The Lord your God will make the labor of your hands ¹  abundantly successful and multiply your children, ²  the offspring of your cattle, and the produce of your soil. For the Lord your God will once more ³  rejoice over you to make you prosperous ⁴  just as he rejoiced over your ancestors,

I also call on you ¹  to love the Lord your God, to obey him and be loyal to him, for he gives you life and enables you to live continually ²  in the land the Lord promised to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

They returned and reported to Joshua, ¹  “Don’t send the whole army. ²  About two or three thousand men are adequate to defeat Ai. ³  Don’t tire out the whole army, for Ai is small.” ⁴ 

As they fled from Israel on the slope leading down from ¹  Beth Horon, the Lord threw down on them large hailstones from the sky, ²  all the way to Azekah. They died – in fact, more died from the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.

Your fathers ¹  cried out for help to the Lord; he made the area between you and the Egyptians dark, ²  and then drowned them in the sea. ³  You witnessed with your very own eyes ⁴  what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness for a long time. ⁵ 

You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. ¹  The leaders ²  of Jericho, as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, fought with you, but I handed them over to you.

The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, which contained the gold objects. They placed them near the big stone. At that time the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord.

But the Lord ¹  struck down some of the people of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord; he struck down 50,070 ²  of the men. The people grieved because the Lord had struck the people with a hard blow.

So Jonathan spoke on David’s behalf ¹  to his father Saul. He said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, his actions have been very beneficial ²  for you.

I gave you your master’s house, and put your master’s wives into your arms. ¹  I also gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all that somehow seems insignificant, I would have given you so much more as well!

God said to him, “Because you asked for the ability to make wise judicial decisions, and not for long life, or riches, or vengeance on your enemies, ¹ 

“You know that my father David was unable to build a temple to honor the Lord ¹  his God, for he was busy fighting battles on all fronts while the Lord subdued his enemies. ² 

That day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that is in front of the Lord’s temple. He offered there burnt sacrifices, grain offerings, and the fat from the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that stood before the Lord was too small to hold all these offerings. ¹ 

Their job was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the Lord’s temple. They were to take care of the courtyards, the rooms, ceremonial purification of all holy items, and other jobs related to the service of God’s temple. ¹ 

When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, ¹  she came to challenge ²  him ³  with difficult questions. ⁴  She arrived in Jerusalem ⁵  with a great display of pomp, ⁶  bringing with her camels carrying spices, ⁷  a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind.

The Israelites and people of Judah ¹  who lived in the cities of Judah also contributed a tenth of their cattle and sheep, as well as a tenth of the holy items consecrated to the Lord their God. They brought them and placed them in many heaps. ² 

Hezekiah ¹  energetically rebuilt ²  every broken wall. He erected towers and an outer wall, ³  and fortified the terrace of the City of David. ⁴  He made many weapons and shields.

Now when these things had been completed, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the local residents ¹  who practice detestable things similar to those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers, ¹  from the murderers of this world! ²  They enjoy prosperity; ³  you overwhelm them with the riches they desire. ⁴  They have many children, and leave their wealth to their offspring. ⁵ 

This is the unfortunate fact ¹  about everything that happens on earth: ²  the same fate awaits ³  everyone. In addition to this, the hearts of all people ⁴  are full of evil, and there is folly in their hearts during their lives – then they die. ⁵