Now Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to see his mother’s relatives. ¹  He said to them and to his mother’s entire extended family, ² 

Manoah prayed to the Lord, ¹  “Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God ²  to visit ³  us again, so he can teach ⁴  us how we should raise ⁵  the child who will be born.”

So she decided to return home from the region of Moab, accompanied by her daughters-in-law, ¹  because while she was living in Moab ²  she had heard that the Lord had shown concern ³  for his people, reversing the famine by providing abundant crops. ⁴ 

(Now it used to be in Israel that whenever someone went to inquire of God he would say, “Come on, let’s go to the seer.” For today’s prophet used to be called a seer.)

You know Abner the son of Ner! Surely he came here to spy on you and to determine when you leave and when you return ¹  and to discover everything that you are doing!”

The king of Israel said to his servants, “Surely you recognize that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us, though we are hesitant to reclaim it from the king of Syria.” ¹ 

So she went to visit ¹  the prophet at Mount Carmel. When he ²  saw her at a distance, he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, it’s the Shunammite woman.

So the king told Hazael, “Take a gift ¹  and go visit the prophet. Request from him an oracle from the Lord. Ask him, ²  ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

When Jehu rejoined ¹  his master’s servants, they ²  asked him, “Is everything all right? ³  Why did this madman visit you?” He replied, “Ah, it’s not important. You know what kind of man he is and the kinds of things he says.” ⁴ 

So this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I am about to bring disaster on Jerusalem and Judah. The news will reverberate in the ears of those who hear about it. ¹ 

I will destroy Jerusalem the same way I did Samaria ¹  and the dynasty of Ahab. ²  I will wipe Jerusalem clean, just as one wipes a plate on both sides. ³ 

Hanani, who was one of my relatives, ¹  along with some of the men from Judah, came to me, ²  and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped and had survived the exile, and about Jerusalem. ³ 

You have scrutinized my inner motives; ¹  you have examined me during the night. ²  You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin. I am determined I will say nothing sinful. ³ 

At that time ¹  the Lord will punish with his destructive, ²  great, and powerful sword Leviathan the fast-moving ³  serpent, Leviathan the squirming serpent; he will kill the sea monster. ⁴ 

So I, the Lord, say this: ¹  ‘I will soon bring disaster on them which they will not be able to escape! When they cry out to me for help, I will not listen to them.

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.

What will you say ¹  when the Lord ²  appoints as rulers over you those allies that you, yourself, had actually prepared as such? ³  Then anguish and agony will grip you like that of a woman giving birth to a baby. ⁴ 

Then the Lord spoke about these people. ¹  “They truly ²  love to go astray. They cannot keep from running away from me. ³  So I am not pleased with them. I will now call to mind ⁴  the wrongs they have done ⁵  and punish them for their sins.”

“‘But when the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation ¹  for their sins. I will make the land of Babylon ²  an everlasting ruin. ³  I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁴ 

“Go to the Rechabite community. ¹  Invite them to come into one of the side rooms ²  of the Lord’s temple and offer them some wine to drink.”