Who knows? ¹  Perhaps God might be willing to change his mind and relent ²  and turn from his fierce anger ³  so that we might not die.” ⁴ 

Then ¹  comes the end, ²  when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he has brought to an end all rule and all authority and power.

and every arrogant obstacle ¹  that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey ²  Christ.

For you have heard of my former way of life ¹  in Judaism, how I was savagely persecuting the church of God and trying to destroy it.

In him you also were circumcised – not, however, ¹  with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal ²  of the fleshly body, ³  that is, ⁴  through the circumcision done by Christ.

When the angel ¹  extended his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented from his judgment. ²  He told the angel who was killing the people, “That’s enough! Stop now!” ³  (Now the Lord’s angel was near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.)

When he saw the angel who was destroying the people, David said to the Lord, “Look, it is I who have sinned and done this evil thing! As for these sheep – what have they done? Attack me and my family.” ¹ 

“If a man strikes the eye of his male servant or his female servant so that he destroys it, ¹  he will let the servant ²  go free ³  as compensation for the eye.

“If a fire breaks out and spreads ¹  to thorn bushes, ²  so that stacked grain or standing grain or the whole field is consumed, the one who started ³  the fire must surely make restitution.

This is exactly what he did for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir when he destroyed the Horites before them so that they could dispossess them and settle in their area to this very day.

The Israelites were satisfied with their report and gave thanks to God. ¹  They said nothing more about launching an attack to destroy the land in which the Reubenites and Gadites lived. ² 

They invaded the land ¹  and devoured ²  its crops ³  all the way to Gaza. They left nothing for the Israelites to eat, ⁴  and they took away ⁵  the sheep, oxen, and donkeys.

The men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, so we can execute him! ¹  He pulled down the Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole.”

They retreated before the Israelites, taking the road to the wilderness. But the battle overtook ¹  them as men from the surrounding cities struck them down. ² 

I represent the peaceful and the faithful in Israel. You are attempting to destroy an important city ¹  in Israel. Why should you swallow up the Lord’s inheritance?”

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.

All of you, gather together and listen! Who among them ¹  announced these things? The Lord’s ally ²  will carry out his desire against Babylon; he will exert his power against the Babylonians. ³ 

So I said, ¹  “Oh, my dear people, ²  put on sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with painful sobs as though you had lost your only child. For any moment now ³  that destructive army ⁴  will come against us.”

Stop oppressing foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands. ¹  Stop killing innocent people ²  in this land. Stop paying allegiance to ³  other gods. That will only bring about your ruin. ⁴ 

A destructive army ¹  will come marching over the hilltops in the desert. For the Lord will use them as his destructive weapon ²  against ³  everyone from one end of the land to the other. No one will be safe. ⁴