He has selected the best part for himself, for the portion of the ruler ¹  is set aside ²  there; he came with the leaders ³  of the people, he obeyed the righteous laws of the Lord and his ordinances with Israel.

Here is what the Lord of hosts says: ‘I carefully observed how the Amalekites opposed ¹  Israel along the way when Israel ²  came up from Egypt.

Then Abner sent messengers ¹  to David saying, “To whom does the land belong? Make an agreement ²  with me, and I will do whatever I can ³  to cause all Israel to turn to you.”

The elders of his house stood over him and tried to lift him from the ground, but he was unwilling, and refused to eat food with them.

So the Lord sent a plague through Israel from the morning until the completion of the appointed time. Seventy thousand men died from Dan to Beer Sheba.

Jeroboam told his wife, “Disguise ¹  yourself so that people cannot recognize you are Jeroboam’s wife. Then go to Shiloh; Ahijah the prophet, who told me I would rule over this nation, lives there. ² 

But they did not repudiate ¹  the sinful ways of the family ²  of Jeroboam, who encouraged Israel to sin; they continued in those sins. ³  There was even an Asherah pole ⁴  standing in Samaria.

This happened because the Israelites sinned against the Lord their God, who brought them up from the land of Egypt and freed them from the power of ¹  Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped ²  other gods;

“King Manasseh of Judah has committed horrible sins. ¹  He has sinned more than the Amorites before him and has encouraged Judah to sin by worshiping his disgusting idols. ² 

Furthermore Manasseh killed so many innocent people, he stained Jerusalem with their blood from end to end, ¹  in addition to encouraging Judah to sin by doing evil in the sight of the Lord. ² 

The Lord greatly magnified Solomon before all Israel and bestowed on him greater majesty than any king of Israel before him. ¹ 

Solomon and the entire assembly went to the worship center ¹  in Gibeon, for the tent where they met God ²  was located there, which Moses the Lord’s servant had made in the wilderness.

Now, Lord God, may your promise ¹  to my father David be realized, ²  for you have made me king over a great nation as numerous as the dust of the earth.

Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus. He was the highest-ranking ¹  Jew, and he was admired by his numerous relatives. ²  He worked enthusiastically ³  for the good of his people and was an advocate for the welfare of ⁴  all his descendants. ⁵ 

Remember your people ¹  whom you acquired in ancient times, whom you rescued ²  so they could be your very own nation, ³  as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell!

From the soles of your feet to your head, there is no spot that is unharmed. ¹  There are only bruises, cuts, and open wounds. They have not been cleansed ²  or bandaged, nor have they been treated ³  with olive oil. ⁴ 

For Syria’s leader is Damascus, and the leader of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will no longer exist as a nation. ¹ 

The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father’s family a time ¹  unlike any since Ephraim departed from Judah – the king of Assyria!” ² 

You will not be buried with them, ¹  because you destroyed your land and killed your people. The offspring of the wicked will never be mentioned again.

Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? ¹