Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests. He killed on that day eighty-five ¹  men who wore the linen ephod.

Then Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize that this will turn bitter in the end? When will you tell the people to turn aside from pursuing their brothers?”

Now David’s soldiers ¹  and Joab were coming back from a raid, bringing a great deal of plunder with them. Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, for David ²  had sent him away and he had left in peace.

Baasha son of Ahijah, from the tribe of Issachar, conspired against Nadab ¹  and assassinated him in Gibbethon, which was in Philistine territory. This happened while Nadab and all the Israelite army were besieging Gibbethon.

When Ben Hadad received this reply, ¹  he and the other kings were drinking in their quarters. ²  He ordered his servants, “Get ready to attack!” So they got ready to attack the city.

Now all Moab had heard that the kings were attacking, ¹  so everyone old enough to fight was mustered and placed at the border. ² 

When they approached the Israelite camp, the Israelites rose up and struck down the Moabites, who then ran from them. The Israelites ¹  thoroughly defeated ²  Moab.

Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah to ¹  Samaria and attacked Shallum son of Jabesh. ²  He killed him and took his place as king.

Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He assassinated him ¹  and took his place as king, in the twentieth year of the reign of Jotham son of Uzziah.

The king of Assyria responded favorably to his request; ¹  he ²  attacked Damascus and captured it. He deported the people ³  to Kir and executed Rezin.

Ben Hadad accepted King Asa’s offer and ordered his army commanders to attack the cities of Israel. ¹  They conquered ²  Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, ³  and all the storage cities of Naphtali.

Messengers ¹  arrived and reported to Jehoshaphat, “A huge army is attacking you from the other side of the Dead Sea, ²  from the direction of Edom. ³  Look, they are in Hazezon Tamar (that is, En Gedi).”

Now the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir are coming! ¹  When Israel came from the land of Egypt, you did not allow them to invade these lands. ²  They bypassed them and did not destroy them.

Our God, will you not judge them? For we are powerless against this huge army that attacks us! We don’t know what we should do; we look to you for help.” ¹ 

When they began to shout and praise, the Lord suddenly attacked ¹  the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir ²  who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

Afterward King Sennacherib of Assyria, while attacking Lachish with all his military might, sent his messengers ¹  to Jerusalem. The message was for King Hezekiah of Judah and all the people of ²  Judah who were in Jerusalem. It read:

The Jews assembled themselves in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to strike out against those who were seeking their harm. No one was able to stand before them, for dread of them fell on all the peoples.

For the music director; according to the yonath-elem-rechovim style; ²  a prayer ³  of David, written when the Philistines captured him in Gath. ⁴  Have mercy on me, O God, for men are attacking me! ⁵  All day long hostile enemies ⁶  are tormenting me. ⁷ 

Manasseh fought against ¹  Ephraim, and Ephraim against Manasseh; together they fought against Judah. Despite all this, his anger does not subside, and his hand is ready to strike again. ² 

But he does not agree with this, his mind does not reason this way, ¹  for his goal is to destroy, and to eliminate many nations. ²