Whatever you vow, you must be careful to do what you have promised, such as what you have vowed to the Lord your God as a freewill offering.

When Joshua was very old, ¹  the Lord told him, “You are very old, and a great deal of land remains to be conquered.

Now Boaz went up ¹  to the village gate and sat there. Then along came the guardian ²  whom Boaz had mentioned to Ruth! ³  Boaz said, “Come ⁴  here and sit down, ‘John Doe’!” ⁵  So he came ⁶  and sat down.

Some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan River ¹  to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul stayed at Gilgal; the entire army that was with him was terrified.

Zadok and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. When they positioned the ark of God, Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving ¹  the city.

Next in command ¹  was Eleazar son of Dodo, ²  the son of Ahohi. He was one of the three warriors who were with David when they defied the Philistines who were assembled there for battle. When the men of Israel retreated, ³ 

When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “What can I do for you, ¹  before I am taken away from you?” Elisha answered, “May I receive a double portion of the prophetic spirit that energizes you.” ² 

Jehu drove his chariot ¹  to Jezreel, for Joram was recuperating ²  there. (Now King Ahaziah of Judah had come down to visit ³  Joram.)

During all this time I was not in Jerusalem, ¹  for in the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes of Babylon, I had gone back to the king. After some time ²  I had requested leave of the king,

For the music director; according to the sheminith style; ²  a psalm of David. Deliver, Lord! For the godly ³  have disappeared; ⁴  people of integrity ⁵  have vanished. ⁶ 

Then I confessed my sin; I no longer covered up my wrongdoing. I said, “I will confess ¹  my rebellious acts to the Lord.” And then you forgave my sins. ²  (Selah)

What they loved, ¹  as well as what they hated ²  and envied, ³  perished long ago, and they no longer have a part in anything that happens on earth. ⁴ 

Therefore my ¹  people will be deported ²  because of their lack of understanding. Their ³  leaders will have nothing to eat, ⁴  their ⁵  masses will have nothing to drink. ⁶ 

Please let the Moabite fugitives live ¹  among you. Hide them ²  from the destroyer!” Certainly ³  the one who applies pressure will cease, ⁴  the destroyer will come to an end, those who trample will disappear ⁵  from the earth.

Honesty has disappeared; the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed. The Lord watches and is displeased, ¹  for there is no justice.

Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, ¹  took captive the rest of the people who were left in the city. He carried them off to Babylon along with the people who had deserted to him. ² 

I will indeed ¹  see to it that disaster, not prosperity, happens to them. ²  All the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will die in war or from starvation until not one of them is left.

The Lord who rules over all ¹  spoke about Edom. ²  “Is wisdom no longer to be found in Teman? ³  Can Edom’s counselors not give her any good advice? ⁴  Has all of their wisdom turned bad? ⁵ 

Then she defied my regulations and my statutes, becoming more wicked than the nations ¹  and the countries around her. ²  Indeed, they ³  have rejected my regulations, and they do not follow my statutes.

Have you not copied their behavior ¹  and practiced their abominable deeds? In a short time ²  you became even more depraved in all your conduct than they were!