Then you may spend the money however you wish for cattle, sheep, wine, beer, or whatever you desire. You and your household may eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and enjoy it.

You must by all means lend ¹  to him and not be upset by doing it, ²  for because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you attempt.

You are to celebrate the festival seven days before the Lord your God in the place he ¹  chooses, for he ²  will bless you in all your productivity and in whatever you do; ³  so you will indeed rejoice!

if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this scroll of the law. But you must turn to him ¹  with your whole mind and being.

When the news reached all the kings on the west side of the Jordan ¹  – in the hill country, the lowlands, ²  and all along the Mediterranean coast ³  as far as ⁴  Lebanon (including the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites) –

But carefully obey the commands and instructions Moses the Lord’s servant gave you. Love ¹  the Lord your God, follow all his instructions, ²  obey ³  his commands, be loyal to him, ⁴  and serve him with all your heart and being!” ⁵ 

For the Lord our God took us and our fathers out of slavery ¹  in the land of Egypt ²  and performed these awesome miracles ³  before our very eyes. He continually protected us as we traveled and when we passed through nations. ⁴ 

When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords ¹  throughout ²  the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went ³  to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.

Israel has been living in Heshbon and its nearby towns, in Aroer and its nearby towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon for three hundred years! Why did you not reclaim them during that time?

But his father and mother said to him, “Certainly you can find a wife among your relatives or among all our ¹  people! You should not have to go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines.” ²  But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, ³  because she is the right one for me.” ⁴ 

After Saul had secured his royal position over Israel, he fought against all their ¹  enemies on all sides – the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. In every direction that he turned he was victorious. ² 

We will come against him wherever he happens to be found. We will descend on him like the dew falls on the ground. Neither he nor any of the men who are with him will be spared alive – not one of them!

and the Lord will fulfill his promise to me, ¹  ‘If your descendants watch their step ²  and live faithfully in my presence ³  with all their heart and being, ⁴  then,’ he promised, ⁵  ‘you will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’ ⁶ 

When they return to you with all their heart and being ¹  in the land where they are held prisoner, ²  and direct their prayers to you toward the land you gave to their ancestors, your chosen city, and the temple I built for your honor, ³ 

all the storage cities that belonged to him, ¹  and the cities where chariots and horses were kept. ²  He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom. ³ 

When they return to you with all their heart and being ¹  in the land where they are held prisoner and direct their prayers toward the land you gave to their ancestors, your chosen city, and the temple I built for your honor, ² 

and built up Baalath, all the storage cities that belonged to him, ¹  and all the cities where chariots and horses were kept. ²  He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, ³  Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom. ⁴ 

The king stood by his pillar ¹  and renewed ²  the covenant before the Lord, agreeing to follow ³  the Lord and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being, ⁴  by carrying out the terms ⁵  of this covenant recorded on this scroll.

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,

Throughout each and every province where the king’s edict and law were announced ¹  there was considerable ²  mourning among the Jews, along with fasting, weeping, and sorrow. ³  Sackcloth and ashes were characteristic ⁴  of many.