1 Samuel 15 Cross References - ISV

¹ Saul Disobeys the LORDSamuel told Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people, Israel. Now listen to the words of the LORD. ² This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘I’ll punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, when he set himself against Israel in the way, as they were going up from Egypt. ³ Now, go and attack Amalek. Completely destroy all that they have. Don’t spare them, but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, both ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
⁴ Saul summoned the people and mustered them in Telaim, 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men from Judah. ⁵ Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the valley. ⁶ Saul told the Kenites, “Withdraw from the Amalekites so that I don’t destroy you with them, for you showed kindness to all the Israelis when they departed from Egypt.” So the Kenites withdrew from the Amalekites. ⁷ Saul attacked the Amalekites from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt. ⁸ He captured alive Agag king of Amalek, but he completely destroyed all the people, executing them with swords. ⁹ Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle—the fattened animals and lambs—along with all that was good. They were not willing to completely destroy them, but they did completely destroy everything that was worthless and inferior.
¹⁰ The LORD Rejects SaulThis message from the LORD came to Samuel: ¹¹ “I regret that I made Saul king, because he has turned away from following me and has not carried out my commands.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the LORD all night.
¹² Samuel got up early in the morning to meet Saul, but Samuel was told, “Saul went up to Carmel to set up a monument for himself. Then he turned around and traveled on to Gilgal.”
¹³ Samuel approached Saul. “May the LORD bless you,” Saul said. “I’ve carried out the LORD’s command.”
¹⁴ Samuel said, “Then what is this bleating of sheep in my ears and the lowing of cattle that I hear?”
¹⁵ Saul replied, “They brought them from the Amalekites. The people spared the best of the sheep and cattle to offer sacrifices to the LORD your God, and the rest they completely destroyed.”
¹⁶ “Be quiet!” Samuel said. “I’ll tell you what the LORD told me last night.”
Saul told him, “Speak.”
¹⁷ So Samuel replied, “Is it not true that though you were small in your own eyes you became head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed you king over Israel? ¹⁸ The LORD sent you on a mission: ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they’re destroyed.’ ¹⁹ Why didn’t you obey the LORD, but grabbed the spoil and did evil in the LORD’s sight?”
²⁰ Saul told Samuel, “I did obey the LORD. I went on the mission on which the LORD sent me, I brought Agag king of Amalek, and I completely destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹ The people took some of the spoil—sheep, cattle, and the best of what was to be completely destroyed—to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
²² Samuel said, “Does the LORD delight as much in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the LORD? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams. ²³ Indeed, rebellion is the sin of divination, and arrogance is iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected this message from the LORD, he has rejected you from being king.”
²⁴ “I’ve sinned,” Saul replied to Samuel. “I’ve broken the LORD’s command and your word, because I was afraid of the people and listened to them. ²⁵ Now, please forgive my sin and return with me so I may worship the LORD.”
²⁶ Samuel told Saul, “I won’t return with you because you have rejected the message from the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.”
²⁷ As Samuel turned to go Saul seized him by the corner of his robe, and it tore. ²⁸ Samuel told him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel away from you today, and he has given it to your neighbor who is better than you. ²⁹ Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind, for he’s not a man that he should change his mind.”
³⁰ “I’ve sinned,” Saul said. “But please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me so I may worship the LORD your God.” ³¹ Samuel returned, following Saul, and Saul worshipped the LORD.
³² Samuel Executes King AgagThen Samuel said, “Bring Agag king of Amalek to me.”
Agag came to him in fetters, saying to himself, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”
³³ Samuel said, “Just as your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women.” Then Samuel cut Agag into pieces in the LORD’s presence in Gilgal.
³⁴ Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went to his house in Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵ Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul, and the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

¹⁶ “About this time tomorrow I’ll send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him as Commander-in-Chief over my people Israel. He’ll deliver my people from the control of the Philistines, because I’ve seen the suffering of my people and because their cry has come up to me.”

¹ Saul is Anointed KingSamuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “The LORD has anointed you Commander-in-Chief over his inheritance, has he not?

¹⁴ If you fear the LORD, serve him, obey him, and don’t rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and the king who rules over you will truly follow the LORD your God.

¹³ Then Samuel told Saul, “You have acted foolishly. You haven’t obeyed the commandment of the LORD your God, which he commanded you. For then the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever,

¹⁶ “Be quiet!” Samuel said. “I’ll tell you what the LORD told me last night.”
Saul told him, “Speak.”
¹⁷ So Samuel replied, “Is it not true that though you were small in your own eyes you became head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed you king over Israel? ¹⁸ The LORD sent you on a mission: ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they’re destroyed.’

² The Spirit of the LORD speaks within me; his word is on my tongue! ³ The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has talked to me. “When one is governing men justly, he fears God while governing.

¹² “Only may the LORD give you discretion and understanding as he places you in charge over Israel, so you can keep the Law of the LORD your God. ¹³ Then you will be successful, if you keep on observing the statutes and ordinances that the LORD commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong, be courageous, and never give in to fear or dismay.

¹⁰ Therefore, kings, act wisely! Earthly rulers, be warned! ¹¹ Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

⁸ The Amalekites Fight the IsraelisAfter this, the Amalekites came and fought with the Israelis at Rephidim. ⁹ Moses told Joshua, “Choose some men for us and go out to fight against the Amalekites. Tomorrow I’ll stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” ¹⁰ So Joshua did as Moses told him and fought against the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ Whenever Moses raised his hand, the Israelis prevailed, but when his hand remained at his side, then the Amalekites prevailed. ¹² When Moses’ hands became heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other, and so his hands were steady until the sun went down. ¹³ Joshua defeated Amalek and his army using swords.
¹⁴ Then the LORD told Moses, “Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua: ‘I’ll certainly wipe out the memory of the Amalekites from under heaven.’” ¹⁵ Moses built an altar and named it “The LORD is My Banner.” ¹⁶ “Because,” he said, “a fist has been raised in defiance against the throne of the LORD, the LORD will wage war against Amalek from generation to generation.”

²⁰ Next, Balaam looked directly at Amalek and then uttered this prophetic statement: “Even though Amalek is an international leader, his future is permanent destruction.”

¹⁷ Annihilation of the Amalekites“Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the road while you were coming out of Egypt, ¹⁸ how when you were very tired and weary, they lay in wait for you on the road and eliminated everyone who was lagging behind. They had no fear of God. ¹⁹ Therefore, when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your enemies who surround you in the land that he is about to give you to possess as an inheritance, you must completely erase the memory of the Amalekites from under heaven. Don’t forget!”

³⁴ No longer will a person teach his neighbor or his relative: ‘Know the LORD.’ Instead, they’ll all know me, from the least to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD. “Indeed, I’ll forgive their iniquity, and I’ll remember their sin no more.”

² It never occurs to them that I remember all their sin. Now their actions have caught up with them, and they have my attention.

⁷ “The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: I will never forget anything they have done.

¹⁷ He told the man, “Because you have listened to what your wife said, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground because of you. You’ll eat from it through pain-filled labor for the rest of your life. ¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you’ll eat the plants from the meadows.

⁵ You are not to bow down to them in worship or serve them, because I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the iniquity of the parents to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me,

²⁸ However, any devoted thing that a person consecrates to the LORD from what he owns—whether man, animals, or inherited fields—is not to be sold or redeemed. Any devoted thing is most sacred. It belongs to the LORD. ²⁹ But anyone who is completely devoted from among human beings is not to be ransomed. He is certainly to be put to death.

¹⁷ You are to kill every male child and every woman who has had sexual relations with a man.

¹⁵ then put the inhabitants of the town to death by the sword. Devote everything in it to divine destruction—even its livestock—by the sword. ¹⁶ Gather whatever you’ve taken as spoils at the public square of the town, then burn the town, along with whatever you’ve taken, as an offering to the LORD your God. It will remain a permanent mound of ruins, never to be rebuilt again.

¹⁶ Destruction of the Canaanites“You are not to leave even one person alive in the cities of these nations that the LORD your God is about to give you as an inheritance. ¹⁷ You must completely destroy the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, just as the LORD your God commanded you, ¹⁸ so they won’t teach you to do all the detestable things that they do for their gods. If you do what they teach you, you will sin against the LORD your God.”

¹⁷ The city—along with everything in it—is to be turned over to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone who is with her in her house may live, because she hid the scouts we sent. ¹⁸ Now as for you, everything has been turned over for destruction. Don’t covet or take any of these things. Otherwise, you’ll make the camp of Israel itself an object worthy of destruction, and bring trouble on it. ¹⁹ But everything made of silver and gold, and vessels made of bronze and iron are set apart to the LORD. They are to go into the treasury of the LORD.”
²⁰ So the army shouted and the trumpets were blown again. As soon as the army heard the sound of the trumpets, they shouted loudly and the wall collapsed. The army charged straight ahead into the city and captured it. ²¹ They turned over everyone in the city for destruction and executed them, including both men and women, young and old, and oxen, sheep, and donkeys.

¹⁹ He attacked the priestly town of Nob with the sword. Men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys and sheep were put to the sword.

²¹ Prepare a massacre for his sons because of the guilt of their forefathers! They are not to rise and inherit the earth, and cover the surface of the world with cities.”
²² Babylon’s Desolation“I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, “and I will eliminate from Babylon her name and survivors, her offspring and descendants,” declares the LORD.

²⁰ because the creation has become subject to futility, though not by anything it did. The one who subjected it did so in the certainty ²¹ that the creation itself would also be set free from corrupting bondage in order to share the glorious freedom of God’s children. ²² For we know that all the rest of creation has been groaning with the pains of childbirth up to the present time.

²⁴ Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,

⁸ Saul mustered them at Bezek, and there were 300,000 Israelis and 30,000 men of Judah.

¹⁵ Then Samuel got up and went from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. Saul mustered the people present with him, about 600 men.

²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous along with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! The Judge of all the earth will do what is right, won’t he?”

¹² Lot Negotiates with the Angels“Do you have anyone else here in the city?” the angels asked Lot. “A son-in-law? Sons? Daughters? Get them out of this place, ¹³ because we’re going to destroy it. The LORD knows how their behavior stinks, so he sent us here to destroy it!”
¹⁴ Lot then went out and told his sons-in-law (they had married his daughters), “Get out of here! The LORD is going to destroy this city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
¹⁵ As dawn was breaking, the angels pressured Lot. “Get going!” they told him. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be engulfed by the devastation that’s coming to this city.”
¹⁶ But Lot kept lingering in the city, so the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters (because of the LORD’s compassion for him!), brought them out of the city, and left them outside.

⁹ Jethro rejoiced over all the good that the LORD had done for Israel in delivering them from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹⁰ Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who delivered the people from the oppression of the Egyptians.

¹⁹ Now listen to me. I’ll advise you, and may God be with you. You are to represent the people before God and bring the disputes to God.

²⁹ Moses invites His Father-in-Law to Accompany IsraelThen Moses told Reuel’s son Hobab, Moses’ relative by marriage from Midian, “We are traveling to the place about which the LORD said ‘I will give it to you.’ So come with us and we’ll be good to you, because the LORD has spoken good things about Israel.”
³⁰ But he said, “I won’t go with you because I’m returning to my land and to my own family.”
³¹ Then Moses responded, “Please don’t leave us now, since you know where we can camp in the wilderness. You could be our guide. ³² And when you come with us, the good things that the LORD will grant us, we’ll give you as well.”

²⁶ Then he told the community, “Move away from the camps of these wicked men and don’t touch anything that belongs to them. That way you won’t be destroyed along with all their sins.” ²⁷ So they all moved away from the entire area where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were living.
Now Korah, Dathan, and Abiram stood at the entrance to their tents with their wives, sons, and little children.

³⁴ Then all of the Israelis who were around them ran away when they heard them crying, “…so the ground won’t swallow us up, too.”

²¹ Balaam also uttered this prophetic statement about the Kenites: “Your dwelling places are stable, because your nest is carved in solid rock. ²² Nevertheless, Kain will be incinerated. How long will it take until Asshur takes you hostage?”

¹⁶ The Capture of Certain Southern TerritoriesThe descendants of the Kenites, the tribe from which Moses’ father-in-law came, accompanied the descendants of Judah from the city of the palms to the Judean wilderness, which is in the desert area south of Arad, and lived with the people there.

¹¹ Meanwhile, Heber the Kenite had been separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law Hobab. He had pitched his tents far away, near the Elon-bezaanannim.

²⁴ “Blessed above all women is Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite; most blessed is she among women who live in tents!

¹⁰ Achish said, “Where did you raid today?”
David answered, “Against the Negev of Judah, against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites, and against the Negev of the Kenites.”

⁵⁵ The families of the scribes who lived at Jabez included the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Sucathites. These are the Kenites who came from Hammath, who fathered the house of Rechab.

⁶ Leave your naïve ways, and live. Walk in the path of understanding.”

⁴⁰ Using many different expressions, Peter continued to testify and to plead: “Be saved,” he urged them, “from this corrupt generation!”

¹⁷ Therefore, “Get away from them and separate yourselves from them,” declares the Lord, “and don’t touch anything unclean. Then I will welcome you.

¹⁶ May the Lord grant mercy to the family of Onesiphorus, for he often took care of me and was not ashamed that I was a prisoner.

¹⁴ “The fruit that you crafted has abandoned you. All your dainties and your splendor are lost, and no one will ever find them again.”

¹¹ The name of the first one is Pishon—it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.

⁷ The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the desert on the road to Shur.

¹⁸ His descendants settled from Havilah to Shur (that’s near Egypt), all the way to Assyria, in defiance of all of his relatives.

²² God Provides Water for the PeopleThen Moses led Israel from the Reed Sea and they went to the desert of Shur. They traveled into the desert for three days and did not find water.

⁴⁸ He acted valiantly, defeated Amalek, and delivered Israel from those who had been plundering them.

⁸ David’s Raids on the LandDavid and his men went up and raided the descendants of Geshur, the descendants of Girzi, and the Amalekites, for they had been living in the land since ancient times, from the entrance of Shur all the way to the land of Egypt.

³⁰ that the wicked person is spared from times of calamity, that he is rescued on the day of wrath?

¹³ But things will not go well for the wicked person: he will not lengthen his life like a shadow, since he has no fear before God.

⁷ He will pour water from his buckets, and his descendants will stream forth like abundant water. His king will be more exalted than Agag when he exalts his own kingdom.

³⁹ captured it, its king, and all of its villages. They executed them, totally destroying it and everyone in it, leaving no one remaining. He dealt with Debir and its king just as he had dealt with Hebron, treating them the same way he had dealt with Libnah and its king.

¹² So Joshua captured and annihilated all of these cities, along with their kings, completely destroying them, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded.

³ Now, go and attack Amalek. Completely destroy all that they have. Don’t spare them, but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, both ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

⁸ David’s Raids on the LandDavid and his men went up and raided the descendants of Geshur, the descendants of Girzi, and the Amalekites, for they had been living in the land since ancient times, from the entrance of Shur all the way to the land of Egypt. ⁹ David struck the land and did not leave a man or woman alive. He took sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing, and then came back and went to Achish.

¹ Trouble on David’s Return to ZiklagWhen David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and set it on fire.

³⁰ The rest of the Aramean army retreated into Aphek, but the city wall collapsed on 27,000 soldiers who had taken shelter there. Ben-hadad himself ran away and hid inside a closet somewhere in the city.

³⁴ Ben-hadad made this promise to Ahab: “I will restore the cities that my ancestors took from your ancestors. You’ll be able to build streets named after yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.”
“With this promise I will release you,” Ahab replied. So Ahab made a treaty with Ben-hadad and let him go.
³⁵ Ahab is CondemnedRight about then, one of the members of the guild of prophets told another through a message from the LORD: “Please strike me!” But the man refused to do so, ³⁶ so he told him, “Because you haven’t obeyed the LORD’s voice, as soon as you leave here, a lion will kill you.” As soon as the man left, a lion found him and killed him.
³⁷ Later, he found another man and told him, “Please strike me!” So the man struck him and wounded him. ³⁸ Then the prophet left and waited for the king to pass by, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.
³⁹ As the king was passing by, he cried out to the king and told him, “Your servant went out into the middle of the battle, and a soldier turned aside, brought a prisoner to me, and told me, ‘Guard this man. If he turns up missing for any reason at all, you’ll pay for it with your life or be fined one talent of silver.’ ⁴⁰ While your servant was busy here and there, the prisoner escaped.”
The king told him, “By your actions you’ve earned the proper judgment!”
⁴¹ Then the prophet quickly tore off his bandage, and the king of Israel recognized him as being one of the prophets. ⁴² He told the king, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you let the man whom I had dedicated to destruction go free, therefore your life is to be forfeited for his life, and your people for his people.’”

¹ Haman is Promoted by AhasuerusSometime later King Ahasuerus promoted Hammedatha the Agagite’s son Haman, elevating him to a position above all the other officials who were with him.

²¹ I noticed among the war spoils a beautiful mantle from Shinar, 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels. Because I wanted them, I took them, and they’re buried in the ground inside my tent. The silver is underneath.”

¹⁵ Saul replied, “They brought them from the Amalekites. The people spared the best of the sheep and cattle to offer sacrifices to the LORD your God, and the rest they completely destroyed.”

¹⁹ Why didn’t you obey the LORD, but grabbed the spoil and did evil in the LORD’s sight?”

¹³ After those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed oxen and fattened animals,

⁶ Then the LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and he was deeply grieved about that.

¹⁶ “This is what the entire community of the LORD has to say: ‘What is this treacherous act by which you have acted deceitfully against the God of Israel by turning away from following the LORD today, and by building yourselves an altar today, so you can rebel against the LORD?

²³ Now as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you. I’ll also instruct you in the way that is good and right.

⁹ Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle—the fattened animals and lambs—along with all that was good. They were not willing to completely destroy them, but they did completely destroy everything that was worthless and inferior.

³⁵ Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul, and the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

¹⁶ As the angel was stretching out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD was grieved because of the calamity, so he told the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Stay your hand!” So the angel of the LORD remained near the threshing floor that belonged to Araunah the Jebusite.

⁶ But if you or your descendants abandon me, and do not keep my commandments and statutes that I have given to you, and if you go away, serve other gods, and worship them, ⁷ then I will eliminate Israel from the land that I gave them and from the Temple that I’ve consecrated for my name. I will throw them out of my sight, and Israel will become the butt of jokes and a means of ridicule among people worldwide!

³ The words from his mouth are vain and deceptive. He has abandoned behaving wisely and doing good.

⁴¹ They tested God again and again, provoking the Holy One of Israel.

⁵⁷ They fell away and were as disloyal as their ancestors. They became unreliable, like a defective bow;

⁴ Instead of receiving my love, they accuse me, though I continue in prayer.

⁴ The LORD took an oath and will never recant: “You are a priest forever, after the manner of Melchizedek.”

¹³⁶ My eyes shed rivers of tears, when others do not obey your instruction.

⁵ But for those who choose their own devious paths, the LORD will lead them away, along with those who practice evil. Peace be upon Israel.

¹ The LORD’s Sorrow for His People “Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, for then I would cry day and night for those of my people who have been killed.

¹⁸ Let them hurry and lament for us. Let tears run down from our eyes, and let our eyelids flow with water.

¹⁷ If you don’t listen, I’ll cry secretly because of your pride. My eyes will cry bitterly, flowing tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.

⁷ At one moment I may speak about a nation or a kingdom to uproot it, pull it down, or destroy it. ⁸ But if that nation about which I spoke turns from its evil way, I’ll change my mind about the disaster that I had planned for it. ⁹ At another moment I may speak about a nation or kingdom to build it or plant it. ¹⁰ But if that nation does evil in my eyes by not obeying me, I’ll change my mind about the good that I said I would bring on it.

³ So the LORD relented from this. “This will not happen,” said the LORD.

¹⁰ God took note of what they did—that they turned from their evil ways. Because God relented concerning the trouble about which he had warned them, he did not carry it out.

² So he prayed to the LORD, “LORD, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my home country? That’s why I fled previously to Tarshish, because I knew you’re a compassionate God, slow to anger, overflowing with gracious love, and reluctant to send trouble.

⁶ those who turn away from the LORD, don’t seek the LORD, and never ask for his help.”
The Approaching Day of the LORD

⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you,

¹³ But the person who endures to the end will be saved.

¹² Jesus Appoints Twelve Apostles
Now it was in those days that Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God.

⁴¹ When he came closer and saw the city, he began to grieve over it: ⁴² “If you had only known today what could have brought you peace! But now it is hidden from your sight, ⁴³ because the days will come when your enemies will build walls around you, surround you, and close you in on every side. ⁴⁴ They will level you to the ground—you and those who live within your city limits. They will not leave one stone on another within your walls, because you didn’t recognize the time when you were visited.”

¹ Paul’s Concern for the Jewish PeopleI am telling the truth because I belong to the Messiah—I am not lying, and my conscience confirms it by means of the Holy Spirit. ² I have deep sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart, ³ for I could wish that I myself were condemned and cut off from the Messiah for the sake of my brothers, my own people,

³⁸ but my righteous one will live by faith, and if he turns back, my soul will take no pleasure in him.”

⁸ The Israelis did just as Joshua commanded. They took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River—just as the LORD had spoken to Joshua—according to the number of the tribes of the Israelis, and they carried them over to where they would be pitching camp, and they put them down there. ⁹ Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan River at the location where the feet of the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant had been standing, and they remain there to this day.

⁵⁵ Also included were Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah,

¹² Then Samuel took a stone, placed it between Mizpah and Shen and named it Ebenezer. He said, “The LORD has helped us this far.”

² Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel of Judah, and the man was very rich. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

¹⁸ While Absalom had been living, he had erected a pillar as a monument to himself in King’s Valley because he had been telling himself, “I don’t have a son to carry on my family name.” So he named the pillar after himself—it’s called Absalom’s Monument even today.

⁴² So Ahab got up to get something to eat and drink while Elijah went back up to the top of Mount Carmel, where he bowed low to the ground and placed his face between his knees.

¹² The man answered, “The woman whom you provided for me gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate some of it.”

¹⁹ Melchizedek blessed Abram and said, “Abram is blessed by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

² He told his mother, “Do you remember those 1,100 silver coins that were stolen from you and about which you uttered a curse when I could hear it? Well, I have the silver. I took it.”
So she replied, “May my son be blessed by the LORD.”

¹⁰ He replied, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You’ve added to the gracious love you’ve already demonstrated by not pursuing younger men, whether rich or poor.

¹⁰ Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to meet and greet him.

¹¹ “I regret that I made Saul king, because he has turned away from following me and has not carried out my commands.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the LORD all night.

² Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth; a stranger, and never your own lips.

¹³ Whoever hides his transgressions will not succeed, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will find mercy.

¹³ Some people—what an arrogant look they have!— raise their eyebrows haughtily.

³¹ Reward her for her work— let her actions result in public praise.

¹⁰ That’s the way it is with you. When you have done everything you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless servants. We have done only what we ought to have done.’”

¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘O God, I thank you that I’m not like other people—thieves, dishonest people, adulterers, or even this tax collector.

² He flatters himself too much to discover his transgression and hate it.

¹⁶ As for the wicked, God says, “How dare you recite my statutes or speak about my covenant with your lips! ¹⁷ You hate instruction and toss my words behind you. ¹⁸ When you see a thief, you befriend him, and you keep company with adulterers. ¹⁹ You give your mouth free reign for evil, and your tongue devises deceit. ²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son. ²¹ These things you did, and I kept silent, because you assumed that I was like you. But now I am going to rebuke you, and I will set forth my case before your very own eyes.”

¹⁸ Now, what are you doing on the road to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Nile? And what are you doing on the road to Assyria, to drink the waters of the Euphrates? ¹⁹ Your wickedness will be punished, and you will be corrected due to your acts of apostasy. Know and see that it’s evil and bitter for you to forsake the LORD your God, but the fear of me is not in you,” declares the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies.

²² Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me,” declares the Lord GOD.
²³ Israel’s Passion for Sin“How can you say, ‘I’m not defiled. I haven’t gone after the Baals.’? Look at what you’ve done in the valley. Know what you have done. You are a swift young camel galloping aimlessly;

³⁴ On your skirts is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor, even though you didn’t catch them breaking in. Yet despite all these things, ³⁵ you say, ‘I’m innocent. Surely his anger has turned away from me.’” “I’m about to bring charges against you because you say, ‘I haven’t sinned.’ ³⁶ Why do you go about changing your mind so much? You will also be disappointed by Egypt, just as you were disappointed by Assyria. ³⁷ You will also go out from this place with your hands over your heads. For the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust, and you won’t prosper through them.”

¹³ God’s Seventh Complaint: Against His People—Slandering God“You have spoken arrogant words against me,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What did we say against you?’ ¹⁴ You said, ‘It is futile to serve God,’ and, ‘What did we get out of it when we carried out his requirements and went about like mourners in the presence of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies?’ ¹⁵ and, ‘Now we call the arrogant one blessed. Those who do evil prosper and those who challenge God escape the consequences.’”

²² The king told him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you evil servant! You knew, did you, that I was a hard man, and that I withdraw what I didn’t deposit and harvest what I didn’t plant?

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the Law says applies to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

⁵ Therefore, stop judging prematurely, before the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is now hidden in darkness and reveal the motives of our hearts. Then each person will receive his praise from God.

¹² The man answered, “The woman whom you provided for me gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate some of it.”
¹³ Then the LORD God asked the woman, “What did you do?”
“The Shining One misled me,” the woman answered, “so I ate.”

²² Aaron said, “Sir, don’t be angry. You know the people—that they’re intent on evil. ²³ They told me, ‘Make a god for us who will go before us because, as for this fellow Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.’

²¹ The people took some of the spoil—sheep, cattle, and the best of what was to be completely destroyed—to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”

³³ No Secret Sins“Have I covered my transgression like other people, to conceal iniquity within myself?

⁸ and sent them to Bethlehem. He told them, “As you go, search carefully for the child. When you find him, tell me so that I, too, may go and worship him.”

²⁹ But the man wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

²⁷ As they were going down to the edge of the town, Samuel told Saul, “Tell your young man to go ahead of us and when he has gone ahead, stop for a while so I may declare God’s word to you.”

⁷ Now stand up and I’ll pass judgment on you in light of the LORD’s righteous acts that he did for you and your ancestors.

¹⁶ When he heard this, the king asked him, “How many times do I have to make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth? Now do it in the name of the LORD!”

¹⁵ “Right…,” Gideon responded. “Sir, how will I deliver Israel? Look—my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I’m the youngest in my father’s household.”

²¹ Saul answered: “Am I not a descendant of Benjamin from the least of the tribes of Israel? Isn’t my family the least important of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why have you spoken to me like this?”

²² So they inquired further of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?”
The LORD said, “He is here, hiding among the baggage.”

¹ Saul Disobeys the LORDSamuel told Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people, Israel. Now listen to the words of the LORD. ² This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘I’ll punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, when he set himself against Israel in the way, as they were going up from Egypt. ³ Now, go and attack Amalek. Completely destroy all that they have. Don’t spare them, but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, both ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

¹ The LORD’s Anger against Israel “When the tribe of Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; and it was exalted within Israel. But when they offended God by Baal, they died,

⁴ Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom from heaven,

¹³ Now the men of Sodom were particularly evil and sinful in their defiance of the LORD.

¹⁶ Your descendants will return here in the fourth generation, since the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet run its course.”

³⁸ As for the censers of those rebels who died, fasten them into beaten plates to line the altar. Since they brought them into the LORD’s presence, they’re holy. They are to become a reminder to the Israelis.”

³ if not calamity that is due the unjust, and misfortune that is due those who practice iniquity?

²⁹ To the upright, the way of the LORD is a place of safety, but it’s a place of ruin to those who practice evil.

²¹ Disaster pursues the sinful, but good will reward the righteous.

³² The army grabbed the spoil, took sheep, oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground, and then the army ate them with the blood.

² But he practiced what the LORD considered to be evil by behaving detestably, as did the nations whom the LORD expelled in front of the Israelis.

⁶ He burned his sons as an offering in the Ben-hinnom Valley, practiced fortune-telling, witchcraft, sorcery, and communicated with mediums and separatists. He did a lot of things that the LORD considered to be evil, thus provoking him.

¹² He practiced what the LORD his God considered to be evil and never humbled himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the LORD.

²⁷ Those who are greedy for unjust gain bring trouble into their homes, but the person who hates bribes will live.

¹¹ Has this house that is called by my name become a hideout for bandits in your eyes? Look, I’m watching,” declares the LORD.

⁹ Judgment on Those who Think They are Safe“Woe to the one who amasses profit upon unjust profit in order to establish his household, so he can establish a secure place on the heights and escape from the power of evil. ¹⁰ You have brought shame to yourself by killing many people— you are forfeiting your own life. ¹¹ Indeed, the stone will cry out from the wall and the rafter will respond from the woodwork.”
¹² Judgment on the Lawless“Woe to the one who founds a city upon bloodshed, and constructs a city by lawlessness.

¹⁰ because Demas, having fallen in love with this present world, has abandoned me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.

⁸ He captured alive Agag king of Amalek, but he completely destroyed all the people, executing them with swords.

¹³ Samuel approached Saul. “May the LORD bless you,” Saul said. “I’ve carried out the LORD’s command.”

⁹ ‘I’m pure. I’m without sin; I’m innocent. I’m harboring no iniquity inside of me.

⁵ Elihu Reviews Job’s Complaint against God’s InjusticeNow this is Job’s claim: ‘Even though I’m innocent, God has stopped treating me righteously.

² “Are you saying that it’s just for you to claim, ‘I’m more righteous than God?’

⁸ Indeed would you annul my justice and condemn me, just so you can claim that you’re righteous?

²⁰ The young man told him, “I have kept all of these. What do I still lack?”

³ For they are ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God while they try to establish their own, and they have not submitted to God’s means to attain righteousness.

¹³ Then the LORD God asked the woman, “What did you do?”
“The Shining One misled me,” the woman answered, “so I ate.”

⁵ And now if you carefully obey me and keep my covenant, you are to be my special possession out of all the peoples, because the whole earth belongs to me,

⁶ You take no delight in sacrifices and offerings— you have prepared my ears to listen— you require no burnt offerings or sacrifices for sin. ⁷ Then I said, “Here I am! I have come! In the scroll of the book it is written about me. ⁸ I delight to do your will, my God. Your Law is part of my inner being.”

⁸ I do not rebuke you because of your sacrifices; indeed, your burnt offerings are continuously before me. ⁹ I will no longer accept a sacrificial bull from your household; nor goats from your pens.

¹⁶ Indeed, you do not delight in sacrifices, or I would give them, nor do you desire burnt offerings. ¹⁷ True sacrifice to God is a broken spirit. A broken and chastened heart, God, you will not despise.

³ To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

¹ Advice in WorshipWatch your step whenever you visit God’s house, and come more ready to listen than to offer a fool’s sacrifice, since fools never think they’re doing evil.

¹¹ “How do your voluminous sacrifices benefit me?” the LORD is asking. “I’ve had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts. I don’t enjoy the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats. ¹² “When you come to present yourselves in my presence, who has required you to trample on my courts? ¹³ Stop bringing useless offerings! Incense is detestable to me, as are your New Moons, Sabbaths, and calling of convocations. I cannot stand iniquity within a solemn assembly. ¹⁴ As for your New Moons and your appointed festivals, I abhor them. They’ve become a burden to me; I’ve grown weary of carrying that burden. ¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer, I’ll hide my eyes from you. Even though you pray repeatedly, I won’t listen. Your hands are full of blood, your fingers drenched with iniquity.”
¹⁶ An Invitation to Reconciliation“Wash yourselves, and make yourselves clean; remove your evil behavior from my presence; stop practicing what is evil. ¹⁷ Learn to practice what is good; seek justice, alleviate oppression, defend orphans in court, and plead the widow’s case.

²² Indeed, when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I didn’t speak or command them about burnt offering and sacrifice, ²³ but I did give them this command: ‘Obey me and I’ll be your God, and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you so it will go well for you.’

⁴ which I commanded to your ancestors on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace. I said, ‘Obey me and do everything that I commanded you. Then you will be my people and I’ll be your God.’

⁷ For I’ve diligently warned your ancestors from the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt until now, regularly warning them, saying, “Obey me!”

¹³ Now, change your habits and your deeds and obey the LORD your God, and the LORD will change his mind about the disaster that he told you about.

⁶ For it is love that I seek, and not sacrifice; knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

²¹ Let Justice Roll On“I hate—I despise—your festival days, and your solemn convocations stink. ²² And if you send up burnt offerings to me as well as your grain offerings, I will not accept them, nor will I consider your peace offerings of fattened cattle. ²³ Spare me your noisy singing— I will not listen to your musical instruments. ²⁴ “But let justice roll on like many waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing river.

⁶ The Nature of True RighteousnessHow am I to present myself in the LORD’s presence and bow in the presence of the High God? Should I present myself with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? ⁷ Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with endless rivers of oil? Am I to give my firstborn to pay for my rebellion, the fruit of my body in exchange for my soul? ⁸ He has made it clear to you, mortal man, what is good and what the LORD is requiring from you— to act with justice, to treasure the LORD’s gracious love, and to walk humbly in the company of your God.

²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar and first go and be reconciled to your brother. Then come and offer your gift.

¹³ Go and learn what this means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice,’ because I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners.”

⁷ If you had known what ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice’ means, you would not have condemned the innocent,

²³ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your mint, dill, and cummin, but have neglected the more important matters of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others.

³³ To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

⁴ for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
⁵ The Messiah Offered One SacrificeFor this reason, the Scriptures say, when the Messiah was about to come into the world: “You did not want sacrifices and offerings, but you prepared a body for me. ⁶ In burnt offerings and sin offerings you never took delight. ⁷ Then I said, ‘See, I have come to do your will, O God’ In the volume of the scroll this is written about me.” ⁸ In this passage he says, “You never wanted or took delight in sacrifices, offerings, burnt offerings, and sin offerings,” which are offered according to the Law. ⁹ Then he says, “See, I have come to do your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. ¹⁰ By God’s will we have been sanctified once and for all through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus, the Messiah.

¹⁹ Laban Pursues JacobMeanwhile, Laban had been out shearing his sheep. While he was away, Rachel stole her father’s personal idols.

³⁴ Meanwhile, Rachel had taken the idols, placed them inside the saddle of her camel, and sat on them. Laban searched through the whole tent, but found nothing.

¹⁸ “You are not to allow a sorceress to live.

⁶ Consulting the Dead Prohibited“I’ll oppose and eliminate from contact with his people whoever consults mediums or familiar spirits, thereby committing spiritual prostitution with them.

²⁷ “Moreover, a man or a woman who has a ritual spirit or a familiar spirit is certainly to die. They are to be stoned to death with boulders. They will continue to bear responsibility for their guilt.”

⁹ However, don’t rebel against the LORD or be afraid of the people who live in the land, because we’ll gobble them right up. Their defenses will collapse, because the LORD is with us. You are not to be afraid of them.”

⁷ Israel Broke the Covenant“Remember—and don’t ever forget—how you provoked the LORD your God in the desert. From the day that you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place you have been rebelling against the LORD.

²⁴ You have been rebelling against the LORD since the day I knew you.

¹⁰ There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter in fire, practices divination, interprets omens, practices sorcery, ¹¹ casts spells, or who is a medium, an occultist, or a necromancer.

¹⁶ “This is what the entire community of the LORD has to say: ‘What is this treacherous act by which you have acted deceitfully against the God of Israel by turning away from following the LORD today, and by building yourselves an altar today, so you can rebel against the LORD? ¹⁷ Isn’t the evil that happened at Peor enough for us, from which we have yet to be completely cleansed even to this point, and because of which a plague came upon the community of the LORD? ¹⁸ Now then, are you turning away from following the LORD today? If you rebel against the LORD today, by tomorrow he will be angry with the entire community of Israel. ¹⁹ If the land of your inheritance remains unclean, then cross back over into the land that the LORD possesses, and receive an inheritance among us. Don’t rebel against the LORD and against us by constructing an altar for yourselves besides the altar of the LORD our God.

³⁰ “Therefore, the LORD God of Israel has declared, ‘I did, in fact, say that your family and your ancestor’s family would walk before me forever,’ but now the LORD declares, ‘Far be it from me! The one who honors me I’ll honor, and the one who despises me is to be treated with contempt.

¹⁴ If you fear the LORD, serve him, obey him, and don’t rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and the king who rules over you will truly follow the LORD your God. ¹⁵ But if you don’t obey the LORD and rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the LORD will turn against you as he did against your ancestors.

¹⁴ but now your kingdom won’t be established. The LORD has sought for himself a man after his own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as Commander-in-Chief over his people because you didn’t obey that which the LORD commanded you.”

¹ David Anointed to Succeed SaulThe LORD told Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I’ve rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I’m sending you to Jesse from Bethlehem because I’ve chosen for myself one of his sons as king.”

¹⁵ They rejected the LORD’s statutes, the covenant that he had made with their ancestors, and his warnings that he gave them. They pursued meaninglessness—and became meaningless themselves—as they followed the lifestyles of the nations that surrounded them, a practice that the LORD had warned them not to do.
¹⁶ They abandoned all of the commands given by the LORD their God, crafted for themselves cast images of two calves, constructed an Asherah, worshipped all of the stars in heaven, and served Baal. ¹⁷ They passed their sons and daughters through fire, practiced divination, cast spells, and sold themselves to practice what the LORD considered to be evil, thereby provoking him. ¹⁸ As a result, the LORD was angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. No one was left except for the tribe of Judah.
¹⁹ But Judah, too, did not keep the commands of the LORD their God. Instead, they lived the lifestyle that Israel had chosen, ²⁰ so the LORD rejected all of the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and handed them over to the control of plunderers until he had thrown them away from his presence.

⁹ David Addresses Solomon Directly“Now as for you, my son Solomon, get to know the God of your father. Serve him with a sound heart and a devoted soul, because the LORD is searching every heart, every plan and thought. He will be found by you, assuming you are seeking him, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you forever.

³⁷ because he has been adding rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us, and keeps on ranting against God.”

¹¹ because they had rebelled against the command of God, despising the advice of the Most High.

¹⁹ Rejecting Occultic Wisdom“So when they advise you, ‘Ask the mediums your questions, and quiz the spiritists who chirp and mutter,’ shouldn’t a people instead be consulting their God— and not the dead— on behalf of those who are living

³ The spirits of the Egyptians within them will be drained of courage, and I will bring their plans to nothing. They will consult idols and spirits of the dead, and mediums and spiritists.

¹⁶ Therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘I’m about to remove you from the face of the earth. This year you will die because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.’”

³² therefore, this is what the LORD says: “I’m about to judge Shemaiah from Nehelam along with his descendants. He won’t have anyone related to him living among these people. Nor will he see the good that I’ll do for my people,” declares the LORD, “because he advocated rebellion against the LORD.”’”

⁵ Whether this rebellious group listens to you or not, at least they’ll realize that a prophet had appeared in their midst!
⁶ “Now as for you, Son of Man, never be afraid of them or of anything they have to say, because being with them will be like settling down to live among briers, thorn bushes, and scorpions! Don’t be afraid of anything they have to say, and don’t be awed by their appearance, since they are a rebellious group. ⁷ You are to tell them whatever I have to say to them, whether they listen or not, since they are rebellious.”
⁸ The Vision of the Edible Scroll“Son of Man, you are to listen to what I tell you. You are never to be rebellious like they are: a rebellious group. Now, open your mouth and eat what I’m giving you…”

¹⁶ What agreement can a temple of God make with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said: “I will live and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

²⁰ idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, rivalry, jealously, outbursts of anger, quarrels, conflicts, factions,

⁸ But people who are cowardly, unfaithful, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will find themselves in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”

¹⁵ Outside are dogs, sorcerers, immoral people, murderers, idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

¹⁷ He told the man, “Because you have listened to what your wife said, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground because of you. You’ll eat from it through pain-filled labor for the rest of your life.

²⁷ Pharaoh sent word and called for Moses and Aaron. “I’ve sinned this time,” he told them. “The LORD is righteous, but I and my people are wicked.

¹⁶ Pharaoh quickly called Moses and Aaron and said, “I’ve sinned against the LORD your God and against you.

² You are not to follow the majority in doing wrong, and you are not to testify in a lawsuit so as to follow the majority and pervert justice.

³⁴ If she hadn’t turned away from me, I would have killed you by now and left her alive!”
At this, Balaam replied to the angel of the LORD, “I’ve sinned! I didn’t know that you were standing to meet me on the road. So now, since it displeases you, let me go back.”

²⁹ Why, then, do all of you show contempt for my sacrifice and offering that I’ve commanded for my dwelling? And you honor your sons more than me in order to fatten yourselves from the best of all the offerings of my people Israel.’

³⁰ “I’ve sinned,” Saul said. “But please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me so I may worship the LORD your God.”

¹³ At this point, David told Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Nathan responded to David, “There’s one other thing: the LORD has forgiven your sin. You won’t die.

³⁴ Have I feared large crowds? Has my family’s contempt ever terrified me so that I remained silent and wouldn’t go outside?”

²⁵ Fearing any human being is a trap, but confiding in the LORD keeps anyone safe.

¹² “I—yes, I—am the one who comforts you. Who are you, that you are so afraid of humans who will die, descendants of mere men, who have been made like grass? ¹³ As a result, you have forgotten the LORD who made you, who stretched out the heavens and laid the earth’s foundations, and you live in constant fear every day because of the oppressor’s fury, since he’s ready to destroy. Now where is the oppressor’s fury?

⁵ King Zedekiah said, “Look, he’s in your hands, and the king can do nothing to you.”

⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”
But they replied, “What do we care? Attend to that yourself.”

²⁰ But Pilate wanted to let Jesus go, so he appealed to them again, ²¹ but they continued to shout, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
²² Then he spoke to them a third time: “What has he done wrong? I have found nothing in him worthy of death. So I will punish him and let him go.” ²³ But they kept pressing him with loud shouts, demanding that Jesus be crucified, and their shouts began to prevail.
²⁴ Then Pilate pronounced his sentence that their demand should be carried out. ²⁵ So he released the man who had been put in prison for revolt and murder—the man whose release they continued to demand—but he let them have their way with Jesus.

¹⁰ Am I now trying to win the approval of people or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be the Messiah’s servant.

¹⁷ Now, please forgive my sin only this time, and pray to the LORD your God that he would at least remove this from me.”

³⁸ But Jacob replied, “My son isn’t going back with you, since his brother is dead and he’s the only one left. If something should harm him as you travel, then it’ll be death for me and my sad, gray hair!”

¹¹ Jacob Gives Instructions for the Trip“If that’s the way it has to be,” their father Israel replied, “then do this: take some of the best produce of the land in your containers and take them to the man as a gift—some resin ointment, some honey, fragrant resins, myrrh, pistachios, and almonds. ¹² Also take twice as much money with you so you can return the money that had been replaced in the mouth of your sacks. Maybe it was an accounting mistake on his part. ¹³ And be sure to take your brother, too. So get up, return to the man, ¹⁴ and may God Almighty cause the man to show compassion toward you. May he send all of you back, including your other brother and Benjamin. Now as for me, if I lose my children, I lose them.”

²³ Indeed, rebellion is the sin of divination, and arrogance is iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected this message from the LORD, he has rejected you from being king.”

³¹ Samuel returned, following Saul, and Saul worshipped the LORD.

¹⁹ Listen, earth! I’m about to bring calamity on this people, on the fruit of their plans, because they didn’t listen to my words and they rejected my instruction.

⁶ My people are destroyed because they lack knowledge of me. Because you rejected that knowledge, I will reject you as a priest for me. Since you forget the Law of your God, I will also forget your children.

²⁸ As they came near the village where the two men were headed, Jesus acted as though he were going farther. ²⁹ But they strongly urged him, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the daylight is nearly gone.” So he went in to stay with them.

¹¹ because the one who welcomes him shares in his evil deeds.

³⁰ Ahijah grabbed the new cloak that he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces! ³¹ Then he told Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, because this is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘Pay attention! I’m going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s control and give you ten tribes.

⁷ The LORD makes people poor and he makes people rich, he brings them low, and he also exalts them. ⁸ He raises the poor up from the dust, he lifts up the needy from the trash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. Indeed the pillars of the earth belong to the LORD, and he has set the world on them.

¹² So he sent and brought him. He had a dark, healthy complexion, with beautiful eyes, and he was handsome. The LORD said, “Get up and anoint him, for this is the one.”

¹⁷ The LORD has done to you exactly as he spoke through me. The LORD has torn the kingdom away from you and has given it to your colleague David. ¹⁸ Because you didn’t obey the LORD and didn’t display his fierce anger against Amalek, therefore, the LORD will do this thing to you today.

⁵ “By my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth, mankind, and the animals that are on the face of the earth, and I give it to whomever I see fit. ⁶ Now I’ve given all these lands to my servant, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I’ve even given him the wild animals to serve him.

¹⁷ This order is announced by the observers, and the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over human kingdoms and grants them to whomever he desires, and he places the least important of men over them.’

³² You’re to be driven away from people. You’re to live with the wild animals of the field. You are to be made to eat grass like cattle, and seven years will pass you by until you realize that the Most High is sovereign over human kingdoms and grants them to whomever he desires.’”

¹¹ Jesus answered him, “You have no authority over me at all, except what was given to you from above. That’s why the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

²² Then God removed Saul and made David their king, about whom he testified, ‘I have found that David, the son of Jesse, is a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my wishes.’

¹ Obey Your GovernmentEvery person must be subject to the governing authorities, for no authority exists except by God’s permission. The existing authorities have been established by God,

²⁸ So tell them that as long as I live—consider this to be an oracle from the LORD—as certainly as you’ve spoken right into my ears, that’s how I’m going to treat you. ²⁹ Your corpses will fall in this wilderness—every single one of you who has been counted among you, according to your number from 20 years and above, who complained against me.

¹⁹ God is not a human male— he doesn’t lie, nor is he a human being— he never vacillates. Once he speaks up, he’s going to act, isn’t he? Once he makes a promise, he’ll fulfill it, won’t he?

²⁷ The God of old is a dwelling place, with everlasting arms underneath. He drove out your enemies before you and said: ‘Destroy them!’

¹¹ To you, LORD, belongs the greatness, and the valor, and the splendor, and the endurance, and the majesty because all that is in heaven and on earth is yours. To you belongs the kingdom, LORD, and you are exalted as head over all.

¹¹ The LORD will give strength to his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.

³⁵ You are awesome, God, from your sanctuaries. The God of Israel is the one who gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God!

¹¹ So in my anger I declared an oath: “They are not to enter my place of rest.”

²⁴ One will say of me, ‘Only in the LORD are victories and might.’ All who raged against him will come to him and will be put to shame.

¹⁴ “‘I, the LORD have spoken. It will happen, because I’m going to do it. I won’t hold back, have compassion, or change my mind. They’ll judge you according to your ways and deeds,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

¹⁶ “The LORD will roar from Zion, and shout from Jerusalem. The heavens and the earth will shake, but the LORD will be the refuge of his people, and the strength of the people of Israel.”

⁹ but he has told me, “My grace is all you need, because my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most happily boast about my weaknesses, so that the Messiah’s power may rest on me.

¹³ I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

¹³ Our faith may fail, his never wanes— That’s who he is, he cannot change!

² which is based on the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began.

¹⁸ so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might be encouraged to seize the hope set before us.

¹³ A Rebuke of Hypocritical WorshipThen the Lord said: “Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, worship of me has become merely like rules taught by human beings.

⁴ “Notice their arrogance— they have no inward uprightness— but the righteous will live by their faith.

⁹ The Parable about the Pharisee and the Tax CollectorJesus also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves, thinking they were righteous, but who looked down on everyone else: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘O God, I thank you that I’m not like other people—thieves, dishonest people, adulterers, or even this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of my entire income.’
¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even look up to heaven. Instead, he continued to beat his chest and said, ‘O God, be merciful to me, the sinner that I am!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man, rather than the other one, went down to his home justified, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted.”

⁴⁴ How can you believe when you accept each other’s praise and do not look for the praise that comes from the only God?

⁴³ For they loved the praise of human beings more than the praise of God.

⁵ They will hold to an outward form of godliness but deny its power. Stay away from such people.

⁴⁴ “The one who flees from the terror will fall into a pit. And the one who comes up out of the pit will be caught in a trap. For I’ll bring upon her, that is upon Moab, the time of her punishment,” declares the LORD.

³ When people say, “There is peace and security,” destruction will strike them as suddenly as labor pains come to a pregnant woman, and they will not be able to escape.

⁷ Just as she glorified herself and lived in luxury, inflict on her just as much torture and misery. In her heart she says, ‘I am a queen on a throne, not a widow. I will never see misery.’

⁶ “Whoever sheds human blood, by a human his own blood is to be shed; because God made human beings in his own image.

¹¹ Whenever Moses raised his hand, the Israelis prevailed, but when his hand remained at his side, then the Amalekites prevailed.

⁴⁵ The Amalekites came down, accompanied by some Canaanites who lived in the mountains. They attacked and defeated them even while the Israelis were retreating to Hormah.

⁷ When Eleazar’s son Phinehas, grandson of Aaron the priest saw this, he jumped up from the middle of the community, grabbed a javelin in his hand, ⁸ followed the Israeli man inside his tent, and impaled the two of them—the Israeli man and the woman—right through both of them and into her abdomen. Then the plague infecting the Israelis was brought to a halt. Nevertheless,

⁷ Adoni-bezek used to brag, “Seventy kings without thumbs and big toes used to eat what was left under my table. God has repaid me for what I’ve done.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he later died there.

⁴⁰ But Elijah said, “Arrest the prophets of Baal. Don’t let even one of them get away.” So the people seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon and executed them there.

⁶ The LORD has a sword bathed in blood; it’s covered with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, and with fat from the kidneys of rams.”
Judgment on Bozrah and Edom “For the LORD holds a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

¹⁰ Cursed is the one who is slack in doing the LORD’s work. Cursed is the one who holds back his sword from shedding blood.

² because the way that you judge others will be the way that you will be judged, and you will be evaluated by the standard with which you evaluate others.

¹³ For the one who has shown no mercy will be judged without mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

⁶ You have given them blood to drink because they spilled the blood of saints and prophets. This is what they deserve.”

⁶ Do to her as she herself has done, and give her double for her deeds. Mix a double drink for her in the cup she mixed.

¹⁷ He would return to Ramah because his house was there, and judged Israel from there. He also built an altar to the LORD there.

⁴ When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and reported the terms to the people, all the people cried loudly.

²⁴ He also removed his clothes and was caught up in prophetic ecstasy right in front of Samuel! He fell down naked and remained there all that day and all night. That is why people say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

¹⁵⁸ I watch the treacherous, and despise them, because they do not do what you have said.

¹ The LORD’s Sorrow for His People “Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, for then I would cry day and night for those of my people who have been killed. ² Oh, that I had a lodging place for travelers in the desert, so that I could leave my people and go away from them. For all of them are adulterers, a band of traitors.

¹⁸ For I have often told you, and now tell you even with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of the Messiah.