But in the same way every faithful promise the Lord your God made to you has been realized, ¹  it is just as certain, if you disobey, that the Lord will bring on you every judgment ²  until he destroys you from this good land which the Lord your God gave you.

Look, I am putting a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece, and the ground around it ¹  is dry, then I will be sure ²  that you will use me to deliver Israel, ³  as you promised.”

They replied, “If you are going to send the ark of ¹  the God of Israel back, don’t send it away empty. Be sure to return it with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will understand why his hand is not removed from you.”

Then the cows went directly on the road to Beth Shemesh. They went along, mooing as they went; they turned neither to the right nor to the left. The leaders of the Philistines were walking along behind them all the way to the border of Beth Shemesh.

When you enter the town, you can find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people won’t eat until he arrives, for he must bless the sacrifice. Once that happens, those who have been invited will eat. Now go on up, for ¹  this is the time when you can find him!”

If you fear the Lord, serving him and obeying him ¹  and not rebelling against what he says, ²  and if both you and the king who rules over you follow the Lord your God, all will be well. ³ 

Jonathan ¹  said to him, “By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing ²  large or small without making me aware of it. ³  Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won’t happen!”

Hushai went on to say, “You know your father and his men – they are soldiers and are as dangerous as a bear out in the wild that has been robbed of her cubs. ¹  Your father is an experienced soldier; he will not stay overnight with the army.

Certainly my master is aware of what I did ¹  when Jezebel was killing the Lord’s prophets. I hid one hundred of the Lord’s prophets in two caves in two groups of fifty and I brought them food and water.

The seventh time the servant ¹  said, “Look, a small cloud, the size of the palm of a man’s hand, is rising up from the sea.” Elijah ²  then said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up the chariots and go down, so that the rain won’t overtake you.’” ³ 

Muster an army like the one you lost, with the same number of horses and chariots. ¹  Then we will fight them in the plains; we will certainly overpower them.” He approved their plan and did as they advised. ² 

So the prophet ¹  said to him, “Because you have disobeyed the Lord, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you.” When he left him, a lion attacked and killed him.

Now the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the prophets are in complete agreement that the king will succeed. ¹  Your words must agree with theirs; you must predict success.” ² 

Naaman went away angry. He said, “Look, I thought for sure he would come out, stand there, invoke the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the area, and cure the skin disease.

He and his entire entourage returned to the prophet. Naaman ¹  came and stood before him. He said, “For sure ²  I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel! Now, please accept a gift from your servant.”

One of his advisers replied, “Pick some men and have them take five of the horses that are left in the city. (Even if they are killed, their fate will be no different than that of all the Israelite people – we’re all going to die!) ¹  Let’s send them out so we can know for sure what’s going on.” ² 

The king asked the woman about it, and she gave him the details. ¹  The king assigned a eunuch to take care of her request and ordered him, ²  “Give her back everything she owns, as well as the amount of crops her field produced from the day she left the land until now.”

‘“Know for sure that I saw the shed blood of Naboth and his sons yesterday,” says the Lord, “and that I will give you what you deserve right here in this plot of land,” ¹  says the Lord.’ So now pick him up and throw him into this plot of land, just as the Lord said.” ² 

“And you, Solomon my son, obey ¹  the God of your father and serve him with a submissive attitude and a willing spirit, ²  for the Lord examines all minds and understands every motive of one’s thoughts. If you seek him, he will let you find him, ³  but if you abandon him, he will reject you permanently.

You will report to Amariah the chief priest in all matters pertaining to the Lord’s law, and to Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the family of Judah, in all matters pertaining to the king. ¹  The Levites will serve as officials before you. Confidently carry out your duties! ²  May the Lord be with those who do well!”