Look! I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the Lord my God told me to do, so that you might carry them out in ¹  the land you are about to enter and possess.

You go near so that you can hear everything the Lord our God is saying and then you can tell us whatever he ¹  says to you; then we will pay attention and do it.”

Pay attention, Israel, and be careful to do this so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in number ¹  – as the Lord, God of your ancestors, ²  said to you, you will have a land flowing with milk and honey.

Listen, Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan so you can dispossess the nations there, people greater and stronger than you who live in large cities with extremely high fortifications. ¹ 

Now, if you pay close attention ¹  to my commandments that I am giving you today and love ²  the Lord your God and serve him with all your mind and being, ³ 

The person who pays no attention ¹  to the priest currently serving the Lord your God there, or to the verdict – that person must die, so that you may purge evil from Israel.

“Listen, Israel! Today you are moving forward to do battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted. Do not fear and tremble or be terrified because of them,

When you see ¹  your neighbor’s donkey or ox fallen along the road, do not ignore it; ²  instead, you must be sure ³  to help him get the animal on its feet again. ⁴ 

The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always end up at the top and not at the bottom, if you obey his ¹  commandments which I am urging ²  you today to be careful to do.

If a man sins against a man, one may appeal to God on his behalf. But if a man sins against the Lord, who then will intercede for him?” But Eli’s sons ¹  would not listen to their father, for the Lord had decided ²  to kill them.

Then Samuel said, “Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience? ¹  Certainly, ²  obedience ³  is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than ⁴  the fat of rams.

Then King David sent a message to Zadok and Abiathar the priests saying, “Tell the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you delay any further in bringing the king back to his palace, ¹  when everything Israel is saying has come to the king’s attention. ² 

You must serve me with integrity and sincerity, just as your father David did. Do everything I commanded and obey my rules and regulations. ¹ 

the food in his banquet hall, ¹  his servants and attendants, ²  their robes, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he presented in the Lord’s temple, she was amazed. ³ 

The king refused to listen to the people, because the Lord was instigating this turn of events ¹  so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made ²  through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

The prophet ¹  visited the king of Israel and instructed him, “Go, fortify your defenses. ²  Determine ³  what you must do, for in the spring ⁴  the king of Syria will attack ⁵  you.”

Micaiah ¹  said, “That being the case, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the heavenly assembly standing on his right and on his left.

Elisha said, “As certainly as the Lord who rules over all ¹  lives (whom I serve), ²  if I did not respect King Jehoshaphat of Judah, ³  I would not pay attention to you or acknowledge you. ⁴ 

But Amaziah would not heed the warning, ¹  so King Jehoash of Israel attacked. ²  He and King Amaziah of Judah met face to face ³  in Beth Shemesh of Judah.

This happened because they did not obey ¹  the Lord their God and broke his agreement with them. ²  They did not pay attention to and obey all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded. ³