The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? He does so ¹  to defy Israel. But the king will make the man who can strike him down very wealthy! He will give him his daughter in marriage, and he will make his father’s house exempt from tax obligations in Israel.”

“Son of man, the ones living in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land, but we are many; surely the land has been given to us for a possession.’ ¹ 

therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Surely I have spoken in the fire of my zeal against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who with great joy and utter contempt have made my land their property and prey, because of its pasture.’

They replied, ¹  “A man came up to meet us. He told us, “Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. ²  Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.”’”

“You are to say to the Israelites, ‘Any man from the Israelites or from the foreigners who reside in Israel ¹  who gives any of his children ²  to Molech ³  must be put to death; the people of the land must pelt him with stones. ⁴ 

‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, ¹  not ²  one of the men twenty years old and upward ³  who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give ⁴  to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

or with enmity he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must surely be put to death, for he is a murderer. The avenger of blood must kill the murderer when he meets him.

The Israelites asked, “Who from all the Israelite tribes has not assembled before the Lord?” They had made a solemn oath that whoever did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah must certainly be executed. ¹ 

So Achish summoned David and said to him, “As surely as the Lord lives, you are an honest man, and I am glad to have you ¹  serving ²  with me in the army. ³  I have found no fault with you from the day that you first came to me until the present time. But in the opinion ⁴  of the leaders, you are not reliable. ⁵ 

David said to him, “Don’t be afraid, because I will certainly extend kindness to you for the sake of Jonathan your father. You will be a regular guest at my table.” ¹ 

But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the Lord lives and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king is, whether dead or alive, ¹  there I ²  will be as well!”

the king summoned ¹  Shimei and said to him, “You will recall ²  that I made you take an oath by the Lord, and I solemnly warned you, ‘If you ever leave and go anywhere, ³  know for sure that you will certainly die.’ You said to me, ‘The proposal is acceptable; I agree to it.’ ⁴ 

Indeed, the coastlands ¹  look eagerly for me, the large ships ²  are in the lead, bringing your sons from far away, along with their silver and gold, to honor the Lord your God, ³  the Holy One of Israel, ⁴  for he has bestowed honor on you.

“‘For the Lord says concerning the palace of the king of Judah, “This place looks like a veritable forest of Gilead to me. It is like the wooded heights of Lebanon in my eyes. But I swear that I will make it like a wilderness whose towns have all been deserted. ¹ 

“Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets ¹  and your sons and daughters will die violently. ²  Your land will be given to others ³  and you will die in a foreign ⁴  land. Israel will certainly be carried into exile ⁵  away from its land.’”

I will indeed bless you, ¹  and I will greatly multiply ²  your descendants ³  so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession ⁴  of the strongholds ⁵  of their enemies.

Surely all the wealth that God snatched away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So now do everything God has told you.”

¹ The Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will release you from this place. When he releases you, ²  he will drive you out completely ³  from this place.

If the sun has risen on him, then there is blood guilt for him. A thief ¹  must surely make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he will be sold for his theft.

“If a man borrows an animal ¹  from his neighbor, and it is hurt or dies when its owner was not with it, the man who borrowed it ²  will surely pay.