The king was told, “Nathan the prophet is here.” Nathan entered and bowed before the king with his face to the floor. ¹ 

King Solomon sent men to bring him down ¹  from the altar. He came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon told him, “Go home.” ² 

But they were so insistent, he became embarrassed. So he said, “Send them out.” They sent the fifty men out and they looked for three days, but could not find Elijah. ¹ 

They passed their sons and daughters through the fire, ¹  and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the Lord and made him angry. ² 

At the same time they worshiped ¹  the Lord. They appointed some of their own people to serve as priests in the shrines on the high places. ² 

The king made silver as plentiful ¹  in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was ²  as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the lowlands ³ .

So when Rehoboam ¹  humbled himself, the Lord relented from his anger and did not annihilate him; ²  Judah experienced some good things. ³ 

That day ¹  the Israelites were defeated; the men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the Lord God of their ancestors.

But then Hezekiah and the residents of Jerusalem humbled themselves and abandoned their pride, and the Lord was not angry with them for the rest of Hezekiah’s reign. ¹ 

In his pain ¹  Manasseh ²  asked the Lord his God for mercy ³  and truly ⁴  humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. ⁵ 

He did not humble himself before the Lord as his father Manasseh had done. ¹  Amon was guilty of great sin. ² 

He did evil in the sight of ¹  the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, the Lord’s spokesman.

They searched for their records in the genealogical materials, but none were found. They were therefore excluded ¹  from the priesthood.

Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people replied “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

And why do you not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust, ¹  and you will seek me diligently, ²  but I will be gone.”

Why does the wicked man reject God? ¹  He says to himself, ²  “You ³  will not hold me accountable.” ⁴ 

You give me strength ¹  for battle; you make my foes kneel before me. ² 

All of the thriving people ¹  of the earth will join the celebration and worship; ²  all those who are descending into the grave ³  will bow before him, including those who cannot preserve their lives. ⁴ 

I mourned for them as I would for a friend or my brother. ¹  I bowed down ²  in sorrow as if I were mourning for my mother. ³ 

But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together; they gathered together to ambush me. ¹  They tore at me without stopping to rest. ²