So Moab wails over its demise ¹  – they all wail! Completely devastated, they moan about what has happened to the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth. ² 

If anyone dares to ¹  challenge you, it will not be my doing! Whoever tries to challenge you will be defeated. ² 

You will not always be angry with me, will you? You will not be mad at me forever, will you?’ ¹  That is what you say, but you continually do all the evil that you can.” ² 

“The way you have lived and the things you have done ¹  will bring this on you. This is the punishment you deserve, and it will be painful indeed. ²  The pain will be so bad it will pierce your heart.” ³ 

I will surely punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord. “I will surely bring retribution on such a nation as this!” ¹ 

“So the time will certainly come ¹  when I will punish the idols of Babylon. Her whole land will be put to shame. All her mortally wounded will collapse in her midst. ² 

Realize that it is coming and it will be done, declares the sovereign Lord. It is the day I have spoken about.

The company of priests is like a gang of robbers, lying in ambush to pounce on a victim. They commit murder on the road to Shechem; they have done heinous crimes!

Very soon they will say, “We have no king since we did not fear the Lord. But what can a king do for us anyway?”

He had one left, his one dear son. ¹  Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

And after about an hour still another insisted, ¹  “Certainly this man was with him, because he too is a Galilean.” ² 

For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God.” ¹ 

As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine ¹  will not be stopped ²  in the regions of Achaia.

But the servant said to him, “Look, there is a man of God in this town. He is highly respected. Everything that he says really happens. ¹  Now let’s go there. Perhaps he will tell us where we should go from here.” ² 

But the army said to Saul, “Should Jonathan, who won this great victory in Israel, die? May it never be! As surely as the Lord lives, not a single hair of his head will fall to the ground! For it is with the help of God that he has acted today.” So the army rescued Jonathan from death. ¹ 

“Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live, it is the Lord who has kept you from shedding blood and taking matters into your own hands. Now may your enemies and those who seek to harm my lord be like Nabal.

She replied, “In that case, ¹  let the king invoke the name of ²  the Lord your God so that the avenger of blood may not kill! Then they will not destroy my son!” He replied, “As surely as the Lord lives, not a single hair of your son’s head ³  will fall to the ground.”

David then sent out the army – a third under the leadership of Joab, a third under the leadership of Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under the leadership of Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the troops, “I too will indeed march out with you.”

Look, ¹  you have instructed ²  many; you have strengthened ³  feeble hands. ⁴ 

“Now then, be good enough to look ¹  at me; ²  and I will not ³  lie to your face!