2 Samuel 14 Cross References - LEB

¹ Joab the son of Zeruiah realized that the mind of the king was on Absalom. ² So Joab sent to Tekoa and took from there a wise woman, and he said to her, "Please pretend to mourn and put on garments of mourning. You should not anoint yourself with oil, and you must act like this woman who has been mourning over the dead for _⌊a long time_⌋.* ³ Then you must go to the king and speak to him according to this word." Thus Joab put the words in her mouth. ⁴ So the Tekoite woman spoke to the king, and she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance. She said, "Help me, O king!" ⁵ Then the king asked her, "_⌊What do you want_⌋?"* And she said, "Truly I am a widow, and my husband is dead. ⁶ Your servant had two sons, and they both fought in the open field, and there was no one _⌊to part them_⌋.* One struck the other and killed him. ⁷ And look, all of the family has risen up against your servant, and they said, 'Give up the one who struck his brother, that we may kill him in exchange for the life of his brother whom he murdered. We will also wipe out the heir,' and so they would put out my embers which remain, by not preserving for my husband a name and a remnant on the face of the earth." ⁸ Then the king said to the woman, "Go to your house, and I myself will give the command concerning you." ⁹ The Tekoite woman said to the king, "On me, my lord the king, is the guilt, and on the house of my father, but the king on* his throne is innocent." ¹⁰ The king said, "Whoever has spoken to you, bring him to me, and he will not touch you again." ¹¹ Then she said, "Please may the king remember Yahweh your God, _⌊to prevent the increase of blood avengers who kill_⌋,* so that they not wipe out my son." He said, "_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋,* surely not one hair shall fall from your son to the ground." ¹² The woman said, "Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king." And he said, "Speak." ¹³ The woman said, "But why have you plotted like this against the people of God? By speaking this word, he is guilty not to bring back his banished one. ¹⁴ For _⌊we must certainly die_⌋,* and we are as the waters spilled to the ground which cannot be gathered. God will not take a life but devises plans for a banished person not to be cast out from him. ¹⁵ Now I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, because the people made me afraid, and your servant thought, 'I will speak to the king, perhaps the king will grant* the request of his servant. ¹⁶ For the king will listen, to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who seeks to destroy me and my son together from the inheritance of God.' ¹⁷ Your servant also thought, 'May the word of my lord the king _⌊bring rest_⌋,* for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king, _⌊to sense what is good and what is bad_⌋.'* May Yahweh your God be with you." ¹⁸ The king answered and said to the woman, "Please do not withhold from me a thing which I am about to ask you." The woman said, "Please let my lord the king speak." ¹⁹ The king asked, "Was the hand of Joab with you in all of this?" The woman answered and said, "_⌊As your soul lives_⌋,* my lord the king, surely one cannot go to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has spoken. Yes, your servant Joab himself commanded me, and he put all of these words in the mouth of your servant. ²⁰ In order _⌊to change the situation_⌋,* your servant Joab did this thing. But my lord has wisdom, as the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all that is on the earth." ²¹ Then the king said to Joab, "Look, please, I will grant this thing. Go and bring back the young man Absalom." ²² Joab fell with his face to the ground and did obeisance. And he blessed the king, and he* said, "Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, in that the king has granted the request of his servant." ²³ Then Joab got up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. ²⁴ The king said, "Let him go over to his house, and he may not see my face." So Absalom went over to his house, and did not see the face of the king. ²⁵ As far as Absalom, there was not a more handsome man in all of Israel to admire so much; from the sole of his foot up to his crown, there was no physical defect on him. ²⁶ When he shaved his head, it would happen _⌊every year_⌋,* which he did because it was heavy on him, he would shave it off and weigh the hair of his head: two hundred shekels _⌊by the king's weight_⌋.* ²⁷ Three sons were born to Absalom and one daughter, whose name was Tamar. She was a woman beautiful of appearance. ²⁸ Absalom lived in Jerusalem _⌊two full years_⌋,* but he did not see the face of the king. ²⁹ So Absalom sent for Joab, in order that he send him to the king, but he was not willing to go to him. He sent again a second time, but he was not willing to go. 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. ³¹ Then Joab got up and went to Absalom, to the house, and said to him, "Why have your servants set my tract of land ablaze with fire?" 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." 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.

¹⁸ The three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab and Abishai and Asahel. Now Asahel was swift with his feet as one of the gazelles which is in the open field.

³⁹ King David longed to go out to Absalom, for he was consoled that Amnon had died.

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."

² so the victory turned to mourning on that day for all the army, because they had heard that day, "The king is grieving over his son."

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

¹⁶ And their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. The sons of Zeruiah: Abishai, Joab, and Asahel, three.

²⁶ Many are those who seek the _⌊favor_⌋* of a ruler, but from Yahweh _⌊one obtains justice_⌋.*

³ Wash, anoint yourself, put your clothing on, and go down to the threshing floor. Do not make yourself known to the man until he finishes eating and drinking.

²⁶ When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned over her husband.

²⁰ David stood up from the ground and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothing. Then he went to the house of Yahweh and worshiped, and he went to his own house. He asked, so they served him food, and he ate.

⁶ He built Bethlehem, Etah, Tekoa,

²⁰ And they rose up early in the morning and went out to the desert of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in Yahweh your God, and you shall be established! Believe in his prophets, and you shall succeed!"

⁵ _⌊Next to them_⌋* the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles did not put their neck to the work of their lord.

²⁷ After him the Tekoites repaired a second section of a wall opposite the projecting tower that goes out as far as the wall of Ophel.

¹⁵ and wine that makes glad the heart of man, so that their faces shine from oil, and bread that strengthens the heart of man.

⁸ Always be clothed in white garments, and never let your head lack oil!

¹ Flee for safety, O children of Benjamin, from the midst of Jerusalem. And in Tekoa blow a horn, and on Beth-haccherem lift up a signal, for evil looks down from the north, and a great destruction.

¹ The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds from Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah the king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Jehoash, two years _⌊before_⌋* the earthquake.

¹⁷ But when* you are fasting, _⌊put olive oil on your head_⌋* and wash your face

¹⁵ And you will speak to him, and you will put words in his mouth, and I myself will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you must do.

⁵ Yahweh put a word in the mouth of Balaam and said, "Return to Balak, and you must speak thus."

¹⁸ I will raise up a prophet for them _⌊from among their countrymen_⌋* like you, and I will place* my words into his mouth, and he shall speak to them _⌊everything that I command him_⌋.*

¹⁹ The king asked, "Was the hand of Joab with you in all of this?" The woman answered and said, "_⌊As your soul lives_⌋,* my lord the king, surely one cannot go to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has spoken. Yes, your servant Joab himself commanded me, and he put all of these words in the mouth of your servant.

¹⁶ And I have put my words in your mouth, and I have covered you in the shadow of my hand, to plant the heavens and to found the earth, saying to Zion, 'You are my people.'"

²¹ "And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says Yahweh:
my spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have placed in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, or* from the mouths* of your _⌊children_⌋,* or* from the mouths* of _⌊your children's children_⌋,"* says Yahweh, "from now on and forever."

⁹ Then Yahweh stretched out his hand and he touched my mouth, and Yahweh said to me,
"Look, I have put my words in your mouth.

⁴¹ The boy left, and then David got up from the south side,* and he fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed _⌊each other_⌋* and wept _⌊together_⌋,* but David wept the most.

²³ When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell on her face before _⌊David's anger_⌋,* and she bowed down to the ground.

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.

²⁶ It happened that the king of Israel was crossing over on the wall, and a woman called out to him, saying, "Help, my lord the king!" ²⁷ He said, "No, let Yahweh help you. _⌊How_⌋* can I save you? From the threshing floor or from the wine press?" ²⁸ The king said to her, "_⌊What is the problem_⌋?"* Then the woman said, "This woman said to me, 'Give me your son, and let us eat him today, then tomorrow we will eat my son.'

¹² because I saved the needy who cried for help, and I saved* the orphan for whom there was no helper. ¹³ The blessing of the wretched came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. ¹⁴ I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a headband.

³ And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Grant me justice against my adversary!' ⁴ And he was not willing for a time, but after these things he said to himself, 'Even if I do not fear God or respect people, ⁵ yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end by her* coming back!'"

⁸ "The trees went certainly, to anoint a king over themselves. And they said to the olive tree, 'Rule over us.' ⁹ And the olive tree replied, 'Should I stop producing my oil, which by me gods and men are honored, to go sway over the trees?' ¹⁰ Then the trees said to the fig tree, 'You, come rule over us.' ¹¹ But the fig tree said to them, 'Should I stop producing my sweetness, and my good crop, to go sway over the trees?' ¹² And the trees said to the vine, 'You, come rule over us.' ¹³ But the vine said to them, 'Should I stop producing my wine that makes the gods and men happy, to go sway over the trees?' ¹⁴ So all the trees said to the thornbush, 'You, come rule over us.' ¹⁵ And the thornbush said to the trees, 'If in good faith* you are anointing me as king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; if not, may fire go out from the thornbush and devour the cedars of Lebanon.'

¹ So Yahweh sent Nathan to David, and he came to him and said, "Two men were in a certain city; one was rich and the other was poor. ² The rich man had very many flocks and herds, ³ but the poor man had nothing except for one small ewe lamb which he had bought. He had nurtured her, and she grew up with him and with his children together. She used to eat from his morsel and drink from his cup, and she used to lie in his lap and became like a daughter for him.

⁸ Then* Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out into the field."* And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

¹³ And he went out on the second day, and there were two Hebrew men fighting, and he said to the guilty one, "Why do you strike your neighbor?"

²⁶ But you shall not do anything* to the young woman, for there is not reckoned against* the young woman _⌊a sin deserving death_⌋;* _⌊it is similar to when_⌋* a man rises up against his neighbor and murders him, _⌊a fellow human being_⌋,* just so is this _⌊case_⌋,* ²⁷ for he found her in the field, the engaged young woman cried out, but there was no* rescuer _⌊to help her_⌋.*

¹⁴ Look, you have driven me out today from the face of the ground, and from your face I must hide. I will be a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth, and it will happen that whoever finds me will kill me."

⁴⁵ until the anger of your brother turns from you and he has forgotten what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I lose the two of you in one day?"

¹⁹ The blood avenger himself will put the killer to death; he must put him to death when meeting him.

¹² then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there, and they shall give him into the hand of the avenger of blood, and he shall be put to death. ¹³ Your eye shall not take pity on him, and you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, _⌊so that good will be directed toward you_⌋.*

⁶ And then the firstborn that she bears _⌊shall represent his dead brother_⌋,* so that his name is not blotted out from Israel.

¹⁷ The elders of his household stood over him to lift him up from the ground, but he was not willing, and he did not eat any food with them.

³⁸ But when* the tenant farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance!'

⁵ Then _⌊the anger of David was kindled_⌋* against the man, and he said to Nathan, "_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋,* the man who has done this _⌊deserves to die_⌋!* ⁶ He shall restore the ewe lamb fourfold because he has done this thing, and because he had no pity."

⁴ The king said to Ziba, "Look, all that was Mephibosheth's is yours." Ziba said, "I hereby do obeisance; may I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king."

¹⁶ I was a father to the poor, and I investigated _⌊the stranger's_⌋* legal dispute.

¹³ He who returns a word before he will hear, folly itself belongs to him as well as* shame.

³ And his _⌊breath_⌋* is in the fear of Yahweh. And he shall judge not by his eyesight, and he shall rebuke not by _⌊what he hears with_⌋* his ears. ⁴ But he shall judge the poor with righteousness, and he shall decide for the needy of the earth with rectitude. And he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and he shall kill the wicked person with the breath of his lips.

¹³ Then his mother said to him, "Your curse be upon me, my son, only listen to my voice—go and get them for me."

³³ So you will not pollute the land in which you are; because blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is poured out on it except with the blood of the one who poured it out.

¹ "If someone slain is found in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you to take possession of it and is lying in the field, and it is not known who _⌊killed him_⌋,* ² then your elders and your judges shall go out and shall measure the distance to the cities that are around the slain one. ³ _⌊And then_⌋* the nearest city to the slain one, the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd that has not been worked with in the field, that has not pulled a yoke, ⁴ and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a _⌊wadi that flows with water all year_⌋* and that has not been plowed and has not been sown; then _⌊there they shall break the neck of the heifer in the wadi_⌋.* ⁵ Then the priests, the descendants* of Levi, shall come near, for Yahweh your God has chosen them to bless in the name of Yahweh, and every legal dispute and every case of assault will be _⌊subject to their ruling_⌋.* ⁶ And all of the elders of that city nearest to the slain person shall wash their hands over the heifer with the broken neck in the wadi.* ⁷ And they shall declare, and they shall say, 'Our hands did not shed this blood, and our eyes did not see what was done. ⁸ Forgive your people, Israel, whom you redeemed, Yahweh, and do not _⌊allow_⌋* the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, and let them be forgiven with regard to blood.' ⁹ And so you shall purge the innocent blood from your midst, because you must do the right thing in the eyes of Yahweh.

²⁴ She fell at his feet and said, "On me, my lord, be the guilt! Please let your female servant speak _⌊to you personally_⌋!* Hear the words of your female servant!

²⁸ When David heard this afterwards, he said: "I and my kingdom are innocent _⌊before Yahweh_⌋* forever for the blood of Abner the son of Ner. ²⁹ May the blood come down on the head of Joab and all the house of his father. _⌊May the house of Joab never lack_⌋* one with a bodily discharge or one with leprosy or one who grasps the distaff or one who falls by the sword or one who is lacking food."

³³ And their blood will return on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever, but for David and his descendants and for his house and his throne, there will be peace forever from Yahweh."

²⁵ And all the people answered and* said, "His blood be on us and on our children!"

²² And Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth,

² And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all he had, "Please put your hand under my thigh ³ that I may make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose midst I am dwelling,

⁵⁰ If you mistreat my daughters, and if you take wives besides my daughters, when there is no man with us, see—God is a witness between me and you."

²¹ or if he hits him in hostility with his hand, and he dies, the one that struck him will put to death the killer when meeting him.

²⁷ and the blood avenger finds him outside the territory of the city of his refuge, and the blood avenger kills the killer, _⌊he will not be guilty of blood_⌋*

⁴ "Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live there who has killed his neighbor _⌊unintentionally_⌋,* and he did not hate him _⌊previously_⌋.* ⁵ _⌊For example_⌋,* when somebody goes with his neighbor into the forest to cut wood, and the iron head slips from the handle of the tool and strikes his neighbor and he dies, then he may flee to one of these cities, and so he may live. ⁶ He does this lest the avenger of blood might pursue after the killer, because _⌊he is hot with anger_⌋* and he overtakes him, because it is a long distance to the city of refuge, and so _⌊he kills him_⌋,* but _⌊he did not deserve a death sentence_⌋,* because he was not hating him _⌊before_⌋.* ⁷ Therefore I am commanding you, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'You shall set apart three cities.' ⁸ Then if Yahweh your God enlarges your territory just as he swore to your ancestors* and gives* to you all the land that he _⌊promised_⌋* to give to your ancestors,* ⁹ then _⌊if you diligently observe this entire commandment_⌋* that I am commanding you _⌊today_⌋* by loving Yahweh your God and by going* in his ways _⌊at all times_⌋,* then you shall add three more cities for yourselves to these three. ¹⁰ Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed* in the midst of your land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance and thereby bloodguilt would be on you.*

³ Anyone who kills a person by accident or unintentionally* may flee there; they will be for yourselves a refuge from the avenger of blood. ⁴ The killer will flee to one of these cities, stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and _⌊state his case to the elders of that city_⌋;* and they will take him* into the city and give him a place, and he will dwell among them. ⁵ And if the avenger of blood pursues after him, they will not hand over the killer into his hand, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally, and _⌊he did not hate him previously_⌋.* ⁶ The killer will stay in that city until he stands before the congregation for the trial, until the death of the one who is the high priest in those days. Then _⌊the killer will return_⌋* to his city and to his house, to the city from which he fled.'"

⁴⁵ But the army said to Saul, "Must Jonathan die, who accomplished this great victory in Israel? Far from it! As Yahweh lives, not a hair from his head will fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day." So the army ransomed Jonathan and he did not die.

⁴² Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, because we have sworn, the two of us, an oath in the name of Yahweh, saying, "Yahweh will be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring forever."* Then he got up and left, and Jonathan went into the city.

¹⁰ Then Saul swore to her by Yahweh, "_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋,* _⌊you will not be punished_⌋* for this thing."

⁵² Solomon said, "If he is a son of noble character, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, but if evil is found in him, then he will die."

² and you swear, '_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋,'* in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations will be blessed by him, and in him they will boast."

³⁰ And even the hairs of your head are all numbered!

³⁴ Therefore I urge you to take some food, for this is necessary for your preservation. For not a hair from your head will be lost."

²⁷ Then Abraham answered and said, "Look, please, I was bold to speak to my Lord, but I am dust and ashes.

³² And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. What if* ten are found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten."

¹⁸ But Judah drew near to him and said, "Please my lord, let your servant speak a word in the ears of my lord, and _⌊let not your anger burn_⌋* against your servant, for _⌊you are like Pharaoh himself_⌋.*

¹ You will be in the right, O Yahweh, when I complain to you. Even so, let me speak my claims with you. Why does the way of the wicked succeed? All those who deal treacherously with treachery are at ease.

¹ So Agrippa said to Paul, "It is permitted for you to speak for yourself." Then Paul extended his* hand and* began to defend himself:*

² And the leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand sword-bearing infantry.

⁸ So then, thus you shall say to my servant David, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts, "I took you from the pasture _⌊from following_⌋* the sheep to be a leader over my people, over Israel,

⁷ Then Nathan said to him, "You are the man! Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: 'I anointed you as king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

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.

⁴⁰ It happened that your servant _⌊was busy here and there_⌋,* and he _⌊disappeared_⌋."* Then the king said to him, "Your own judgment has been determined." ⁴¹ He quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was from the prophets. ⁴² He said to him, "Thus says Yahweh: 'Because you have let the man I devoted for destruction go from your hand, your life shall be in place of his life and your people in place of his people.'"

⁴² When* they were not able to repay him,* he forgave the debts* of both. Now which of them will love him more?" ⁴³ Simon answered and* said, "I suppose that it is the one to whom he forgave more." And he said to him, "You have judged correctly." ⁴⁴ And turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered into your house. You did not give me water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them* with her hair.

¹³ But if he did not lie in wait _⌊and it was an accident_⌋,* I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee.

⁴⁰ " 'But* when they confess their guilt and the guilt of their ancestors* in their infidelity that they displayed against me, and moreover that they went against me in hostility—

¹⁵ To the _⌊Israelites_⌋,* to the alien, and to the temporary resident in their midst there will be these six cities as a refuge to which anyone who unintentionally kills a person may flee.

²⁵ The community will deliver the killer from the hand of the blood avenger, and the community will restore him to the city of his refuge to which he fled; and he will live there in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with holy oil.

²⁸ because he must live in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest the killer will return to the land of his property.

¹⁷ For Yahweh your God, he is God of the gods and Lord of the lords, the great and mighty God, the awesome one who _⌊is not partial_⌋,* and he does not take bribes.

²⁵ Then David said to the messenger, "Thus you shall say to Joab, '_⌊Do not feel badly about this matter_⌋;* _⌊now one and then another_⌋* the sword will devour. Intensify your attack on the city and overthrow it.'" And he encouraged him.

⁷ "Indeed, there is hope for a tree: if it is cut down, then* it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not cease; ⁸ though its root grows old in the earth, and its stump dies in the dust, ⁹ at* the scent of water it will bud, and it will put forth branches like a young plant. ¹⁰ "But* a man dies, and he dwindles away; thus* a human being passes away, and where is he?* ¹¹ As water disappears from a lake, and a river withers away and dries up,* ¹² _⌊so_⌋* a man lies down, and he does not arise. _⌊Until the heavens are no more_⌋,* they will not awaken, and they will not be roused out of their sleep.

¹⁴ If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my compulsory service I will wait, until the coming of my relief.

²³ Indeed, I know that you will bring me to death and to the house of assembly for all the living.

¹⁵ all flesh would perish together, and humankind would return to dust.

¹⁹ who _⌊shows no partiality to officials_⌋* and who _⌊does not take note of the noble more than of the insignificant_⌋,* for all of them are the work of his hands?

¹⁴ I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; it is melted _⌊within me_⌋.*

⁷ Let them run away like water that runs off. When he bends the bow, let his arrows be as though they were cut off.*

³ They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them.

³ You return man to the dust, _⌊saying_⌋,* "Return, O sons of man."

¹⁰ As for the days of our years, within them are seventy years or if by strength eighty years, and their pride* is trouble and disaster, for it passes quickly and we fly away.

¹⁹ For the fate of _⌊humans_⌋* and the fate of the beast is _⌊the same_⌋.* The death of the one is like the death of the other, for _⌊both are mortal_⌋.* Man has no advantage over the beast, for both are fleeting. ²⁰ Both go to one place—both came from dust and both return to dust.

⁵ For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything. They no longer have a reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.

¹ Thus says Yahweh:
"Where is this divorce document of your mother's divorce, with which I dismissed her? or to whom of my creditors did I sell you? Look! you were sold because of your sin, and your mother was dismissed because of your transgressions. ² Why was there no man when I came, no one who answered when I called? _⌊Do I lack the strength to save_⌋?* Or is there no power in me to deliver? Look! by my rebuke I dry up the sea; I _⌊make_⌋* the rivers a desert; their fish stink because there is no water, and they* die because of thirst.

¹⁶ And they sent their disciples to him with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and _⌊you do not care what anyone thinks_⌋,* _⌊because you do not regard the opinion of people_⌋.*

³⁴ So Peter opened his* mouth and* said, "In truth I understand that God is not one who shows partiality,

¹¹ For there is no partiality with God.

²⁷ And _⌊just as_⌋* it is destined for people to die once, and after this, judgment,

¹⁷ And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's work, conduct yourselves with fear during the time of your temporary residence,

¹⁹ And so then, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant: If Yahweh has incited you against me, may he delight in an offering; but if _⌊it is mortals_⌋,* may they be accursed _⌊before_⌋* Yahweh, for they have driven me away today from sharing in the inheritance of Yahweh, saying, 'Go, serve other gods!'

⁹ And Achish answered and said to David, "I know that you are good in my eyes, like an angel of God! However, the commanders of the Philistines have said, 'He must not go up with us into the battle.'

²⁰ In order _⌊to change the situation_⌋,* your servant Joab did this thing. But my lord has wisdom, as the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all that is on the earth."

²⁷ But he slandered against your servant to my lord the king. My lord the king is like the angel of God; _⌊do as you see fit._⌋."*

⁹ Give to your servant a listening heart to judge your people, to discern between good and bad, because who is able to judge this, your difficult people?"

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.

³⁰ Is there injustice on my tongue? Or can my palate not discern calamity?*

²¹ A crucible is for the silver, and a furnace for the gold, but a man is tested by the mouth of him who praises him.

⁵ A strong man who flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his feet.

¹⁴ But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ Now the spiritual person discerns all things, but he himself is judged by no one.

¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have trained their faculties for the distinguishing of both good and evil.

¹⁷ And he said, "What is the message* that he spoke to you? Please do not conceal it from me. May God _⌊punish you severely_⌋* if you conceal anything from me of all the words that he told you." 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_⌋."*

¹⁴ And Zedekiah the king sent and made someone bring Jeremiah the prophet to him, to the third entrance that was at the _⌊temple_⌋* of Yahweh. And the king said to Jeremiah, "I am asking you _⌊something_⌋,* you must not hide _⌊anything_⌋* from me."

²⁵ And if the officials hear that I have spoken with you, and they come to you and say to you, 'Please tell us what you said to the king. You must not conceal it from us so that we will not kill you. And what did the king say to you?'

¹⁷ Please let us go through your land. We will not go through a field or vineyard, and we will not drink water from a well. We will go along the road of the king; we will not turn aside right or left until we have gone through your territory.'"

³² "So you must be careful to do just as Yahweh your God commanded you; you shall not turn to the right or to the left.

¹⁴ And you shall not turn aside from _⌊any of_⌋* the words that I am commanding you _⌊today_⌋* to the right or left by going after other gods to serve them.

⁷ Only be strong and very courageous _⌊to observe diligently the whole law_⌋* that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn aside from it, to the right or left, so that you may succeed _⌊wherever you go_⌋.*

²⁶ She said, "Excuse me, my lord. As _⌊you live_⌋,* my lord, I am the woman who stood with you in this place to pray to Yahweh.

⁵⁵ Now when Saul saw David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, "Whose son is this young man, Abner?" And Abner said, "As your soul lives, O king, I do not know."

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_⌋.*

²⁷ When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside to the middle of the gate to speak with him in private. Then he struck him in the stomach there and he died, _⌊for he had shed the blood of Asahel his brother_⌋.*

²⁹ May the blood come down on the head of Joab and all the house of his father. _⌊May the house of Joab never lack_⌋* one with a bodily discharge or one with leprosy or one who grasps the distaff or one who falls by the sword or one who is lacking food."

³⁴ Your hands were not tied and your feet were not in contact with bronze fetters. You have fallen as one who falls before sons of wickedness." Then _⌊all the people wept over him again_⌋.*

¹¹ Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are living in the booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping on the surface of the open field; and I, shall I go to my house to eat and to drink and to sleep with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I surely will not do this thing."

¹⁴ And it happened in the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab, and he sent it by the hand of Uriah. ¹⁵ He had written in the letter, "Put Uriah in the front, in the face of the fiercest fighting, then draw back from behind him so that he may be struck down and die."

³ Then you must go to the king and speak to him according to this word." Thus Joab put the words in her mouth.

⁵ "Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me when he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner son of Ner and to Amasa son of Jether, and he murdered them and put the blood of war in a time of peace. He put the blood of war on the leather belt that was on his waist and on the sandals which were on his feet. ⁶ You must act according to your wisdom, but you must not let his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace.

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.

²⁷ Do not swerve right or left; remove your foot from evil.

¹⁵ for I will give you a mouth and wisdom that all your opponents will not be able to resist or contradict.

⁵ For God knows that on the day you both eat from it, then your eyes will be opened and you both shall be like gods,* knowing good and evil."

²³ So David inquired of Yahweh, but he said, "You shall not go up. Rather, go around to their rear and come to them from opposite the balsam trees.

¹⁷ Your servant also thought, 'May the word of my lord the king _⌊bring rest_⌋,* for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king, _⌊to sense what is good and what is bad_⌋.'* May Yahweh your God be with you."

²¹ _⌊Please let me not show partiality to anyone_⌋,* and let me not show flattery to human beings, ²² for I do not know how _⌊to flatter_⌋,* else my Maker would _⌊soon_⌋* put an end to me.

¹⁶ "Have you entered into the sea's sources? Or have you walked around in the recesses of the deep? ¹⁷ Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of deep shadow? ¹⁸ Have you considered closely the earth's vast expanse? Declare it, if you know all of it. ¹⁹ "Where then* is the way where the light dwells? And where then* is its place, ²⁰ that you may take it to its territory, and that you might discern the paths to its home? ²¹ You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great. ²² Have you entered into the storehouses of the snow, or* have you seen the storehouses of the hail, ²³ which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war? ²⁴ Where then* is the way where the light is distributed, where he scatters the east wind upon the earth? ²⁵ "Who has cut open a channel for the torrents and a way for the _⌊thunder bolts_⌋,* ²⁶ to bring rain on a land _⌊where no one lives_⌋,* a desert _⌊where no humans live_⌋,* ²⁷ to satisfy desert and wasteland, and to cause the ground to put forth the rising of grass? ²⁸ Is there a father for the rain, or who fathered the drops of dew? ²⁹ From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who fathered the frost of heaven? ³⁰ Like stone the waters become hard, and the faces of the deep freeze. ³¹ "Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or can you loosen the cords of Orion? ³² Can you lead forth the southern constellations at their appointed time, or* can you lead the Bear with its children? ³³ Do you know heaven's statutes, or can you establish their rule on the earth? ³⁴ Can you lift up your voice to the clouds so that* a flood of water may cover you? ³⁵ Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go? And will they say to you, 'Here we are'? ³⁶ Who has put wisdom in the ibis,* or who has given understanding to the rooster?* ³⁷ Who can number the clouds with wisdom? Or* who can tilt heaven's jars, ³⁸ at the flowing of the dust into a cast and the clods cling together? ³⁹ "Can you hunt prey for the lion? And can you satisfy the hunger of strong lions ⁴⁰ when they are crouched in the dens, when they lie in the thicket in an ambush? ⁴¹ Who prepares for the crow its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and they wander around _⌊for lack of food_⌋?*

²⁸ A tongue of deceit hates its victim, and a flattering mouth makes ruin.

¹ Now concerning food sacrificed to idols, we know that "we all have knowledge."* Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. ² If anyone thinks he knows anything, he has not yet known as it is necessary to know.

³⁹ For as Yahweh lives, who delivers Israel, I swear that even if it is in Jonathan my son, _⌊he will certainly die_⌋!"* But nobody from all the army answered him.

¹¹ Then she said, "Please may the king remember Yahweh your God, _⌊to prevent the increase of blood avengers who kill_⌋,* so that they not wipe out my son." He said, "_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋,* surely not one hair shall fall from your son to the ground."

²⁶ And although he* was deeply grieved, the king, because of his* oaths and _⌊dinner guests_⌋,* did not want to refuse her.

⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of Yahweh.

¹⁶ And by what will it be known then that I have found favor in your eyes, I and your people? Is it not by your going with us? And so we will be distinguished, I and your people, from all the people who are on the face of the ground." ¹⁷ And Yahweh said to Moses, "Also I will do this thing that you have spoken, because you have found favor in my eyes and I have known you by name."

² And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after someone in whose eyes I may find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."

³⁹ Then all the people crossed over the Jordan, and the king crossed and kissed Barzillai and blessed him; then he returned to his place.

² And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.

¹¹ "When the ear heard and commended me, and the eye saw and testified in support of me

²⁰ if his loins have not blessed me, or* by means of my sheep's fleece he has warmed himself,

²⁸ Her children rise and consider her happy, her husband* also, and he praises her;

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.

³ Then Judah said to him, "The man solemnly admonished us, saying, 'You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.'

²⁸ And Pharaoh said to him, "Go from me. _⌊Be careful_⌋* not to see my face again, because on the day of your seeing my face you will die."

¹³ He* said, "Good. _⌊I will make a covenant with you_⌋.* I am asking only one thing from you: You shall not see my face unless you bring Michal the daughter of Saul when you come to see _⌊me_⌋."*

²⁸ Absalom lived in Jerusalem _⌊two full years_⌋,* but he did not see the face of the king.

⁴ and they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

³⁵ Yahweh shall strike you with grievous boils on the knees and on the upper thighs from which _⌊you will not be able to be healed_⌋,* from the sole of your foot and up to your crown.

² He had a son whose name was Saul,* a young and handsome man. There was not a man from the _⌊Israelites_⌋* more handsome than he was; from his shoulders up, he was taller than all the people.

⁷ But Yahweh said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For God does not see what man sees, for a man _⌊looks on the outward appearance_⌋,* but Yahweh _⌊looks on the heart_⌋."*

⁷ So* Satan* went out from _⌊Yahweh's presence_⌋,* and he inflicted Job with loathsome skin sores from the sole of his foot up to the crown of his head.

³⁰ Charm* is deceit and beauty* is vain;* but a woman who fears Yahweh shall be praised.

⁶ From the sole of the foot and up to the head there is no health in it; bruise and sore and bleeding wound have not been cleansed, and they have not been bound up and not softened with the oil.

²⁷ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean!

²⁷ in order that he might present to himself the church glorious, not having a spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she may be holy and blameless.

¹⁶ Then Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed for Ephron the silver that he had named* in the hearing of the Hittites:* four hundred shekels of silver _⌊at the merchants' current rate_⌋.*

³⁶ You* must have honest balances, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin; I am Yahweh your* God who brought you* out from the land of Egypt.

⁹ Absalom was found in the presence of the servants of David as he was riding on the mule. The mule went under the thicket of the great oak tree, and his head was caught in the tree. He was left hanging between heaven and earth, and the mule which was under him went on.

²⁴ And this shall happen: There will be a stench instead of perfume, and a rope instead of a sash, and baldness instead of a well-set hairdo, and a clothing wrap of sackcloth instead of a rich robe, branding instead of beauty.

²⁰ And their head they shall not shave, or long hair they shall not let grow; short they shall clip their heads.

⁹ Thus says the Lord Yahweh, "Enough of this for you, the princes of Israel; put away violence and destruction and do justice and righteousness; revoke your acts of dispossession from upon* my people!" _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ¹⁰ There shall be for you _⌊an honest set of scales_⌋* and _⌊an honest ephah_⌋* and _⌊an honest bath_⌋.* ¹¹ The ephah and the bath shall be one unit of measurement;* the tenth part of the homer is the bath, and the tenth of the homer is the ephah; so the homer shall be its* unit of measurement. ¹² And the shekel shall weigh twenty gerahs, twenty shekels* and five and twenty shekels* and ten and five shekels,* that shall make the mina for you.* ¹³ This is the contribution offering which you shall present: a sixth of the ephah from a* homer of wheat, and a* sixth of the ephah from a* homer of barley. ¹⁴ And the quota of the olive oil, the bath of the olive oil, is the tenth part of a bath from a kor, which is ten baths, or a homer—for ten baths are equal to a homer.

¹⁴ And does not nature itself teach you that a man, if he wears long hair, it is a dishonor to him?

¹ It happened afterwards that Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar, and Amnon the son of David fell in love with her.

¹⁸ (Now Absalom had taken and set up for himself in his lifetime a stone pillar that is in the valley of the king, because he said, "I have no son in order to remember my name," and he called the stone pillar by his name. It is called the monument of Absalom until this day).

¹⁶ His roots dry up _⌊below_⌋,* and its branches* wither away above.* ¹⁷ His remembrance perishes from the earth, and there is not a name for him on the street. ¹⁸ "They thrust him from light into darkness, and they drive him out from the world. ¹⁹ There is no offspring for him nor* a descendant among his people, and there is not a survivor in his abode.

²² "And I will rise up against them,"
_⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh of hosts,
"and I will cut off name and a remnant from Babylon, and offspring and posterity,"
_⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

³⁰ Thus says Yahweh:
"Record this man as childless, a man who will not succeed in his days, for no man from his offspring will succeed him,* sitting on the throne of David and ruling again in Judah."

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. ³¹ Then Joab got up and went to Absalom, to the house, and said to him, "Why have your servants set my tract of land ablaze with fire?"

¹² But Queen Vashti refused to come at the word of the king that was _⌊conveyed by_⌋* the eunuchs. And the king became very angry, and his anger burned in him.

³ And he sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the wedding celebration, and they did not want to come.

⁴ And Samson went and captured three hundred foxes, and he took torches. He turned them tail to tail, and he put one torch between two tails. ⁵ He set fire to the torches and let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and he burned both the stacks* of sheaves and the standing grain, up to the vineyards* of olive groves.

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!_⌋* ²⁹ So Absalom's servants did to Amnon just as Absalom commanded, and all the sons of the king got up, and each mounted his mule and fled.

⁹ She had written in the letters, saying, "Call a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people. ¹⁰ Seat two men, _⌊scoundrels_⌋,* opposite him. Let them witness against him saying, 'You cursed God and the king.' Then you shall bring him out and stone him so that he dies." ¹¹ The men of his city and the elders and nobles who were living in his city did according to what Jezebel had sent to them, as was written in the letters which she had sent to them. ¹² They called a fast, and they seated Naboth at the head of the people. ¹³ Then the two men, _⌊scoundrels_⌋,* came, sat opposite him, and the _⌊scoundrels_⌋* witnessed against Naboth before the people, saying, "Naboth cursed God and the king," so they brought him outside of the city and stoned him with stones, and he died. ¹⁴ They sent to Jezebel saying, "Naboth has been stoned, and he is dead."

³³ So he said, "Throw her down." So they threw her down, and her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled her.

⁶ Then he wrote to them a second letter, saying, "If you are for me, and you are listening to my voice, take the heads of the men of the sons of your master and come to me at this time tomorrow at Jezreel." Now the sons of the king, seventy men, were with the leaders of the city who were raising them. ⁷ When the letter came to them, they took the sons of the king, and they killed seventy men. Then they put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel.

¹² And the man* replied,* "The woman whom you gave to be with me—she gave to me from the tree and I ate."

¹² Isn't this the word we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone so that we can serve Egypt!' because serving Egypt is better for us than our dying in the desert."

³ And the _⌊Israelites_⌋* said to them, "_⌊If only we had died_⌋* by the hand of Yahweh in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots* of meat, when we ate bread _⌊until we were full_⌋,* because you have brought us out to this desert to kill all of this assembly with hunger."

³ And the people thirsted for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, "Why _⌊ever_⌋* did you bring us up from Egypt to kill me* and my sons and my cattle with thirst?"

¹³ When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, "May you be blessed by Yahweh! I have kept the word of Yahweh."

⁸ So you must show loyal love to your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of Yahweh with you. But if there is guilt in me, then kill me yourself! But why should you bring me to your father?"

² For he flatters himself in his eyes, hating to detect his iniquity.*

¹³ He who conceals his transgression will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes will obtain mercy.

²² For if you wash with natron, and you _⌊use much soap_⌋,* your guilt is sticking as a stain _⌊before_⌋* me," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ²³ "How can you say, 'I have not defiled myself, I have not gone after the Baals?' Look at your way in the valley, know what you have done. You are a young she-camel, interweaving her ways.

¹² Were they ashamed, for they had committed a detestable thing? What's worse,* they were not ashamed at all, and they did not know to feel humiliated. _⌊Therefore_⌋* they will fall among those who fall; at the time of their punishment they will stumble," says Yahweh.

⁴⁴ Then they will also answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and not serve you?'

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those under the law, in order that every mouth may be closed and the whole world may become accountable to God.

²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come near and kiss me, my son."

⁴ But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell upon his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

¹⁵ And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. And afterward his brothers spoke with him.

²⁰ And he set out and* came to his own father. But while* he was still a long way away, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran _⌊and embraced him_⌋* and kissed him.