Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him; ¹  they each asked about the other’s welfare, and then they went into the tent.

“You must not bow down to their gods; you must not serve them or do according to their practices. Instead you must completely overthrow them and smash their standing stones ¹  to pieces. ² 

But Moses sought the favor ¹  of the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your anger burn against your people, whom you have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

“As for the diseased person who has the infection, ¹  his clothes must be torn, the hair of his head must be unbound, he must cover his mustache, ²  and he must call out ‘Unclean! Unclean!’

and sprinkle it seven times on the one being cleansed ¹  from the disease, pronounce him clean, ²  and send the live bird away over the open countryside. ³ 

He is to examine the infection, and if ¹  the infection in the walls of the house consists of yellowish green or reddish eruptions, ²  and it appears to be deeper than the surface of the wall, ³ 

Then he is to take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the eastern face of the atonement plate, ¹  and in front of the atonement plate he is to sprinkle some of the blood seven times with his finger. ² 

But if you are going to deal ¹  with me like this, then kill me immediately. ²  If I have found favor in your sight then do not let me see my trouble.” ³ 

The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise ¹  me, and how long will they not believe ²  in me, in spite of the signs that I have done among them?

Moreover, ¹  you have not brought us into a land that flows with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you think you can blind ²  these men? We will not come up.”

He will hand over their kings to you and you will erase their very names from memory. ¹  Nobody will be able to resist you until you destroy them.

Stand aside ¹  and I will destroy them, obliterating their very name from memory, ²  and I will make you into a stronger and more numerous nation than they are.”

When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will turn against us and destroy the very memory of us ¹  from the earth. What will you do to protect your great reputation?” ² 

When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the city was going up in smoke, ¹  they turned around and struck down the men of Ai.

The Philistines were scared because they thought that gods had come to the camp. ¹  They said, “Too bad for ²  us! We’ve never seen anything like this!

I thought, ¹  ‘Now the Philistines will come down on me at Gilgal and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt obligated ²  to offer the burnt offering.”

Now David had been thinking, ¹  “In vain I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the desert. I didn’t take anything from him. But he has repaid my good with evil.

I was with you wherever you went, and I defeated ¹  all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth. ² 

How could I ever be rid of my humiliation? And you would be considered one of the fools ¹  in Israel! Just ²  speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”

Then Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long robe she was wearing. She put her hands on her head and went on her way, wailing as she went.