“When you direct your people to march out and fight their enemies, ¹  and they direct their prayers to you toward this chosen city and this temple I built for your honor, ² 

But Josiah did not turn back from him; ¹  he disguised himself for battle. He did not take seriously ²  the words of Necho which he had received from God; he went to fight him in the Plain of Megiddo. ³ 

“At that time ¹  I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creatures that crawl on the ground. I will abolish ²  the warrior’s bow and sword – that is, every weapon of warfare ³  – from the land, and I will allow them to live securely.” ⁴ 

When you go out to do battle with your enemies and the Lord your God allows you to prevail ¹  and you take prisoners,

The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed for battle ahead of the Israelites, just as Moses had instructed them.

Another battle was fought between the Philistines and Israel. So David went down with his soldiers ¹  and fought the Philistines. David became exhausted.

He defeated ¹  10,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley; he captured Sela in battle and renamed it Joktheel, a name it has retained to this very day.

All these were the sons of Jediael. Listed in their genealogical records were 17,200 family leaders and warriors who were capable of marching out to battle.

These were the men who joined David in Ziklag, when he was banished ¹  from the presence of Saul son of Kish. (They were among the warriors who assisted him in battle.

From the other side of the Jordan, from Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, there were 120,000 men armed with all kinds of weapons.

There was another battle with the Philistines in which Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, ¹  whose spear had a shaft as big as the crossbeam of a weaver’s loom. ² 

So King Joash of Israel attacked. He and King Amaziah of Judah faced each other on the battlefield ¹  in Beth Shemesh of Judah.

Your people willingly follow you ¹  when you go into battle. ²  On the holy hills ³  at sunrise ⁴  the dew of your youth ⁵  belongs to you. ⁶ 

They will say, ¹  ‘Prepare to do battle ²  against it! Come on! Let’s attack it at noon!’ But later they will say, ³  ‘Oh, oh! Too bad! ⁴  The day is almost over and the shadows of evening are getting long.

So the Lord who rules over all ¹  said, “I will surely ²  punish them! Their young men will be killed in battle. ³  Their sons and daughters will die of starvation.

May that man be like the cities ¹  that the Lord destroyed without showing any mercy. May he hear a cry of distress in the morning and a battle cry at noon.

Prepare the nations to do battle against her. ¹  Prepare the kings of the Medes. Prepare their governors and all their leaders. ²  Prepare all the countries they rule to do battle against her. ³ 

Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah! Sound the trumpet in Ramah! Sound the alarm in Beth Aven! ¹  Tremble in fear, ²  O Benjamin!

When their fathers or brothers come and protest to us, ¹  we’ll say to them, “Do us a favor and let them be, ²  for we could not get each one a wife through battle. ³  Don’t worry about breaking your oath! ⁴  You would only be guilty if you had voluntarily given them wives.’” ⁵ 

When he came before the king, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” He answered him, “Attack! You will succeed; the Lord will hand it over to the king.” ¹