2 Samuel 15 Cross References - LEB

¹ It happened afterward that Absalom made himself a chariot with horses and fifty men running before him. ² Absalom used to rise early in the morning, and he stood _⌊beside_⌋* the road at the gate; _⌊anyone_⌋* who had a legal dispute to bring to the king for judgment Absalom would call to him and say, "_⌊Where are you from?_⌋"* And he would say, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel." ³ Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your case is good and right, but for you there is no hearing with the king." ⁴ Then Absalom would say, "_⌊Oh, that someone would_⌋* appoint me as judge in the land, that _⌊anyone_⌋* might come to me who had a legal dispute or a case, and I would give him justice." ⁵ It happened whenever anyone drew near to do obeisance to him, that he would stretch his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. ⁶ Absalom did like this to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment; so Absalom stole the hearts* of the people of Israel. ⁷ It happened at the end of four* years that Absalom said to the king, "Please let me go and pay my vow which I have made to Yahweh in Hebron, ⁸ for your servant made a vow while I was staying in Geshur in Aram, saying, '_⌊If Yahweh will indeed let me return_⌋* to Jerusalem, then I will worship Yahweh.'" ⁹ Then the king said to him, "Go in peace." So he got up and went to Hebron. ¹⁰ Then Absalom sent scouts throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, "When you hear the sound of the trumpet, you shall shout 'Absalom has become king in Hebron!'" ¹¹ Two hundred men from Jerusalem went with Absalom as invited guests, going in their innocence as they did not know anything. ¹² Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, the advisor of David, from his city Giloh, while he offered the sacrifices. The conspiracy _⌊grew in strength_⌋,* and the people were going and _⌊increasing_⌋* with Absalom. ¹³ Then the messenger came to David, saying, "The hearts* of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom." ¹⁴ Then David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, "Get up and let us flee, for there will be no escape for us from Absalom! Hurry to go, otherwise he will come quickly and overtake us! And he will bring disaster on us and evil! He will attack the city with the edge of the sword!" ¹⁵ Then the servants of the king said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king chooses, _⌊your servants are ready to act_⌋!"* ¹⁶ The king went out with* all his household _⌊following him_⌋,* but the king left behind ten concubines to look after the house. ¹⁷ So the king went out with* all the people _⌊following him_⌋,* and they stopped _⌊at the last house_⌋.* ¹⁸ All his servants were passing _⌊by him_⌋:* all of the Kerethites and all of the Pelethites and all of the Gittites—six hundred men _⌊who had followed him_⌋* from Gath—passing _⌊before the king_⌋.* ¹⁹ The king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why are you also coming with us? Return and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner; moreover, you are an exile. _⌊You are far from your place_⌋.* ²⁰ Yesterday when you came and _⌊today_⌋,* I have caused you to wander by going with us. Now I am going to where I am going; return and let your brothers return. May loyal love and faithfulness be with you." ²¹ But Ittai answered the king and said, "_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋* and _⌊my lord the king lives_⌋,* surely in the place wherever my lord the king shall be, if for death or if for life, surely there your servant will be." ²² Then David said to Ittai, "Go and pass over." So Ittai the Gittite passed over and all his men and all of the little children who were with him. ²³ All of the land was weeping with a loud voice as all the people were passing by and the king was crossing through the Wadi Kidron, and all the people were passing _⌊on the road to the wilderness_⌋.* ²⁴ Suddenly Zadok was there, and all of the Levites with him, carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set the ark of God down, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people passed out of the city. ²⁵ The king said to Zadok, "Let the ark of God return to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of Yawheh, he will let me return and let me see him in his dwelling place. ²⁶ But if he says, 'I take no pleasure in you,' then _⌊I am ready_⌋.* Let him do to me that which is good in his eyes. ²⁷ Then the king said to Zadok the priest, "Are you a seer? Return to the city in peace, with Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, your two sons with you. ²⁸ See, I am waiting at the fords of the wilderness until a word comes from you all to inform me." ²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and they remained there. ³⁰ Now David was going up on the Ascent of the Olives, _⌊weeping as he went_⌋,* with his head covered and going barefoot. All the people who were with him each covered their head _⌊and wept as they went_⌋.* ³¹ Now David was told, "Ahithophel was among the conspirators with Absalom." Then David said, "Please frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel, O Yahweh." ³² It happened that as David was coming up to the summit where he used to worship God, suddenly Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him. His coat was torn and dirt was on his head. ³³ David said to him, "If you move on with me, you will be a burden to me, ³⁴ but if you want to return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I am your servant, O king. I used to be a servant of your father, but from then and now I will be your servant,' then you can frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel for me. ³⁵ Will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be with you there? It shall be that all the words you hear from the house of the king you shall tell Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶ Look, there with them are their two sons, Ahimaaz of Zadok and Jonathan of Abiathar. You shall send to me _⌊by means of them_⌋* all the words that you hear." ³⁷ So Hushai the friend of David came to the city as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.

¹⁶ Except, he may _⌊not make numerous_⌋* for himself horses, and he may not allow the people to to go to Egypt _⌊in order to increase horses_⌋,* for Yahweh has said to you that _⌊you may never return_⌋.*

¹¹ He said, "This will be the custom of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots.

¹¹ Thus says Yahweh, 'Look, I am going to raise up evil against you from within your house, and I will take your women before your eyes, and I will give them to your neighbor, and he shall sleep with your wives _⌊in broad daylight_⌋.*

⁵ Now Adonijah the son of Haggith was exalting himself, saying, "I will be king," so he prepared for himself a chariot and horsemen and fifty men running before him.

³³ The king said to them, "Take with you all the servants of your lord, and let them make Solomon my son ride on my mule, and bring him down to Gihon.

²⁶ Solomon gathered chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses. He stationed them in the cities of the chariots and with the king in Jerusalem. ²⁷ The king made the silver in Jerusalem as the stones, and the cedars he made as the sycamore fig trees which are in the Shephelah in abundance. ²⁸ The import of the horses which were Solomon's was from Egypt and from Kue; the traders of the king received horses from Kue at a price. ²⁹ A chariot went up and went out from Egypt at six hundred silver shekels and a horse at a hundred and fifty. So it was for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Aram; by their hand they were exported.

⁷ _⌊Some boast in chariots and others in horses_⌋,* but we boast in the name of Yahweh, our God.

² Pride comes, then disgrace comes, but wisdom is with the humble.

¹⁸ Before destruction comes pride, and before a fall, a haughty spirit.*

¹⁹ He who loves transgression loves strife; he who builds his high thresholds seeks destruction.

¹⁴ Who says 'I will build for myself a spacious house with large upper rooms,' and he cuts windows for it, and it is* paneled with cedar, and he paints it* with vermilion. ¹⁵ Do you reign as king because you are competing in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink, and he did justice and righteousness, then it was well with him? ¹⁶ He judged the legal cause of the needy and the poor, and then it was well. _⌊Is that not what it means to know me_⌋?*" _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

¹⁴ And the father-in-law of Moses saw all that he was doing for the people, and he said, "What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting alone and all the people are standing by you from morning until evening?"

¹⁶ When _⌊they have an issue_⌋,* it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make known God's rule and his instructions."

²⁶ And they judged the people all the time; the difficult issues* they would bring to Moses, and every minor issue they would judge themselves.

¹ And Boaz had gone up to the city gate and sat there. And look, the redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken was passing by. And he said, "Come over here to sit, _⌊friend_⌋."* And he came over and sat.

⁸ So the king got up and he sat in the gate, and they told all the army, "Look, the king is sitting in the gate." Then all the army came before the king; whereas all of Israel had fled, each to his tent.

¹⁶ Then two prostitutes came to the king, and they stood before him. ¹⁷ The one woman said, "Please my lord, I and this woman are living in one house, and I gave birth, with her in the house. ¹⁸ It happened on the third day after my giving birth, this woman also gave birth, and we were together. There was not anyone with us in the house, only the two of us were in the house. ¹⁹ Then the son of this woman died in the night because she laid on him. ²⁰ So she got up in the middle of the night, and she took my son from beside me while your servant was asleep, and she put him in her lap, and she put her dead son in my lap. ²¹ When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead! When I looked closely at him in the morning, behold, it was not my son whom I had borne." ²² Then the other woman said, "No, for my son is the living one, and your son is the dead one." The other kept on saying, "No, for your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one," and so they argued in front of the king. ²³ Then the king said, "This one is saying, 'This is my son, the living one, but your son is the dead one,' and the other one keeps saying, 'But no! Your son is the dead one, and my son is living!'" ²⁴ So the king said, "Bring me a sword," and they brought the sword before the king. ²⁵ Then the king said, "Divide the living child into two, and give half to the one and half to the other." ²⁶ Then the woman whose son was the living one spoke to the king because her compassion was aroused for her son, and she said, "Please, my lord, give her the living child, but certainly do not kill him!" The other one was saying, "As for me, so for you! Divide him!" ²⁷ Then the king answered and said, "Give the living child to her, and do not kill him; she is his mother." ²⁸ When all of Israel heard the judgment that the king had rendered, they _⌊stood in awe_⌋* of the king, because they realized that the wisdom of God was in him to execute justice.

¹⁴ _⌊At dusk_⌋* the murderer rises; he kills the needy and the poor, and in the night he is like a* thief.

¹⁶ For they will not sleep if they have not done wrong, and they are robbed of their sleep if they do not cause stumbling.

¹ Now when it* was early morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus in order to put him to death.

¹² "Honor your father and your mother, so that your days can be long on the land that Yahweh your God is giving you.

¹⁷ " 'And one who curses his father or his mother will surely be put to death.

³ They were assembled in front of Moses and Aaron, and they said to them, "_⌊You take too much upon yourselves_⌋!* All of the community is holy, every one of them, and Yahweh is in their midst, so why do you raise yourselves over the assembly of Yahweh?"

¹³ Is it too little that you have brought us from a land that flows with milk and honey to kill us in the desert, and that you also appoint yourself as a ruler over us? ¹⁴ Surely, you have not brought us to a land that flows with milk and honey, and you have not given us the inheritance of fields and a vineyard. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? We will not come!"*

¹⁵ David reigned over all of Israel, and he* was administering justice and righteousness for all his people.

² They speak falseness _⌊to each other_⌋.* With flattering lips, with _⌊a double heart_⌋* they speak.

² The good obtains favor from Yahweh, but anyone who schemes, he condemns.

¹¹ There is a generation that will curse its father, and its mother it will not bless.

¹⁷ The eye that mocks a father and scorns the obedience of a mother— the ravens of the valley will peck it out, and the offspring of vultures will eat it.

⁷ They have treated father and mother with contempt in you; _⌊they violated_⌋* the alien with* extortion; in the midst of you they mistreated the orphan and widow.

²¹ And in his place a despicable person will arise on whom* they have not conferred the majesty of the kingdom, and he will come in _⌊without warning_⌋* and he will seize the kingdom by deceit.

⁴ For God said, 'Honor your* father and your* mother,'* and 'The one who speaks evil of father or mother _⌊must certainly die_⌋*.'*

⁵ And Paul said, "I did not know, brothers, that he was high priest. For it is written, 'You must not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'"*

¹⁷ Honor all people, love the community of believers, fear God, honor the king.*

¹⁰ and especially those who go after the flesh in defiling lust* and who despise authority.
Bold and arrogant, they do not tremble in awe as they* blaspheme majestic beings,

¹ And Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem, to the relatives of his mother, and he said to them and to the house of his mother's father, ² "_⌊Speak to_⌋* the lords of Shechem, 'What is better for you, that seventy men all from the sons of Jerub-Baal rule over you, or that one man rules over you?' Remember that I am your bone and your flesh." ³ And his mother's relatives spoke all these words concerning him _⌊to_⌋* all the lords of Shechem; and _⌊they supported Abimelech_⌋,* for they said, "He is our relative."* ⁴ And they gave to him seventy pieces of silver from the temple* of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hired with them* worthless and reckless men, and _⌊they followed him_⌋.* ⁵ And he went to his father's house at Ophrah, and he killed his brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerub-Baal survived, because he hid himself.

²⁹ If only this people _⌊were in my command_⌋!* Then I would remove Abimelech, and I would have said,* 'Increase your army and come out!'"

⁶ Do not promote yourself before the king, and in the place of the great ones do not stand.

² May another praise you and not your own mouth, a stranger and not your own lips.

⁸ "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast,* do not recline at the table in the place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you has been invited by him, ⁹ and the one who invited you _⌊both_⌋* will come and* say to you, 'Give the place to this person,' and then with shame you will begin to take the last place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and* recline at the table in the last place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up higher.' Then it will be an honor to you in the presence of all those who are reclining at the table with you. ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

¹⁹ promising them freedom although they* themselves are slaves of depravity. For to whatever someone succumbs, by this he is also* enslaved.

³³ So Joab went to the king and he told him. Then he summoned Absalom, and he came to the king, and he bowed down to him with his face to the ground before the king. Then the king kissed Absalom.

⁹ He lies in ambush _⌊secretly,_⌋* like a lion in a thicket. He lies in ambush to seize the poor; he seizes the poor by catching him in his net. ¹⁰ He is crushed;* he is bowed down;* so* the helpless host* falls by his _⌊might_⌋.*

²¹ The _⌊buttery words_⌋* of his mouth were smooth, but there was battle in his heart. His words were smoother than oil, but they were drawn swords.

²⁵ When he makes his voice gracious, do not believe him, for seven abominations are in his heart.

⁹ With a mouth, the godless shall destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.

¹⁸ For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own stomach, and by smooth speech and flattery they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

³ And in greediness they will exploit you with false words, whose condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

¹ Then Yahweh said to Samuel, "_⌊How long_⌋* will you mourn about Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel! Fill up your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for myself among his sons." ² But Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears, he will kill me." Yahweh said, "You must take a heifer from the herd _⌊with you_⌋,* and you must say, 'I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.'

¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. Then the Spirit of Yahweh rushed upon David from that day _⌊on_⌋.* Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah.

²⁴ Then Absalom went to the king and said, "Look, here are your servant's shearers; please let the king and his servants go with your servant. ²⁵ The king said to Absalom, "No my son, not all of us shall go, so that we not be a burden to you." And he urged him, but he was not willing to go, but he blessed him. ²⁶ So Absalom said, "But will you not let Amnon my brother go with us?" And the king said to him, "Why should he go with you?" ²⁷ But Absalom pressed him, so he sent Amnon with him and all of the sons of the king.

³⁸ But Absalom had fled and went to Geshur, and he was there three years.

²⁷ The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings it in divisiveness!

⁴ Look! You fast to quarrel and strife, and to strike with a _⌊wicked fist_⌋.* You shall not fast as you do _⌊today_⌋,* to _⌊make your voice heard_⌋* on the height.

⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem and* said, "Go, inquire carefully concerning the child, and when you have found him, report to me so that I also may come and* worship him."

¹³ "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you shut the kingdom of heaven before people! For you do not enter, nor permit those wanting to go in* to enter.*

²⁰ And Jacob made a vow* saying, "If God will be with me and protect me on this way that I am going, and gives me food to eat and clothing to wear, ²¹ and if I return in peace to the house of my father, then Yahweh will become my God.

¹⁵ But if it is bad in your eyes to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you want to serve, whether it is the gods that your ancestors* served beyond the river,* or the gods of the Amorites* in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve Yahweh."

¹¹ She _⌊made a vow_⌋* and said: "O Yahweh of hosts, if you will look with compassion on the misery of your female servant, and will remember me, and not forget your female servant, and will give to your female servant _⌊a male child_⌋* then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and a razor will never pass over his head."*

² But Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears, he will kill me." Yahweh said, "You must take a heifer from the herd _⌊with you_⌋,* and you must say, 'I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.'

³⁷ Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihur, the king of Geshur. David mourned over his son _⌊day after day_⌋.* ³⁸ But Absalom had fled and went to Geshur, and he was there three years.

²³ Then Joab got up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.

³² Absalom said to Joab, "Look, I have sent to you, saying, 'Come here that I may send you to the king to say, "Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there." ' So then, let me see the face of the king; if there is guilt in me, then let him kill me."

¹² My vows to you, O God, are binding upon me. I will pay thank offerings to you,

⁴ When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, for _⌊he takes no pleasure_⌋* in fools. Fulfill what you vow!

¹⁵ Because you have said,
"We have _⌊made_⌋* a covenant with death, and we have made an agreement with Sheol.
The overwhelming flood, when it passes through, will not come to us,
for we have made lies* our refuge, and we have hidden ourselves in falsehood."

³ And they bend their tongue like their bow, for falsehood and not truth is superior in the land, for they go forth* from evil to evil, and they do not know me," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ⁴ "Let everyone be on your guard against his neighbor, and you must not trust in any brother, for everyone surely betrays, and every neighbor goes about with slander. ⁵ And everyone deceives his neighbor, and they do not speak the truth, they have taught their tongues* to speak lies,* they are tired from going astray.

²⁰ that _⌊you have made a fatal mistake_⌋,* for you sent me to Yahweh your God, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Pray for us to Yahweh our God, and all that Yahweh our God says, so tell us and we will do it.'*

¹ It happened after this that David inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah?" And Yahweh said to him, "Go up." David asked, "Where shall I go up?" And he said, "To Hebron."

¹¹ The number of days that David was king over Hebron, over the house of Judah, was seven years and six months.

² And sons were born to David in Hebron; his firstborn was Amnon by Ahinoam _⌊from Jezreel_⌋*. ³ His second was Kileab by Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; the third was Absalom the son of Maacah, who was the daughter of Talmai the king of Geshur.

⁵ He reigned over Judah at Hebron for seven years and six months; and he reigned over all Israel and Judah at Jerusalem for thirty-three years.

²⁸ Absalom commanded his servants, saying, "Please watch. At the moment the heart of Amnon is _⌊tipsy_⌋* with wine, then I shall say to you, 'Strike Amnon down,' and you shall kill him! Don't be afraid. Is it not I myself who has commanded you? Be courageous and be _⌊valiant!_⌋*

³⁰ So he said to his servants, "Look at the tract of land of Joab _⌊next to mine_⌋,* for he has barley plants there. Go, set it ablaze with fire." So the servants of Absalom set the tract of land ablaze with fire.

¹⁰ Now Absalom whom we anointed as king over us has died in the battle; so then, why are you taking no action to restore the king?"

³⁴ Let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there as king over Israel. Blow on the trumpet and say, 'Long live King Solomon!'

¹³ So they hastened each one to take his cloak, and they spread them under him on the bare steps, blew on the trumpet, and said, "Jehu is king!"

³ Then all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the presence of Yahweh. And they anointed David as king over Israel according to the word of Yahweh by the hand of Samuel.

²³ And these are the numbers of the chiefs of those prepared for the army who came to David at Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul over to him according to the word of Yahweh.

³⁸ All these were men of war arrayed in battle line _⌊with a whole heart_⌋.* They came to Hebron to make David king over all Israel. Likewise, all the rest of Israel had one heart to make David king.

⁵ that the rejoicing of the wicked is _⌊short_⌋,* and the joy of the godless _⌊lasts only a moment_⌋?* ⁶ Even though his stature mounts up to the heaven, and his head reaches to the clouds, ⁷ he will perish forever like his dung; those who have seen him will say, 'Where is he?' ⁸ He will fly away like a dream, and they will not find him, and he will be chased away like a vision of the night. ⁹ The eye that saw him _⌊will not see him again_⌋,* and his place will no longer behold him. ¹⁰ His children will seek favors from the poor, and his hands will return his wealth. ¹¹ His bones were full of his vigor, but* it will lie down with him on* the dust. ¹² "Though wickedness tastes sweet in his mouth, and he hides it under his tongue, ¹³ though he spares it and does not let it go and holds it back in the midst of his palate, ¹⁴ in his bowels his food is turned, the venom of horned vipers is _⌊within him_⌋.* ¹⁵ He swallows riches, but* he vomits them* up; God drives them* out from his stomach. ¹⁶ He will suck the poison of horned vipers; the viper's tongue will kill him. ¹⁷ _⌊He will not enjoy the streams_⌋,* the torrents of honey and curds. ¹⁸ Returning the products of his toil, he will not swallow;* according to the profit of his trade, _⌊he will not enjoy_⌋,* ¹⁹ for he has oppressed; he has abandoned the poor; he has seized a house but* did not build it. ²⁰ Because he has not known satisfaction in his stomach, _⌊he lets nothing escape that he desires_⌋.* ²¹ _⌊There is nothing left after he has eaten_⌋;* therefore his prosperity will not endure. ²² In the fullness of his excess _⌊he will be in distress_⌋;* all of misery's power will come upon him. ²³ _⌊When his stomach fills up_⌋,* God will send _⌊his burning anger_⌋* upon him, and he will let it rain down upon him* as his food. ²⁴ "He will flee from an iron weapon, but an arrow of bronze will pierce him. ²⁵ He draws it forth, and it comes out from his body, and the glittering point comes from his gall-bladder; terrors come upon him. ²⁶ _⌊Total darkness_⌋* is hidden for his treasures;* _⌊an unfanned fire_⌋* will devour him; the remnant* _⌊will be consumed_⌋* in his tent. ²⁷ The heavens will reveal his guilt, and the earth will rise up against him. ²⁸ The products of his house will be carried away* like gushing waters* on the day of his wrath. ²⁹ This is a wicked human being's portion from God and the inheritance of his decree from God."*

¹⁸ Surely you set them on slippery places. You cause them to fall onto ruin.* ¹⁹ How they become a desolation in a moment! They come to a complete end by terrors.

⁵ Did not he himself say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she herself said, 'He is my brother.' With integrity of my heart and with cleanness of my hands I did this."

¹³ As soon as you enter the town, you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice. Then afterward the invited guests will eat. So then, go up, because you will find him today!"

³ You will invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will make known to you what you must do. You will anoint for me the one whom I tell you." ⁴ So Samuel did what Yahweh said. He came to Bethlehem, and the elders of the city came trembling to meet him. They said, "_⌊Have you come in peace_⌋?"* ⁵ He said, "I come in peace. I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." So he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

¹⁵ Only today I began to inquire of God for him. Far be it from me that _⌊the king should impute anything against his servant_⌋* or against my father's household, for your servant has not known any of this matter, little or much."

¹⁵ The simple will believe every word, but the clever will consider his step.

³ The clever sees danger and hides, but the simple go on and suffer.

¹⁶ "Behold, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

¹⁸ For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own stomach, and by smooth speech and flattery they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. ¹⁹ For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, and I want you to be wise toward what is good, but innocent toward what is evil.

¹ Balaam said to Balak, "Build for me this: seven altars. And prepare for me this: seven bulls and seven rams."

¹⁴ So he took him to the field of Zophim to the top of Pisgah, and he built seven altars, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

³⁰ Balak did just as Balaam said, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

⁵¹ Goshen, Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities and their villages.

³¹ Now David was told, "Ahithophel was among the conspirators with Absalom." Then David said, "Please frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel, O Yahweh."

²⁰ Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, "Give your advice. What shall we do?" ²¹ And Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Go to the concubines of your father whom he left behind to watch over the house, then all of Israel will hear that you made yourself odious to your father, and _⌊all of your followers will be motivated_⌋!"* ²² Then they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he went in to the concubines of his father before the eyes of all Israel. ²³ The counsel that Ahithophel gave in those days was regarded as when a man* inquired of the word of God, so all the counsel of Ahithophel was esteemed both by David and by Absalom.

¹⁴ Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than the advice of Ahithophel." (Now Yahweh had ordained to frustrate the good counsel of Ahithophel in order for Yahweh to bring misery upon Absalom).

²³ When Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, he saddled the donkey, and he set out and went up to his house in his city. _⌊After he set his house in order_⌋,* he hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his ancestors.*

⁹ She had written in the letters, saying, "Call a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people.

¹² They called a fast, and they seated Naboth at the head of the people.

³³ And Ahithophel was an adviser to the king, and Hushai the Arkite was a friend of the king.

¹ A psalm of David at his fleeing from the presence of Absalom, his son.*
Yahweh, how many are my enemies; many are rising against me. ² Many are saying about my soul, "There is no deliverance for him from* God. Selah*

⁹ Even _⌊my close friend_⌋,* whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

¹ Judge me, O God, and plead my case against* an unfaithful* nation. From a man of deceit and wickedness rescue me, ² because you are the God of my refuge. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

¹⁶ But to the wicked God says, "What right have you to recite my statutes and _⌊mention my covenant with your mouth_⌋,* ¹⁷ while you yourself hate discipline, and cast my words behind you? ¹⁸ When you see a thief, then you are pleased with him, and your association is with adulterers. ¹⁹ You give your mouth free rein for evil, and you harness your tongue to deceit. ²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your mother's son. ²¹ These things you have done, and I have been silent; You imagined that I was just like you. I will rebuke you and present an argument before your eyes.

¹² For it is not an enemy that taunts me, or I could bear it. It is not one who hates me that magnifies himself over me, or I could hide myself from him. ¹³ But it is you, a man my equal, my friend and confidant. ¹⁴ We who would take sweet counsel together; in the house* of God we would walk with the throng.

¹⁰ Hear the word of Yahweh, rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, people of Gomorrah! ¹¹ What is the abundance of your sacrifices to me? says Yahweh. I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened animals and I do not delight in the blood of bulls and ram-lambs and goats. ¹² When you come to appear before me, who asked for this from your hand: you trampling my courts? ¹³ You must not _⌊continue_⌋* to bring offerings* of futility, incense—it is an abomination to me; new moon and Sabbath, the calling of a convocation— I cannot endure iniquity with solemn assembly. ¹⁴ Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become to me like a burden, I am not able to bear them. ¹⁵ And when you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers,* I will not be listening. Your hands are full of blood. ¹⁶ Wash! Make yourselves clean! Remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes! Cease to do evil!

⁵ Do not put faith in a friend; put no trust in a close friend. Guard the doorways of your mouth from the one who lies in your lap. ⁶ For a son treats a father with contempt; a daughter rises up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; the enemies of a man are the men of his own house.

¹⁸ "I am not speaking about all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but in order that the scripture would be fulfilled, 'The one who eats my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'*

¹⁶ They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny him, because they* are detestable and disobedient, and unfit for every good deed.

³ And his mother's relatives spoke all these words concerning him _⌊to_⌋* all the lords of Shechem; and _⌊they supported Abimelech_⌋,* for they said, "He is our relative."*

³⁶ All the people noticed, and it was good in their eyes, as everything that the king did was good in the eyes of all the people.

⁶ Absalom did like this to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment; so Absalom stole the hearts* of the people of Israel.

⁹ Only a vapor* are men of low degree, a deception are men of high degree. _⌊Weighed_⌋* in a balance, together they are lighter than a vapor.

⁹ And the crowds who went ahead of him and the ones who followed were shouting, saying,
"Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!* Hosanna in the highest heaven!"*

²² Pilate said to them, "What then should I do with Jesus, the one who is called Christ?" They all said, "Let him be crucified!"

⁹ Then it happened that all the people were disputing among all the tribes of Israel, saying, "The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies, and he saved us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled from the land because of Absalom.

¹⁶ So three of the mighty warriors broke into the camp of the Philistines, and they drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was at the gate, and they carried it and brought it to David. But he was not willing to drink it, but poured it out to Yahweh. ¹⁷ He said, "Far be it from me before Yahweh that I should do this. Is this not the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?" So he was not willing to drink it. These things the three mighty warriors did.

¹ A psalm of David at his fleeing from the presence of Absalom, his son.*
Yahweh, how many are my enemies; many are rising against me. ² Many are saying about my soul, "There is no deliverance for him from* God. Selah* ³ But* you, Yahweh, are a shield around me, my glory and the one who lifts up my head. ⁴ With my voice I call to Yahweh and he answers me from _⌊his holy hill_⌋.* Selah ⁵ I lay down and slept; I woke up because Yahweh sustains me. ⁶ I am not afraid of the ten thousands of people who all around have set themselves against me. ⁷ Rise up, O Yahweh; deliver me, O my God; for you strike all my enemies on the cheek. The teeth of the wicked you break. ⁸ To Yahweh belongs deliverance; may your blessing be over your people. Selah

¹⁸ Do good in your favor toward Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem.

³ because of the voice of an enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked, because they bring down evil on me, and in anger they hold a grudge against me. ⁴ My heart trembles within me, and deathly terrors fall on me. ⁵ Fear and trembling come on me, and horror overwhelms me. ⁶ So I say, "_⌊Oh, that_⌋* I had wings like a dove. I would fly away and be at rest. ⁷ Look, I would flee far away. I would dwell in the wilderness. Selah ⁸ I would hurry to my refuge from the raging wind and storm." ⁹ Confuse, O Lord; divide their speech, because I see violence and strife in the city. ¹⁰ Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are in its midst. ¹¹ Destruction is within it, and oppression and deceit do not depart from its public square.

⁵ If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget.* ⁶ Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if do not I exalt Jerusalem above my highest joy.

¹⁸ But the prince shall not take from the inheritance of the people to rob* them, separating them from their property; from his own property he shall bestow an inheritance on his sons, so that my people will not be driven away, any one, from his property."

¹² But from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven is treated violently, and the violent claim* it.

¹⁵ And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No! You will be brought down to Hades!

²⁴ A man of many friends will come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

²⁸ "And you are the ones who have remained* with me in my trials, ²⁹ and I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred on me,

⁶⁶ For this reason many of his disciples _⌊drew back_⌋* and were not walking with him any longer. ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?"* ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ And we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."

¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you.

¹⁰ Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and _⌊they went up behind him_⌋,* ten thousand men, and Deborah went up with him.

²⁷ So then, this gift which your female servant has brought to my lord, may it be given to the young men _⌊who follow my lord_⌋.*

⁴² Then Abigail _⌊quickly got up_⌋* and rode on the donkey, along with five of her maidservants who _⌊attended her_⌋,* and she went after the messengers of David and became his wife.

²¹ And Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Go to the concubines of your father whom he left behind to watch over the house, then all of Israel will hear that you made yourself odious to your father, and _⌊all of your followers will be motivated_⌋!"* ²² Then they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he went in to the concubines of his father before the eyes of all Israel.

³ David went up to his house in Jerusalem, then the king took the ten concubines whom he had left to look after the house, and he put them _⌊under confinement_⌋.* However, he provided for them, but _⌊he did not sleep with them_⌋.* So they were confined until the day of their death, like a lifetime of widowhood.

¹ A psalm of David at his fleeing from the presence of Absalom, his son.*
Yahweh, how many are my enemies; many are rising against me.

² And do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may approve what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God.

¹² You let men* ride over our heads. We went through fire and through water, but you have brought us out to the place of abundance.*

⁷ I have even seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the earth!

³ David settled with Achish in Gath, he and his men, each with his household.* David took along his two wives Ahinoam _⌊from Jezreel_⌋* and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

¹⁴ We raided the Negev of the Kerethites and that which belongs to Judah and then the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire."

¹⁰ However, David was not willing to bring the ark of Yahweh to himself, to the city of David, so David caused it to turn to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.

¹⁸ Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and the sons of David were priests.

¹⁹ The king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why are you also coming with us? Return and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner; moreover, you are an exile. _⌊You are far from your place_⌋.* ²⁰ Yesterday when you came and _⌊today_⌋,* I have caused you to wander by going with us. Now I am going to where I am going; return and let your brothers return. May loyal love and faithfulness be with you." ²¹ But Ittai answered the king and said, "_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋* and _⌊my lord the king lives_⌋,* surely in the place wherever my lord the king shall be, if for death or if for life, surely there your servant will be." ²² Then David said to Ittai, "Go and pass over." So Ittai the Gittite passed over and all his men and all of the little children who were with him.

² David sent forth a third of the troops _⌊under the command of Joab_⌋,* and a third _⌊under the command of Abishai_⌋,* the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and the remaining third _⌊under the command of Ittai_⌋* the Gittite. And the king said to the troops, "I, even I, _⌊will certainly go out_⌋* with you."

⁷ Then the men of Joab, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty warriors went out after him; they went out from Jerusalem to pursue after Sheba the son of Bicri.

²³ Now Joab was over all the army of Israel and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Carites and over the Pelethites.

³⁸ Then Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites, and the Pelethites went down, and they let Solomon ride on the mule of King David, and they brought him to Gihon.

¹⁷ And Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and the Pelethites. And the sons of David were chief officials under the hand of the king.

¹¹ And Naomi said, "Return, my daughters. _⌊Why do you still want to go with me_⌋?* Are there sons _⌊in my womb_⌋* that may be husbands for you? ¹² Turn back, my daughters! Go, for _⌊I am too old to have a husband_⌋.* If I should think there is hope for me, even if I should have a husband this night, and even if I should bear sons, ¹³ would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore _⌊refrain from marrying_⌋?* No, my daughters, for it is far more bitter to me than to you. For the hand of Yahweh has gone out against me."

¹³ So David and his men got up, about six hundred men, and went out from Keilah and wandered wherever they could go. When it was told to Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, _⌊he stopped his pursuit_⌋.*

⁶ Now may Yahweh show loyal love and faithfulness with you. I will also show the good with you that you have done in this matter.

¹⁰ All the paths of Yahweh are loyal love and faithfulness for those who keep his covenant and statutes.*

⁸ You have kept count of my wonderings. Put my tears in your bottle; are they not in your book?

³ He will send from heaven and save me; he will reproach the one who tramples me. Selah God will send his loyal love and his faithfulness.

¹⁵ As for them, they wander for food. If they are not satisfied, then they continue all night.*

⁷ May he live* forever in the presence of God. Appoint loyal love and faithfulness to preserve him.

¹⁰ Loyal love and faithfulness* will meet one another; righteousness and peace will kiss.

¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Loyal love and faithfulness* come before your face.*

²² Have they not erred, those who plan evil? But loyalty and faithfulness belong to those who plan good.

¹² And they will wander from sea to sea and from the north and to the east. They will roam about to seek the word of Yahweh, but they will not find it!

¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ.

¹⁶ May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he refreshed me many times, and was not ashamed of my imprisonment, ¹⁷ but when he* was in Rome, he diligently sought me and found me. ¹⁸ May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord in that day! And how much he served me in Ephesus you know very well.

³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by murder with a sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, impoverished, afflicted, mistreated, ³⁸ of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about on deserts and mountains and in caves and in holes in the ground.

¹⁶ But Ruth said, "_⌊Do not urge_⌋* me to leave you or to return from _⌊following you_⌋!* For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. ¹⁷ Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. So may Yahweh do to me, _⌊and even more, unless_⌋* death _⌊separates you and me_⌋!"*

³ Then David _⌊took an oath_⌋* again and said, "Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thought, 'Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he worry.' But _⌊as Yahweh lives_⌋* and _⌊as your soul lives_⌋,* surely there is merely a step between me and death!"

²⁶ So then, my lord, _⌊as Yahweh lives and as your soul lives_⌋,* since Yahweh restrained you from bloodguilt _⌊by taking matters into your own hand_⌋,* so then, may your enemies be like Nabal, even _⌊those who seek to do my lord harm_⌋.*

² Elijah said to Elisha, "Please stay here, for Yahweh has sent me up to Bethel." Elisha said, "_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋* and _⌊as your soul lives_⌋,* I will certainly not leave you!" So they went down to Bethel.

⁴ Elijah said to him, "Elisha, please stay here because Yahweh has sent me to Jericho." And he said, "_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋* and _⌊as your soul lives_⌋,* I will certainly not leave you!" So they came to Jericho.

⁶ Then Elijah said to him, "Please stay here, because Yahweh has sent me to the Jordan." He said, "_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋* and _⌊as your soul lives_⌋,* I will certainly not leave you!" So the two of them went on.

³⁰ Then the mother of the boy said, "_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋* and _⌊as your soul lives_⌋,* I will surely not leave you." So he got up and went after her.

¹⁷ The friend loves at all times*, but a brother is born for adversity.

¹⁹ And a scribe approached and* said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go!" ²⁰ And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

²³ who, when he* arrived and saw the grace of God, rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with _⌊devoted hearts_⌋,*

¹³ Then Paul replied, "What are you doing weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus!"

³ I do not say this _⌊to condemn you_⌋*, because I have already said that you are in our hearts, so that we die together and we live together.

² The king said to Ziba, "_⌊What do you want to accomplish by bringing these_⌋?"* And Ziba said, "The donkeys are for the king's household to ride on; the bread and the summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is for the faint in the wilderness to drink.

³⁷ It shall happen that on the day you go out and cross over the Wadi* Kidron, know for certain that _⌊you will surely die_⌋.* Your blood will be on your head."

¹³ Also, he had Maacah his mother removed from the office of queen mother, as she had made a repulsive image for the Asherah. Asa also cut down her repulsive image and burned it in the Wadi* Kidron.

¹⁶ And the priests went into the inner part of the house of Yahweh to purify it. And they brought out all the impurity that they found in the temple of Yahweh out to the courtyard of the house of Yahweh. And the Levites took them to bring them outside to the Wadi* Kidron.

¹ Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the Judean wilderness

³ For this is the one who was spoken about by the prophet Isaiah, saying,
"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'"*

⁸⁰ And the child kept growing and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

¹ When* Jesus had said these things, he went out with his disciples to the other side of the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden into which he and his disciples entered.

¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.

¹⁵ And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the vessels of the sanctuary when the camp sets out, the descendants* of Kohath will come after to carry these, but they must not touch the sanctuary, or they will die. These are the load of the descendants* of Kohath in the tent of assembly.

⁹ But to the descendants* of Kohath he did not give anything because the work of the sanctuary they carried upon them on their shoulders.*

³ and they commanded the people: "When you see the Levitical priests carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God you must set out from your place and go after it.

⁶ And Joshua said to the priests, "Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over _⌊ahead of the people_⌋."* And they took up the ark of the covenant and went _⌊ahead of the people_⌋.*

¹⁵ When those carrying the ark came up to the Jordan, and the priests carrying the ark dipped their feet in the edge of the water (the Jordan was flowing over its banks during all the days of harvest), ¹⁶ the waters flowing down from above stood still; they stood up in one heap very far from Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while the waters flowing down to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea,* _⌊were completely cut off_⌋;* and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ And the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh stood firmly on the dry land in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation finished crossing the Jordan.

¹⁶ "Command the priests carrying the ark of the testimony* _⌊to come up_⌋* from the Jordan." ¹⁷ So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, "Come up from the Jordan." ¹⁸ And it happened that when the priests carrying the ark came up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet _⌊touched dry land_⌋,* the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and flowed over all its banks as before.

⁴ And seven priests will bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you will march around the city seven times, and the priests will blow on the trumpets.

⁶ So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry the trumpets of the rams' horns before the ark of Yahweh."

³ When the army* came back to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why has Yahweh defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to us from Shiloh so that it may come into our midst and deliver* us from the hand of our enemies." ⁴ So the army sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of hosts who sits between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. ⁵ Now when the ark of the covenant of Yahweh arrived at the camp, all Israel _⌊let out a loud shout_⌋* so that the earth shook.

¹¹ Furthermore, the ark of God was captured,* and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

²⁰ But, one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, whose name was Abiathar, escaped and fled after David.

¹³ It happened that when the carriers of the ark of Yahweh had marched six steps that he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.

¹⁷ Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests and Seraiah was scribe.

²⁷ Then the king said to Zadok the priest, "Are you a seer? Return to the city in peace, with Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, your two sons with you.

³⁵ Will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be with you there? It shall be that all the words you hear from the house of the king you shall tell Zadok and Abiathar the priests.

²⁵ Shiya was secretary, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests.

⁸ But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty warriors were David's; they were not with Adonijah.

³⁵ Then the king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king appointed Zadok the priest in place of Abiathar.

² Now these are the officials who were his: Azariah the son of Zadok was the priest. ³ Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were the secretaries; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder. ⁴ Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests.

⁸ Ahitub fathered Zadok; Zadok fathered Ahimaaz; ⁹ Ahimaaz fathered Azariah; Azariah fathered Johanan; ¹⁰ and Johanan fathered Azariah. It was he who served as priest in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem. ¹¹ And Azariah fathered Amariah; Amariah fathered Ahitub; ¹² Ahitub fathered Zadok; Zadok fathered Shallum;

² Then David ordered that none except the Levites should carry the ark of God, for Yahweh had chosen them to carry the ark of Yahweh and to serve him forever.

¹¹ To the priests, the ones being consecrated from the descendants* of Zadok, who took care of my service and who _⌊did not go astray_⌋* _⌊when the Israelites went astray_⌋,* _⌊just as_⌋* the Levites went astray.

¹³ In your loyal love you led the people whom you redeemed; in your strength you guided them to the abode of your holiness.*

³ When the army* came back to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why has Yahweh defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to us from Shiloh so that it may come into our midst and deliver* us from the hand of our enemies." ⁴ So the army sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of hosts who sits between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. ⁵ Now when the ark of the covenant of Yahweh arrived at the camp, all Israel _⌊let out a loud shout_⌋* so that the earth shook. ⁶ When the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, "What is the noise of this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?" Then they learned that the ark of Yahweh had come into the camp. ⁷ So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, "God has come* to the camp." And they said, "Woe to us, _⌊for this has never happened before!_⌋* ⁸ Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the same gods who struck the Egyptians with all sorts of plagues in the desert. ⁹ Take courage and be men, you Philistines, lest you end up serving the Hebrews just like they have served you. Be men and fight!" ¹⁰ So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated and each man fled to his tent, for the slaughter was very great. Thirty thousand foot soldiers from Israel fell. ¹¹ Furthermore, the ark of God was captured,* and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

¹⁷ They brought the ark of Yahweh and set it in its place in the middle of the tent which David had pitched for it. Then David offered up burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in the presence of Yahweh.

² And the king said to Nathan the prophet, "Look, please, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God is staying in the middle of the tent."

¹⁰ So then, a sword will not turn away from your house forever, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife!' ¹¹ Thus says Yahweh, 'Look, I am going to raise up evil against you from within your house, and I will take your women before your eyes, and I will give them to your neighbor, and he shall sleep with your wives _⌊in broad daylight_⌋.*

⁸ O Yahweh, I love the dwelling of your house,* and _⌊the place where your glory abides_⌋.*

⁴ One thing I have asked from Yahweh; it I will seek: that I may dwell in the house* of Yahweh all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of Yahweh, and to consider* his temple. ⁵ Because he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble. He will conceal me in the hiding place of his tent. He will set me high upon a rock.

¹ For the music director. A maskil of the sons of Korah.*
As a deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God. ² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?*

³ Send your light and your truth; they shall lead* me. They shall bring me to _⌊your holy mountain_⌋* and to your dwelling places. ⁴ Then* I will go to the altar of God, to God, _⌊my surpassing joy_⌋,* and I will praise you with lyre, O God, my God.

¹ A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.*
O God, you are my God; I will seek you diligently. My soul thirsts for you; my flesh longs for you as in a dry and weary land without water. ² Thus I have seen you in the sanctuary, beholding your strength and glory.

¹ For the music director; on the Gittith. Of the sons of Korah. A psalm.*
How lovely are your dwelling places, O Yahweh of hosts! ² My soul longs and even fails for the courtyards of Yahweh. My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. ³ Even a bird finds a home, and a swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, near your altars, O Yahweh of hosts, my king and my God.

¹⁰ Because better is a day in your courtyards than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be at the threshold of the house* of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

¹ A song of ascents. Of David.*
I rejoiced in those who said to me, "Let us go to the house* of Yahweh."

⁹ For the sake of the house* of Yahweh our God, I will seek your good.

²² And Hezekiah said, "What is the sign that I shall go up to the temple* of Yahweh?"

⁴ Do not trust in _⌊the deceitful words_⌋,* _⌊saying_⌋,* 'The temple of Yahweh, the temple of Yahweh, they are the temple of Yahweh.'

³⁰ And you yourself shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them:
'Yahweh will roar from on high, and from _⌊his holy dwelling place_⌋* he will give his voice. He will roar mightily against his settlement, a jubilant shout like those who tread grapes, he will answer against all the inhabitants of the earth.

⁸ If Yahweh delights in us, then he will bring us into this land, and he will give it to us, a land that is flowing with milk and honey.

¹⁵ And the _⌊Israelites_⌋* said to Yahweh, "We have sinned; _⌊do to us accordingly as you see fit_⌋;* only please deliver us this day."

¹⁸ So Samuel told him all the words and did not conceal anything from him. And he* said, "He is Yahweh, he will do _⌊what is_⌋* good in his _⌊sight_⌋."*

²⁰ He brought me out to a spacious place. He delivered me because he delighted in me.

⁹ May Yahweh your God be blessed, who has delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel, because of the love of Yahweh for Israel forever, and he has made you king to execute justice and righteousness."

⁸ Blessed be Yahweh your God who took delight in you, to put you on his throne as king for Yahweh your God! Because your God loved Israel, he established him forever and has put you over them as king to do justice and righteousness!"

²⁰ Then* Job arose and tore his outer garment* and shaved his head; _⌊then_⌋* he fell upon the ground and he worshiped. ²¹ Then* he said, "Naked I came out from my mother's womb, and naked I will return there. Yahweh gives, and Yahweh takes. Let Yahweh's name be blessed."

⁹ I am mute. I do not open my mouth, for you, yourself, have done it.

¹ Look! here is my servant; I hold him, my chosen one, in whom my soul delights. I have _⌊put_⌋* my spirit on him; he will bring justice forth to the nations.

⁴ It shall no longer be said of you, "Forsaken," and it shall no longer be said of your land, "Desolation!" but _⌊you will_⌋* be called "My Delight Is In Her," and your land, "Married," for Yahweh delights in you, and your land shall be married.

²⁸ Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered vessel? Or a vessel in which there is no delight? Why are he and his offspring thrown far, and cast away to the land that they do not know?"

⁴¹ And I will rejoice over them to do good to them, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness with all my heart, and with all my inner self."*

¹⁰ and Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh became the father of Amon,* and Amon became the father of Josiah,

⁹ (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he would say: "Come, let us go up to the seer." For the prophet of today was formerly called a seer.)

³⁴ but if you want to return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I am your servant, O king. I used to be a servant of your father, but from then and now I will be your servant,' then you can frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel for me.

³⁶ Look, there with them are their two sons, Ahimaaz of Zadok and Jonathan of Abiathar. You shall send to me _⌊by means of them_⌋* all the words that you hear."

¹⁷ Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En Rogel, so a servant girl used to go and tell them, then they would go and tell King David, for they were not able to be seen coming to the city.

¹¹ When David got up in the morning, the word of Yahweh came to Gad the prophet, the seer of David, saying,

⁵ All these were sons to Heman, the seer of the king, according to the words of God to raise a horn.* And God had given to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

²³ All of the land was weeping with a loud voice as all the people were passing by and the king was crossing through the Wadi Kidron, and all the people were passing _⌊on the road to the wilderness_⌋.*

¹ Then Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Please let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will set out and pursue after David _⌊tonight_⌋.*

¹⁶ So then, send quickly and tell David, 'Don't spend the night at the fords of the wilderness! Moreover, by all means cross over lest the king and all the people who are with him be swallowed up.'"

⁴ and because the king had covered his face and cried with a loud voice, "My son, Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son."

¹² Then Mordecai returned to the gate of the king, and Haman rushed to his house mournful and with his head covered.

³ My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long, "Where is your God?"

⁵ Why are you _⌊in despair_⌋,* O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, because I will again praise him, _⌊my salvation_⌋* and my God.

⁵ Those who sow with tears shall reap with rejoicing. ⁶ He who diligently goes out with weeping, carrying the seed bag, shall certainly come in with rejoicing, carrying his sheaves.

² at that time, Yahweh had spoken by the hand of Isaiah son of Amoz, saying,
"Go and loosen the sackcloth from your loins, and take off your sandals* from your feet,"
and he had done so, walking naked and barefoot. ³ Then* Yahweh said, "Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush, ⁴ so shall the king of Assyria lead the captives* of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot, _⌊with bared buttocks_⌋,* the shame of Egypt.

³ And their nobles send their servants for water. They come to the pits, they find no water. They return with their vessels _⌊empty_⌋.* They are ashamed, and they are confounded, and they cover their heads.* ⁴ Because of the ground, which is cracked because there was no rain on the ground. The farmers are ashamed, they cover their heads.*

¹⁷ Sigh in silence for the dead; you shall not make a mourning ceremony. Bind your turban on you, and you must put your sandals on your feet. You must not cover your upper lip,* and the bread of _⌊mourners_⌋* you shall not eat."

²³ And your turban must be on your heads, and your sandals must be on your feet. You shall not mourn, and you shall not weep, but you shall waste away because of your iniquities, and you shall groan _⌊to one another_⌋.*

⁴ On that day his feet will stand on _⌊the Mount of Olives_⌋,* which faces Jerusalem on the east; and _⌊the Mount of Olives_⌋* will be split _⌊in half_⌋,* from east to west, by a very great valley; and half of the mountain will withdraw toward the north, and the other half toward the south.

⁴ Blessed are the ones who mourn, because they will be comforted.

²⁹ And it happened that when he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, to the hill* called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples,

³⁷ Now as* he was drawing near by this time to the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began rejoicing to praise God with a loud voice for all the miracles that they had seen,

⁴¹ And when he approached and* saw the city, he wept over it,

³⁷ So throughout the days he was teaching in the temple courts,* and throughout the nights he was going out and* spending the night on the hill that is called the Mount of Olives.

³⁹ And he went away and* proceeded, according to his* custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples also followed him.

¹² Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain that is called Olive Grove* which is near Jerusalem, _⌊a Sabbath day's journey away_⌋.*

²⁶ And if one member suffers, all the members suffer together; if a member* is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

¹² Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, the advisor of David, from his city Giloh, while he offered the sacrifices. The conspiracy _⌊grew in strength_⌋,* and the people were going and _⌊increasing_⌋* with Absalom.

²³ The counsel that Ahithophel gave in those days was regarded as when a man* inquired of the word of God, so all the counsel of Ahithophel was esteemed both by David and by Absalom.

¹² He is frustrating the devices of the crafty, and their hands do not achieve success.

¹⁶ "Strength and sound wisdom are with him; the deceived and the deceiver are his.* ¹⁷ He leads counselors away stripped, and he makes fools of judges. ¹⁸ He loosens the fetters of kings, and he binds a loincloth on their loins. ¹⁹ He leads priests away stripped, and he overthrows _⌊the members of ancient families_⌋.* ²⁰ He deprives the trustworthy of speech, and he takes away the discretion of elders.

¹² For it is not an enemy that taunts me, or I could bear it. It is not one who hates me that magnifies himself over me, or I could hide myself from him.

¹⁴ We who would take sweet counsel together; in the house* of God we would walk with the throng. ¹⁵ Let death deceive them. May they descend to Sheol alive, because evil is in their home and _⌊heart_⌋.*

³ They also surround me with words of hate, and fight me without cause.

³ And the spirit of _⌊the Egyptians_⌋* will be disturbed in his midst, and I will _⌊confuse_⌋* his plans,* and they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, and the ghosts and the spiritists.

¹¹ Surely the princes of Zoan are foolish; the wise of the counselors of Pharaoh give senseless counsel. How can you say to Pharaoh, "I myself am a son of sages, a _⌊descendant_⌋* of ancient kings"? ¹² Where are your sages then? Now, let them tell you, and let them know what Yahweh of hosts has planned against Egypt. ¹³ The princes of Zoan have become foolish; the princes of Memphis are deceived; the leaders of her tribes have led Egypt astray. ¹⁴ Yahweh has mixed a spirit of confusion into her midst, and they have caused Egypt to stagger in all of its doings, as _⌊when a drunkard staggers_⌋* in his vomit. ¹⁵ And _⌊there will be nothing for Egypt to do_⌋,* head or tail, palm branch or reed. ¹⁶ On that day, Egypt will be like women, and will tremble and be afraid before the waving hand of Yahweh of hosts that he is waving against it. ¹⁷ And the land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt, everyone to whom one mentions it will be afraid in himself because of the plan of Yahweh of hosts that he is planning against him. ¹⁸ On that day, there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the _⌊language_⌋* of Canaan and swear an oath to Yahweh of hosts. One will be called "City of the Sun." ¹⁹ On that day, there will be an altar for Yahweh in in the middle of the land of Egypt, and a stone pillar for Yahweh at her border. ²⁰ And it will be a sign and a witness to Yahweh of hosts in the land of Egypt; when they cry out to Yahweh because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and a _⌊defender_⌋,* and he will deliver them. ²¹ And Yahweh will make himself known to Egypt, and Egypt will know Yahweh on that day, and they will worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows* to Yahweh, and they will fulfill them. ²² And Yahweh will strike Egypt, striking and healing; and they will return to Yahweh, and he will respond to their prayer, and he will heal them. ²³ On that day, there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and Egypt will worship together with Assyria. ²⁴ On that day, Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, ²⁵ whom Yahweh of hosts blessed, saying, "May Egypt my people be blessed, and Assyria, the work of my hands, and my inheritance, Israel."

⁸ How can you say, 'We are wise and the law of Yahweh is with us'? Look, surely _⌊the lying stylus of the scribes_⌋* has made it a lie. ⁹ The wise will be put to shame, they will be dismayed, and they will get taken. Look, they have rejected the word of Yahweh, and what is wisdom to them?

¹⁴ Then one of the twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and* said, "What are you willing to give me if I in turn deliver him to you?" So they set out for him thirty silver coins.

²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks himself to be wise among you in this age, let him become a fool, in order that he may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, for it is written, "The one who catches the wise in their craftiness,"* ²⁰ and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile."*

¹⁵ This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

² it continues from Bethel to Luz, and it passes along to the territory of the Arkites* at Ataroth.

² On the third day, a man came from the camp from being with Saul, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. _⌊When he came_⌋* to David, he fell to the ground and bowed down.

¹⁹ Tamar put ashes on her head, and she tore the long-sleeved robe which was on her. She put her hand on her head, and _⌊she went away, crying out as she went_⌋.*

³⁰ Now David was going up on the Ascent of the Olives, _⌊weeping as he went_⌋,* with his head covered and going barefoot. All the people who were with him each covered their head _⌊and wept as they went_⌋.*

¹⁶ When Hushai the Arkite the friend of David came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, "Long live the king, long live the king!" ¹⁷ Absalom said to Hushai, "This is your loyal love with your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?" ¹⁸ Then Hushai said to Absalom, "No, rather, whom Yahweh and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, to him* I will be, and with him I will remain. ¹⁹ _⌊Furthermore_⌋,* for whom have I served? Is it not in the presence of his son that I have served before your father? _⌊So shall I serve you_⌋!"*

⁴⁴ If your people go out to battle against his enemy in the way that you shall send them and they pray to Yahweh, toward the city which you have chosen and the house which I have built for your name, ⁴⁵ then you shall hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and you shall _⌊vindicate_⌋* them.

⁷ At that time, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, on the mountain which _⌊faces_⌋* Jerusalem and for Molech, the abomination of the _⌊Ammonites_⌋.*

³ But* you, Yahweh, are a shield around me, my glory and the one who lifts up my head. ⁴ With my voice I call to Yahweh and he answers me from _⌊his holy hill_⌋.* Selah ⁵ I lay down and slept; I woke up because Yahweh sustains me.

⁷ Rise up, O Yahweh; deliver me, O my God; for you strike all my enemies on the cheek. The teeth of the wicked you break.

¹ For the music director; with stringed instruments. A psalm of David.*
When I call, answer me, O God of my righteousness.* In trouble _⌊deliver me_⌋.* Be gracious to me and hear my prayer. ² O sons of man, how long will my honor* be a disgrace? How long will you love vanity? How long will you seek lies?* Selah ³ But know that Yahweh has set apart* for himself the faithful one.* Yahweh hears when I call to him.

¹⁵ And call me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify me."

¹⁵ He will call upon me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue and honor him.

³⁵ I am eighty years old today. Can I discern between good and bad? Or can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Or can I still hear the voice of singing men and women? Why should your servant be a burden any longer to my lord the king?

² You will do to Ai and its king that which you did to Jericho and its king; you may take only its spoils* and livestock as booty for yourself. Set for yourself an ambush against the city from behind it."

²⁰ Yesterday when you came and _⌊today_⌋,* I have caused you to wander by going with us. Now I am going to where I am going; return and let your brothers return. May loyal love and faithfulness be with you."

⁵ Then Absalom said, "Please call also for Hushai the Arkite, and let us hear _⌊what he has to say_⌋* also." ⁶ So Hushai came to Absalom, who said to him, "Shall we do according to this word that Ahithophel has spoken? If not, then you tell us." ⁷ Then Hushai said to Absalom, "The counsel that Ahithophel gave is not good _⌊at this time_⌋."* ⁸ Hushai continued, "You know your father and his men, that they are mighty warriors and they _⌊are enraged_⌋* as a bear robbed of her offspring in the field. Your father is a man of war, so he will not spend the night with the troops. ⁹ Now he has hidden himself in one of the caves or in one of the places. At the moment he falls on them* the first time, _⌊whoever hears_⌋* the report will say, 'There has been a defeat among the people who follow after Absalom.' ¹⁰ And he is also a _⌊valiant warrior_⌋,* whose heart is like the heart of the lion. He* will _⌊certainly melt_⌋* with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty warrior and those who are with him are _⌊valiant warriors_⌋.* ¹¹ I give the advice that all of Israel from Dan to Beersheba should be completely gathered to you, as the sand which is on the seashore for abundance, with _⌊you personally_⌋* going into the battle. ¹² Then we will come to him in one of the places where he may be found, and we shall come upon him as the dew falls on the ground. He and all the men who are with him will not survive, not even one! ¹³ Even if he withdraws to a city, all Israel will bring up ropes to that city, and they will drag him away to the valley until there is not even a pebble to be found." ¹⁴ Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than the advice of Ahithophel." (Now Yahweh had ordained to frustrate the good counsel of Ahithophel in order for Yahweh to bring misery upon Absalom). ¹⁵ Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, "_⌊Thus and so_⌋* Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, but _⌊thus and so_⌋* I have advised. ¹⁶ So then, send quickly and tell David, 'Don't spend the night at the fords of the wilderness! Moreover, by all means cross over lest the king and all the people who are with him be swallowed up.'"

¹⁹ Now Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, "Please let me run and bring the good news to the king that Yahweh has vindicated him from the hand of his enemies." ²⁰ Joab said to him, "You will not be a man _⌊bringing_⌋* good news this day! You may bring good news on another day, but today you will not be bringing good news because the king's son is dead." ²¹ Then Joab said to the Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen"; then the Cushite bowed down to Joab and ran off. ²² Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok again said to Joab, "_⌊Come what may_⌋,* please let me also run after the Cushite." Joab asked, "Why are you wanting to run, my son, when for you there is no _⌊messenger's reward_⌋?"* ²³ "_⌊Come what may_⌋,* I want to run." He said to him, "Run," so Ahimaaz ran on the road on the plain, and he passed the Cushite. ²⁴ Now David was sitting between the two gates, and the sentinel went up to the roof of the gate by the wall and he lifted up his eyes and watched, and look, a man was running by himself. ²⁵ The sentry called and told the king, and the king said, "If he is alone, good news is in his mouth." _⌊He kept coming closer_⌋.* ²⁶ Then the sentinel saw another man running, so the sentinel called to the gatekeeper and said, "Look, a man running alone." The king said, "This one also is bringing good news." ²⁷ The sentinel said, "I am seeing that the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zakok." The king said, "He is a good man; he will come, for good news." ²⁸ Then Ahimaaz called and said to the king, "Peace." He bowed down to the king with his face to the ground, and he said, "May Yahweh your God be blessed, who has delivered the men who raised their hand against my lord the king." ²⁹ The king said, "Is it peace for the young man Absalom?" Ahimaaz said, "I saw the great commotion when Joab the servant of the king sent your servant, but I do not know what it was all about." ³⁰ Then the king said, "Turn aside, take your place here," so he turned aside and waited. ³¹ Suddenly the Cushite arrived and said, "May my lord the king receive the good news, for Yahweh has vindicated you today from the power of all who stood up against you." ³² The king said to the Cushite, "Is it peace for the young man Absalom?" Then the Cushite answered, "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you _⌊to harm you_⌋* be like the young man!" ³³ * The king was upset, and he went up to the upper room of the gate and wept. He said as he went, "My son, Absalom, my son, my son, Absalom. _⌊If only_⌋* I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son."

¹⁵ Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, had come to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him. ¹⁶ When Hushai the Arkite the friend of David came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, "Long live the king, long live the king!"