Remember your leaders, who spoke God’s message to you; reflect on the outcome of their lives and imitate their faith.

I have chosen him ¹  so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep ²  the way of the Lord by doing ³  what is right and just. Then the Lord will give ⁴  to Abraham what he promised ⁵  him.”

For seven days you must present a gift to the Lord. On the eighth day there is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must present a gift to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly day; ¹  you must not do any regular work.

But ¹  the man who is ceremonially clean, and was not on a journey, and fails ²  to keep the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people. ³  Because he did not bring the Lord’s offering at its appointed time, that man must bear his sin. ⁴ 

and if his father has no brothers, then you are to give his inheritance to his relative nearest to him from his family, and he will possess it. This will be for the Israelites a legal requirement, ¹  as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

All these curses will fall on you, pursuing and overtaking you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping his commandments and statutes that he has given ¹  you.

Amasa did not protect himself from the knife in Joab’s other hand, and Joab ¹  stabbed him in the abdomen, causing Amasa’s ²  intestines to spill out on the ground. There was no need to stab him again; the first blow was fatal. ³  Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bicri.

The king of Israel summoned all the leaders ¹  of the land and said, “Notice how this man is looking for trouble. ²  Indeed, he demanded my wives, sons, silver, and gold, and I did not resist him.”

The men took this as a good omen and quickly accepted his offer, saying, “Ben Hadad is your brother.” Ahab ¹  then said, “Go, get him.” So Ben Hadad came out to him, and Ahab pulled him up into his chariot.

The Lord solemnly warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and all the seers, “Turn back from your evil ways; obey my commandments and rules that are recorded in the law. I ordered your ancestors to keep this law and sent my servants the prophets to remind you of its demands.” ¹ 

To this very day they observe their earlier practices. They do not worship ¹  the Lord; they do not obey the rules, regulations, law, and commandments that the Lord gave ²  the descendants of Jacob, whom he renamed Israel.

So they sent an edict ¹  throughout Israel from Beer Sheba to Dan, summoning the people ²  to come and observe a Passover for the Lord God of Israel in Jerusalem, for they had not observed it on a nationwide scale as prescribed in the law. ³ 

I will not make Israel again leave the land I gave to their ancestors, ¹  provided that they carefully obey all I commanded them, the whole law, the rules and regulations given to Moses.”

This is why the Jews who are in the rural country – those who live in rural cities – set aside the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a holiday for happiness, banqueting, holiday, and sending gifts to one another.

as the time when the Jews gave themselves rest from their enemies – the month when their trouble was turned to happiness and their mourning to a holiday. These were to be days of banqueting, happiness, sending gifts to one another, and providing for the poor.

These days were to be remembered and to be celebrated in every generation and in every family, every province, and every city. The Jews were not to fail to observe these days of Purim; the remembrance of them was not to cease among their descendants.

You must ¹  observe the Sabbath ²  rather than doing anything you please on my holy day. ³  You must look forward to the Sabbath ⁴  and treat the Lord’s holy day with respect. ⁵  You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities, and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals. ⁶ 

But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness; they did not follow my statutes and they rejected my regulations (the one who obeys them will live by them), and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I decided to pour out ¹  my rage on them in the wilderness and destroy them. ² 

“‘In a controversy they will act as judges; ¹  they will judge according to my ordinances. They will keep my laws and my statutes regarding all my appointed festivals and will observe ²  my Sabbaths.