the line, where the fighting is most violent, and go back from him, so that he may be overcome and put to death. So while Joab was watching the town, he put Uriah in the place where it was clear to him the best fighters were. read more.
And the men of the town went out and had a fight with Joab: and a number of David's men came to their death in the fight, and with them Uriah the Hittite.

Like a loud-voiced lion and a wandering bear, is an evil ruler over a poor people.

Then give ear to this, you heads of the children of Jacob, you rulers of the children of Israel, hating what is right, twisting what is straight. They are building up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with evil-doing. Its heads take rewards for judging, and the priests take payment for teaching, and the prophets get silver for reading the future: but still, supporting themselves on the Lord, they say, Is not the Lord among us? no evil will overtake us. read more.
For this reason, Zion will be ploughed like a field because of you, and Jerusalem will become a mass of broken walls, and the mountain of the house like a high place in the woods.

So David, and the responsible men of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went with joy to get the ark of the agreement of the Lord out of the house of Obed-edom.

And the chief men of his house got up and went to his side to make him get up from the earth, but he would not; and he would not take food with them.

And David, lifting up his eyes, saw the angel of the Lord there between earth and heaven, with an uncovered sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the responsible men, clothed in haircloth, went down on their faces.

So all the responsible men of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made an agreement with them in Hebron before the Lord: and they put the holy oil on David and made him king over Israel.

So all the responsible men of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and David made an agreement with them in Hebron before the Lord; and they put the holy oil on David and made him king over Israel, as the Lord had said by Samuel.

Then Abner had a talk with the chief men of Israel, saying, In the past it was your desire to make David your king: so now, do it: For the Lord has said of David, By the hand of my servant David I will make my people Israel safe from the Philistines, and from all who are against them. And Abner said the same things to Benjamin: and he went to David in Hebron to make clear to him what seemed good to Israel and to all the people of Benjamin. read more.
So Abner, with twenty men, came to Hebron, to David. And David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. And Abner said to David, Now I will go, and make all Israel come to my lord the king, so that they may make an agreement with you, and your kingdom may be as wide as your heart's desire. Then David sent Abner away and he went in peace.

So when Pilate saw that he was able to do nothing, but that trouble was working up, he took water and, washing his hands before the people, said, The blood of this upright man is not on my hands: you are responsible.

Hearing this, Pilate had a desire to let him go free, but the Jews said in a loud voice, If you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend: everyone who makes himself a king goes against Caesar. So when these words came to Pilate's ear, he took Jesus out, seating himself in the judge's seat in a place named in Hebrew, Gabbatha, or the Stone Floor. (It was the day when they made ready for the Passover; and it was about the sixth hour.) And he said to the Jews, There is your King! read more.
Then they gave a loud cry, Away with him! away with him! to the cross! Pilate said to them, Am I to put your King to death on the cross? The chief priests said in answer, We have no king but Caesar. So then he gave him up to them to be put to death on the cross. And they took Jesus away;

Then the king, taking his place by the pillar, made an agreement before the Lord, to go in the way of the Lord, and to keep his orders and his decisions and his rules with all his heart and with all his soul, and to keep the words of the agreement recorded in this book.

Then the king sent and got together all the responsible men of Judah and of Jerusalem.

Then the king sent and got together all the responsible men of Judah and of Jerusalem.

And Samuel said to Saul, I will not go back with you: for you have put away from you the word of the Lord, and the Lord has put you from your place as king over Israel. And when Samuel was turning round to go away, Saul took the skirt of his robe in his hand, and the cloth came away. And Samuel said to him, The Lord has taken away the kingdom of Israel from you this day by force, and has given it to a neighbour of yours who is better than you.

And having put him on one side, he made David their king, to whom he gave witness, saying, I have taken David, the son of Jesse, a man dear to my heart, who will do all my pleasure.

And the captain of the unsexed servants said to Daniel, I am in fear of my lord the king, who has given orders about your food and your drink; what if he sees you looking less happy than the other young men of your generation? then you would have put my head in danger from the king.

The king made answer and said to the Chaldaeans, This is my decision: if you do not make clear to me the dream and the sense of it, you will be cut in bits and your houses made waste. But if you make clear the dream and the sense of it, you will have from me offerings and rewards and great honour: so make clear to me the dream and the sense of it. A second time they said in answer, Let the king give his servants an account of his dream, and we will make clear the sense. read more.
The king made answer and said, I am certain that you are attempting to get more time, because you see that my decision is fixed; That if you do not make my dream clear to me there is only one fate for you: for you have made ready false and evil words to say before me till the times are changed: so give me an account of the dream, and I will be certain that you are able to make the sense of it clear. Then the Chaldaeans said to the king in answer, There is not a man on earth able to make clear the king's business; for no king, however great his power, has ever made such a request to any wonder-worker or user of secret arts or Chaldaean. The king's request is a very hard one, and there is no other who is able to make it clear to the king, but the gods, whose living-place is not with flesh. Because of this the king was angry and full of wrath, and gave orders for the destruction of all the wise men of Babylon. So the order went out that the wise men were to be put to death; and they were looking for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.

And because of the great power he gave him, all peoples and nations and languages were shaking in fear before him: some he put to death and others he kept living, at his pleasure, lifting up some and putting others down as it pleased him.

Go, say to Jeroboam, These are the words of the Lord, the God of Israel: Though I took you from among the people, lifting you up to be a ruler over my people Israel, And took the kingdom away by force from the seed of David and gave it to you, you have not been like my servant David, who kept my orders, and was true to me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes. But you have done evil more than any before you, and have made for yourself other gods, and images of metal, moving me to wrath, and turning your back on me. read more.
So I will send evil on the line of Jeroboam, cutting off from his family every male child, those who are shut up and those who go free in Israel; the family of Jeroboam will be brushed away like a man brushing away waste till it is all gone. Those of the family of Jeroboam who come to death in the town, will become food for the dogs; and those on whom death comes in the open country, will be food for the birds of the air; for the Lord has said it. Up, then! go back to your house; and in the hour when your feet go into the town, the death of the child will take place. And all Israel will put his body to rest, weeping over him, because he only of the family of Jeroboam will be put into his resting-place in the earth; for of all the family of Jeroboam, in him only has the Lord, the God of Israel, seen some good. And the Lord will put up a king over Israel who will send destruction on the family of Jeroboam in that day; And even now the hand of the Lord has come down on Israel, shaking it like a river-grass in the water; and, uprooting Israel from this good land, which he gave to their fathers, he will send them this way and that on the other side of the River; because they have made for themselves images, moving the Lord to wrath. And he will give Israel up because of the sins which Jeroboam has done and made Israel do.

And Baasha, the son of Ahijah, of the family of Issachar, made a secret design against him, attacking him at Gibbethon, a town of the Philistines; for Nadab and the armies of Israel were making war on Gibbethon. In the third year of the rule of Asa, king of Judah, Baasha put him to death, and became king in his place. And straight away when he became king, he sent destruction on all the offspring of Jeroboam; there was not one living person of all the family of Jeroboam whom he did not put to death, so the word of the Lord, which he said by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite, came about; read more.
Because of the sins which Jeroboam did and made Israel do, moving the Lord, the God of Israel, to wrath.

Why do your disciples go against the teaching of the fathers? for they take food with unwashed hands.

You false ones, well did Isaiah say of you, These people give me honour with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But their worship is to no purpose, while they give as their teaching the rules of men.

And there came together to him the Pharisees and certain of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, And had seen that some of his disciples took their bread with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. Now the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not take food without washing their hands with care, keeping the old rule which has been handed down to them:

Then Solomon sent for all the responsible men of Israel, and all the chiefs of the tribes, and the heads of families of the children of Israel, to come to him in Jerusalem to take the ark of the Lord's agreement up out of the town of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, the seventh month. And all the responsible men of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

Then Solomon sent for all the responsible men of Israel, all the chiefs of the tribes and the heads of families of the children of Israel, to come to Jerusalem and take the ark of the Lord's agreement up out of the town of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel came together to the king at the feast in the seventh month. All the responsible men of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark.

When you have come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and have taken it for a heritage and are living in it, if it is your desire to have a king over you, like the other nations round about you; Then see that you take as your king the man named by the Lord your God: let your king be one of your countrymen, not a man of another nation who is not one of yourselves. And he is not to get together a great army of horses for himself, or make the people go back to Egypt to get horses for him: because the Lord has said, You will never again go back that way. read more.
And he is not to have a great number of wives, for fear that his heart may be turned away; or great wealth of silver and gold. And when he has taken his place on the seat of his kingdom, he is to make in a book a copy of this law, from that which the priests, the Levites, have in their care: And it is to be with him for his reading all the days of his life, so that he may be trained in the fear of the Lord his God to keep and do all the words of this teaching and these laws: So that his heart may not be lifted up over his countrymen, and he may not be turned away from the orders, to one side or the other: but that his life and the lives of his children may be long in his kingdom in Israel.

Take for yourselves men who are wise, far-seeing, and respected among you, from your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. And you made answer and said to me, It is good for us to do as you say. So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men and respected, and made them rulers over you, captains of thousands and captains of hundreds and captains of fifties and captains of tens, and overseers of your tribes.

So the responsible men and all the people of our country said to us, Take food with you for the journey and go to them, and say to them, We are your servants: so now make an agreement with us.

A young man who is poor and wise is better than a king who is old and foolish and will not be guided by the wisdom of others. Because out of a prison the young man comes to be king, though by birth he was only a poor man in the kingdom.

Unhappy is the land whose king is a boy, and whose rulers are feasting in the morning.

Happy is the land whose ruler is of noble birth, and whose chiefs take food at the right time, for strength and not for feasting.

Then Samuel took the bottle of oil, and put the oil on his head and gave him a kiss and said, Is not the Lord with the holy oil making you ruler over Israel, his people? and you will have authority over the people of the Lord, and you will make them safe from the hands of their attackers round about them, and this will be the sign for you:

Now the day before Saul came, the word of God had come to Samuel, saying, Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and on him you are to put the holy oil, making him ruler over my people Israel, and he will make my people safe from the hands of the Philistines: for I have seen the sorrow of my people, whose cry has come up to me. And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, This is the man of whom I gave you word! he it is who is to have authority over my people.

When the upright have power, the people are glad; when an evil man is ruler, grief comes on the people.

The words of the wise which come quietly to the ear are noted more than the cry of a ruler among the foolish.

My son, go in fear of the Lord and the king: have nothing to do with those who are in high positions: For their downfall will come suddenly; and who has knowledge of the destruction of those in high positions?

Now after these things were done, the captains came to me and said, The people of Israel and the priests and Levites have not kept themselves separate from the people of the lands, but have taken part in the disgusting ways of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

And that if anyone did not come before three days were past, as ordered by the rulers and the responsible men, all his goods would be put under the curse, and he himself would be cut off from the meeting of the people who had come back. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin came together to Jerusalem before three days were past; it was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people were seated in the wide square in front of the house of God, shaking with fear because of this business and because of the great rain. And Ezra the priest got to his feet and said to them, You have done wrong and taken strange women for your wives, so increasing the sin of Israel. read more.
So now, give praise to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure; and make yourselves separate from the peoples of the land and from the strange women. Then all the people, answering, said with a loud voice, As you have said, so it is right for us to do. But the number of people is great, and it is a time of much rain; it is not possible for us to go on waiting outside, and this is not a thing which may be done in one day or even two: for our sin in this business is great. So now let our rulers be representatives for all the people, and let all those in our towns who are married to strange women come at fixed times, and with them the responsible men and the judges of every town, till the burning wrath of our God is turned away from us, and this has been done.

Then all the responsible men of Israel got together and went to Samuel at Ramah, And said to him, See now, you are old, and your sons do not go in your ways: give us a king now to be our judge, so that we may be like the other nations. But Samuel was not pleased when they said to him, Give us a king to be our judge. And Samuel made prayer to the Lord. read more.
And the Lord said to Samuel, Give ear to the voice of the people and what they say to you: they have not been turned away from you, but they have been turned away from me, not desiring me to be king over them. As they have done from the first, from the day when I took them out of Egypt till this day, turning away from me and worshipping other gods, so now they are acting in the same way to you. Give ear now to their voice: but make a serious protest to them, and give them a picture of the sort of king who will be their ruler. And Samuel said all these words of the Lord to the people who were desiring a king.

But the people gave no attention to the voice of Samuel; and they said, No, but we will have a king over us, So that we may be like the other nations, and so that our king may be our judge and go out before us to war. Then Samuel, after hearing all the people had to say, went and gave an account of it to the Lord. read more.
And the Lord said to Samuel, Give ear to their voice and make a king for them. Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, Let every man go back to his town.

The evil man goes running away when no man is after him, but the upright are without fear, like the lion. Because of the sin of the land, its troubles are increased; but by a man of wisdom and knowledge they will be put out like a fire.

And news was given to Saul that David had been seen, and the men who were with him: now Saul was in Gibeah, seated under the tree in the high place, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were in their places before him.

And Saul said, Give ear now, O son of Ahitub. And answering he said, Here I am, my lord. And Saul said to him, Why have you made designs against me with the son of Jesse, giving him food and a sword and getting directions from the Lord for him, and helping him to take up arms against me, and to be on the watch to make a secret attack on me as he is doing now? Then Ahimelech answering said to the king, Who among all your servants is so true to you as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and is a captain of your armed men, and has a place of honour in your house? read more.
Is this the first time I have got directions from God for him? Far be the thought! let the king make no such statement against his servant or my father's family, for your servant has no knowledge, great or small, of this thing. And the king said, You will certainly be put to death, Ahimelech, you and all your father's family. Then the king said to the runners who were waiting near him, Put the priests of the Lord to death; because they are on David's side, and having knowledge of his flight, did not give me word of it. But the king's servants would not put out their hands to make an attack on the Lord's priests. Then the king said to Doeg, You are to put the priests to death. And Doeg the Edomite, turning on the priests and attacking them, put to death that day eighty-five men who took up the ephod. And Nob, the town of the priests, he put to the sword, all the men and women, children and babies at the breast, and oxen and asses and sheep.

In these towns you may be safe from him who has the right of punishment; so that death may not overtake the taker of life till he has been judged by the meeting of the people.

Then let the meeting of the people be judge between the man responsible for the death and him who has the right of punishment for blood, acting by these rules: And let the people keep the man responsible for the death safe from the hands of him who has the right of punishment for blood, and send him back to his safe town where he had gone in flight: there let him be till the death of the high priest who was marked with the holy oil.

The king who is a true judge in the cause of the poor, will be safe for ever on the seat of his power.

The prince who has no sense is a cruel ruler; but he who has no desire to get profit for himself will have long life.

The hand of the ready worker will have authority, but he who is slow in his work will be put to forced work.

If a ruler gives attention to false words, all his servants are evil-doers.

And the king gave them a rough answer, giving no attention to the suggestion of the old men;

Then King Rehoboam took the opinion of the old men who had been with Solomon his father when he was living, and said, In your opinion, what answer am I to give to this people? And they said to him, If you will be a servant to this people today, caring for them and giving them a gentle answer, then they will be your servants for ever. But he gave no attention to the opinion of the old men, and went to the young men of his generation who were waiting before him:

When the upright have power, the people are glad; when an evil man is ruler, grief comes on the people.

And Saul said, May God's punishment be on me if death is not your fate, Jonathan. And the people said to Saul, Is death to come to Jonathan, the worker of this great salvation for Israel? Let it not be so: by the living Lord, not one hair of his head is to be touched, for he has been working with God today. So the people kept Jonathan from death.

So the Lord sent Hadad the Edomite to make trouble for Solomon: he was of the king's seed in Edom.

And God sent another trouble-maker, Rezon, the son of Eliada, who had gone in flight from his lord, Hadadezer, king of Zobah:

And the rulers of Judah, hearing of these things, came up from the king's house to the house of the Lord, and took their seats by the new door of the Lord's house. Then the priests and the prophets said to the rulers and to all the people, The right fate for this man is death; for he has said words against this town in your hearing. Then Jeremiah said to all the rulers and to all the people, The Lord has sent me as his prophet to say against this house and against this town all the words which have come to your ears. read more.
So now, make a change for the better in your ways and your doings, and give ear to the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will let himself be turned from the decision he has made against you for evil. As for me, here I am in your hands: do with me whatever seems good and right in your opinion. Only be certain that, if you put me to death, you will make yourselves and your town and its people responsible for the blood of one who has done no wrong: for truly, the Lord has sent me to you to say all these words in your ears. Then the rulers and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, It is not right for this man to be put to death: for he has said words to us in the name of the Lord our God. Then some of the responsible men of the land got up and said to all the meeting of the people, Micah the Morashtite, who was a prophet in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, said to all the people of Judah, This is what the Lord of armies has said: Zion will become like a ploughed field, and Jerusalem will become a mass of broken walls, and the mountain of the house like the high places of the woodland. Did Hezekiah and all Judah put him to death? did he not in the fear of the Lord make prayer for the grace of the Lord, and the Lord let himself be turned from the decision he had made against them for evil? By this act we might do great evil against ourselves. And there was another man who was a prophet of the Lord, Uriah, the son of Shemaiah of Kiriath-jearim; he said against this town and against this land all the words which Jeremiah had said: And when his words came to the ears of Jehoiakim the king and all his men of war and his captains, the king would have put him to death; but Uriah, hearing of it, was full of fear and went in flight into Egypt: And Jehoiakim the king sent Elnathan, the son of Achbor, and certain men with him, into Egypt. And they took Uriah out of Egypt and came back with him to Jehoiakim the king; who put him to death with the sword, and had his dead body put into the resting-place of the bodies of the common people. But Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, gave Jeremiah his help, so that he was not given into the hands of the people to be put to death.

Have respect for all, loving the brothers, fearing God, honouring the king.

And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had twice come to him in a vision; And had given him orders about this very thing, that he was not to go after other gods; but he did not keep the orders of the Lord. So the Lord said to Solomon, Because you have done this, and have not kept my agreement and my laws, which I gave you, I will take the kingdom away from you by force and will give it to your servant. read more.
I will not do it in your life-time, because of your father David, but I will take it from your son. Still I will not take all the kingdom from him; but I will give one tribe to your son, because of my servant David, and because of Jerusalem, the town of my selection.

Then Joseph said, These two dreams have the same sense: God has made clear to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven fat cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years: the two have the same sense. The seven thin and poor-looking cows who came up after them are seven years; and the seven heads of grain, dry and wasted by the east wind, are seven years when there will be no food. read more.
As I said to Pharaoh before, God has made clear to him what he is about to do. Seven years are coming in which there will be great wealth of grain in Egypt; And after that will come seven years when there will not be enough food; and the memory of the good years will go from men's minds; and the land will be made waste by the bad years; And men will have no memory of the good time because of the need which will come after, for it will be very bitter. And this dream came to Pharaoh twice, because this thing is certain, and God will quickly make it come about. And now let Pharaoh make search for a man of wisdom and good sense, and put him in authority over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him put overseers over the land of Egypt to put in store a fifth part of the produce of the land in the good years. And let them get together all the food in those good years and make a store of grain under Pharaoh's control for the use of the towns, and let them keep it. And let that food be kept in store for the land till the seven bad years which are to come in Egypt; so that the land may not come to destruction through need of food. And this seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants. Then Pharaoh said to his servants, Where may we get such a man as this, a man in whom is the spirit of God? And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Seeing that God has made all this clear to you, there is no other man of such wisdom and good sense as you: You, then, are to be over my house, and all my people will be ruled by your word: only as king will I be greater than you. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have put you over all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and he had him clothed with the best linen, and put a chain of gold round his neck; And he made him take his seat in the second of his carriages; and they went before him crying, Make way! So he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh; and without your order no man may do anything in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh gave Joseph the name of Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, the priest of On, to be his wife. So Joseph went through all the land of Egypt. Now Joseph was thirty years old when he came before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from before the face of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. Now in the seven good years the earth gave fruit in masses. And Joseph got together all the food of those seven years, and made a store of food in the towns: the produce of the fields round every town was stored up in the town. So he got together a store of grain like the sand of the sea; so great a store that after a time he gave up measuring it, for it might not be measured. And before the time of need, Joseph had two sons, to whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On, gave birth. And to the first he gave the name Manasseh, for he said, God has taken away from me all memory of my hard life and of my father's house. And to the second he gave the name Ephraim, for he said, God has given me fruit in the land of my sorrow. And so the seven good years in Egypt came to an end. Then came the first of the seven years of need as Joseph had said: and in every other land they were short of food; but in the land of Egypt there was bread. And when all the land of Egypt was in need of food, the people came crying to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to the people, Go to Joseph, and whatever he says to you, do it. And everywhere on the earth they were short of food; then Joseph, opening all his store-houses, gave the people of Egypt grain for money; so great was the need of food in the land of Egypt. And all lands sent to Egypt, to Joseph, to get grain, for the need was great over all the earth.

And straight away the king sent out one of his armed men, and gave him an order to come back with the head: and he went and took off John's head in prison, And came back with the head on a plate, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.

Then all the people gave load cries of grief, and all that night they gave themselves up to weeping. And all the children of Israel, crying out against Moses and Aaron, said, If only we had come to our death in the land of Egypt, or even in this waste land! Why is the Lord taking us into this land to come to our death by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will get into strange hands: would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt? read more.
And they said to one another, Let us make a captain over us, and go back to Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron went down on their faces before the meeting of the people. And Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, two of those who had been to see the land, giving signs of grief, Said to all the children of Israel, This land which we went through to see is a very good land. And if the Lord has delight in us, he will take us into this land and give it to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. Only, do not go against the Lord or go in fear of the people of the land, for they will be our food; their strength has been taken from them and the Lord is with us: have no fear of them. But all the people said they were to be stoned. Then the glory of the Lord was seen in the Tent of meeting, before the eyes of all the children of Israel.

Then the king of Israel sent for all the responsible men of the land, and said, Now will you take note and see the evil purpose of this man: he sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, and I did not keep them back. And all the responsible men and the people said to him, Do not give attention to him or do what he says.

In the third year of his rule he sent Benhail and Obadiah and Zechariah and Nethanel and Micaiah, his captains, as teachers into the towns of Judah; And with them, Shemaiah and Nethaniah and Zebadiah and Asahel and Shemiramoth and Jehonathan and Adonijah and Tobijah and Tob-adonijah, the Levites; and Elishama and Jehoram the priests. And they gave teaching in Judah and had the book of the law of the Lord with them; they went through all the towns of Judah teaching the people.

Then he said, Great is my sin: but still, give me honour now before the heads of my people and before Israel, and come back with me so that I may give worship to the Lord your God.

The Lord came to him again in a vision, as he had done at Gibeon; And the Lord said to him, Your prayers and your requests for grace have come to my ears: I have made holy this house which you have made, and I have put my name there for ever; my eyes and my heart will be there at all times. As for you, if you will go on your way before me, as David your father did, uprightly and with a true heart, doing what I have given you orders to do, keeping my laws and my decisions; read more.
Then I will make the seat of your rule over Israel certain for ever, as I gave my word to David your father, saying, You will never be without a man to be king in Israel. But if you are turned from my ways, you or your children, and do not keep my orders and my laws which I have put before you, but go and make yourselves servants to other gods and give them worship: Then I will have Israel cut off from the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have made holy for myself, I will put away from before my eyes; and Israel will be a public example, and a word of shame among all peoples. And this house will become a mass of broken walls, and everyone who goes by will be overcome with wonder at it and make whistling sounds; and they will say, Why has the Lord done so to this land and to this house? And their answer will be, Because they were turned away from the Lord their God, who took their fathers out of the land of Egypt; they took for themselves other gods and gave them worship and became their servants: that is why the Lord has sent all this evil on them.

And the Lord made Solomon great in the eyes of all Israel, clothing him with glory and honour such as no other king in Israel had had before him.

And King David sent word to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, Say to the responsible men of Judah, Why are you the last to take steps to get the king back to his house?

Then Moab said to the responsible men of Midian, It is clear that this great people will be the destruction of everything round us, making a meal of us as the ox does of the grass of the field. At that time Balak, the son of Zippor, was king of Moab.

So the responsible men of Moab and Midian went away, taking in their hands rewards for the prophet; and they came to Balaam and said to him what Balak had given them orders to say.

And the king gave orders to Ashpenaz, the captain of his unsexed servants, to take in some of the children of Israel, certain of the king's family, and those of high birth; Young men who were strong and healthy, good-looking, and trained in all wisdom, having a good education and much knowledge, and able to take positions in the king's house; and to have them trained in the writing and language of the Chaldaeans. And a regular amount of food and wine every day from the king's table was ordered for them by the king; and they were to be cared for for three years so that at the end of that time they might take their places before the king. read more.
And among these there were, of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. And the captain of the unsexed servants gave them names; to Daniel he gave the name of Belteshazzar, to Hananiah the name of Shadrach, to Mishael the name of Meshach, and to Azariah the name of Abed-nego. And Daniel had come to the decision that he would not make himself unclean with the king's food or wine; so he made a request to the captain of the unsexed servants that he might not make himself unclean. And God put into the heart of the captain of the unsexed servants kind feelings and pity for Daniel. And the captain of the unsexed servants said to Daniel, I am in fear of my lord the king, who has given orders about your food and your drink; what if he sees you looking less happy than the other young men of your generation? then you would have put my head in danger from the king. Then Daniel said to the keeper in whose care the captain of the unsexed servants had put Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Put your servants to the test for ten days; let them give us grain for our food and water for our drink. Then take a look at our faces and the faces of the young men who have food from the king's table; and, having seen them, do to your servants as it seems right to you. So he gave ear to them in this thing and put them to the test for ten days. And at the end of ten days their faces seemed fairer and they were fatter in flesh than all the young men who had their food from the king's table. So the keeper regularly took away their meat and the wine which was to have been their drink, and gave them grain. Now as for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and made them expert in all book-learning and wisdom: and Daniel was wise in all visions and dreams. Now at the end of the time fixed by the king for them to go in, the captain of the unsexed servants took them in to Nebuchadnezzar. And the king had talk with them; and among them all there was no one like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they were given places before the king. And in any business needing wisdom and good sense, about which the king put questions to them, he saw that they were ten times better than all the wonder-workers and users of secret arts in all his kingdom.

For he was hoping that Paul would give him money: so he sent for him more frequently and had talk with him.

And the saying was pleasing to Absalom and to the responsible men of Israel.

So the responsible men and all the people of our country said to us, Take food with you for the journey and go to them, and say to them, We are your servants: so now make an agreement with us.

I sent for my lovers, but they were false to me: my priests and my responsible men were breathing their last breath in the town, while they were looking for food to give them new life.

See, the eyes of the Lord are on the evil kingdom, and I will put an end to it in all the earth; but I will not send complete destruction on Jacob, says the Lord.

And he made selection of able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds and of fifties and of tens.

At that time I said to you, I am not able to undertake the care of you by myself; The Lord your God has given you increase, and now you are like the stars of heaven in number. May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times greater in number than you are, and give you his blessing as he has said! read more.
How is it possible for me by myself to be responsible for you, and undertake the weight of all your troubles and your arguments? Take for yourselves men who are wise, far-seeing, and respected among you, from your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. And you made answer and said to me, It is good for us to do as you say. So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men and respected, and made them rulers over you, captains of thousands and captains of hundreds and captains of fifties and captains of tens, and overseers of your tribes. And at that time I gave orders to your judges, saying, Let all questions between your brothers come before you for hearing, and give decisions uprightly between a man and his brother or one from another nation who is with him. In judging, do not let a man's position have any weight with you; give hearing equally to small and great; have no fear of any man, for it is God who is judge: and any cause in which you are not able to give a decision, you are to put before me and I will give it a hearing.