When Abram was 99 years old, ¹  the Lord appeared to him and said, ²  “I am the sovereign God. ³  Walk ⁴  before me ⁵  and be blameless. ⁶ 

They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, ¹  Rachel went into labor ²  – and her labor was hard.

When they enter ¹  the tent of meeting, they must wash with ²  water so that they do not die. ³  Also, when they approach ⁴  the altar to minister by burning incense ⁵  as an offering made by fire ⁶  to the Lord,

For I will drive out ¹  the nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one will covet ²  your land when you go up ³  to appear before the Lord your God three times ⁴  in the year.

when it happens that he sins and he is found guilty, ¹  then he must return whatever he had stolen, or whatever he had extorted, or the thing that he had held in trust, ²  or the lost thing that he had found,

If, however, the people of the land shut their eyes ¹  to that man ²  when he gives some of his children to Molech so that they do not put him to death,

I will send the wild animals ¹  against you and they will bereave you of your children, ²  annihilate your cattle, and diminish your population ³  so that your roads will become deserted.

and your children will wander ¹  in the wilderness forty years and suffer for your unfaithfulness, ²  until your dead bodies lie finished ³  in the wilderness.

After they have been destroyed from your presence, be careful not to be ensnared like they are; do not pursue their gods and say, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do the same.”

You must follow the Lord your God and revere only him; and you must observe his commandments, obey him, serve him, and remain loyal to him.

so that they cannot teach you all the abhorrent ways they worship ¹  their gods, causing you to sin against the Lord your God.

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.

Now take your positions, so I may confront you ¹  before the Lord regarding all the Lord’s just actions toward you and your ancestors. ² 

“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do.” Samuel became angry and he cried out to the Lord all that night.

The man’s name was Nabal, ¹  and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was both wise ²  and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite.

I will become his father and he will become my son. When he sins, I will correct him with the rod of men and with wounds inflicted by human beings.

He prayed: ¹  “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You maintain covenantal loyalty ²  to your servants who obey you with sincerity. ³ 

“But if you or your sons ever turn away from me, fail to obey the regulations and rules I instructed you to keep, ¹  and decide to serve and worship other gods, ² 

He asked them, “How do you advise me ¹  to respond to these people who said to me, ‘Lessen the demands your father placed on us’?” ² 

This happened because of the sins he committed. He did evil in the sight of ¹  the Lord and followed in Jeroboam’s footsteps and encouraged Israel to continue sinning. ²