For as surely as the Lord, the deliverer of Israel, lives, even if it turns out to be my own son Jonathan, he will certainly die!” But no one from the army said anything. ¹ 

David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, ¹  “What have I done? What is my offense? ²  How have I sinned before your father? For he is seeking my life!”

He followed in the footsteps of Jeroboam son of Nebat and encouraged Israel to sin; ¹  they angered the Lord God of Israel with their worthless idols. ² 

But they did not obey, ¹  and Manasseh misled them so that they sinned more than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed from before the Israelites.

“King Manasseh of Judah has committed horrible sins. ¹  He has sinned more than the Amorites before him and has encouraged Judah to sin by worshiping his disgusting idols. ² 

The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign and all his accomplishments, as well as the sinful acts he committed, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. ¹ 

But once he became powerful, his pride destroyed him. ¹  He disobeyed ²  the Lord his God. He entered the Lord’s temple to offer incense on the incense altar.

But Manasseh misled the people of ¹  Judah and the residents of Jerusalem so that they sinned more than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed ahead of the Israelites.

even when they made a cast image of a calf for themselves and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up from Egypt,’ or when they committed atrocious ¹  blasphemies.

Then Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry. ¹  He was angry ²  with Job for justifying ³  himself rather than God. ⁴ 

The Lord says, “I have rejected them because ¹  the people of Judah have done what I consider evil. ²  They have set up their disgusting idols in the temple ³  which I have claimed for my own ⁴  and have defiled it.

You will probably ask yourself, ¹  ‘Why have these things happened to me? Why have I been treated like a disgraced adulteress whose skirt has been torn off and her limbs exposed?’ ²  It is because you have sinned so much. ³ 

Have you not copied their behavior ¹  and practiced their abominable deeds? In a short time ²  you became even more depraved in all your conduct than they were!

It will never again be Israel’s source of confidence, but a reminder of how they sinned by turning to Egypt for help. ¹  Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.’”

This is what the Lord says: “Because Damascus has committed three crimes ¹  – make that four! ²  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ³  They ripped through Gilead like threshing sledges with iron teeth. ⁴ 

This is what the Lord says: “Because Gaza ¹  has committed three crimes ²  – make that four! ³  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ⁴  They deported a whole community ⁵  and sold them ⁶  to Edom.

This is what the Lord says: “Because Tyre has committed three crimes ¹  – make that four! ²  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ³  They sold ⁴  a whole community ⁵  to Edom; they failed to observe ⁶  a treaty of brotherhood. ⁷ 

This is what the Lord says: “Because Moab has committed three crimes ¹  – make that four! ²  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ³  They burned the bones of Edom’s king into lime. ⁴ 

This is what the Lord says: “Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions ¹  – make that four! ²  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ³  They sold the innocent ⁴  for silver, the needy for a pair of sandals. ⁵ 

I thought, ¹  ‘Certainly you will respect ²  me! Now you will accept correction!’ If she had done so, her home ³  would not be destroyed ⁴  by all the punishments I have threatened. ⁵  But they eagerly sinned in everything they did. ⁶