He met ¹  with the people and appointed musicians to play before the Lord and praise his majestic splendor. As they marched ahead of the warriors they said: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his loyal love endures.” ² 

But you, Lord, know all their plots to kill me. Do not pardon their crimes! Do not ignore their sins as though you had erased them! ¹  Let them be brought down in defeat before you! Deal with them while you are still angry! ² 

So listen to what I, the Lord, have planned against Edom, what I intend to do to ¹  the people who live in Teman. ²  Their little ones will be dragged off. I will completely destroy their land because of what they have done. ³ 

So listen to what I, the Lord, have planned against Babylon, what I intend to do to the people who inhabit the land of Babylonia. ¹  Their little ones will be dragged off. I will completely destroy their land because of what they have done.

So Saul instructed his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, ¹  so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” His servants replied to him, “There is a woman who is a medium in Endor.”

Make my son Solomon willing to obey your commands, rules, and regulations, and to complete building the palace for which I have made preparations.” ¹ 

He asked them, “How do you advise me to respond to these people who said to me, ‘Lessen the demands your father placed on us’?” ¹ 

They were hiring advisers to oppose them, so as to frustrate their plans, throughout the time ¹  of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius ²  of Persia. ³ 

It so happened that when our adversaries heard that we were aware of these matters, ¹  God frustrated their intentions. Then all of us returned to the wall, each to his own work.

I considered these things carefully ¹  and then registered a complaint with the wealthy ²  and the officials. I said to them, “Each one of you is seizing the collateral ³  from your own countrymen!” ⁴  Because of them I called for ⁵  a great public assembly.

I thought to myself, ¹  “I have become much wiser ²  than any of my predecessors who ruled ³  over Jerusalem; ⁴  I ⁵  have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.” ⁶ 

For this is what the master, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: “If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered; ¹  if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength, ²  but you are unwilling.

You are tired out from listening to so much advice. ¹  Let them take their stand – the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make monthly predictions – let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake you! ² 

Jerusalem, why are you ¹  now shouting so loudly? ²  Has your king disappeared? ³  Has your wise leader ⁴  been destroyed? Is this why ⁵  pain grips ⁶  you as if you were a woman in labor?

Or what king, going out to confront another king in battle, will not sit down ¹  first and determine whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose ²  the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

So in this case I say to you, stay away from these men and leave them alone, because if this plan or this undertaking originates with people, ¹  it will come to nothing, ² 

When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed ¹  a bay ²  with a beach, ³  where they decided to run the ship aground if they could.

Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, ¹  to watch out for those who create dissensions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them!

Already you are satisfied! Already you are rich! You have become kings without us! I wish you had become kings so that we could reign with you!

Nevertheless, ¹  as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each person, so must he live. I give this sort of direction in all the churches.