another band turned toward the road leading to Beth Horon; and yet another band turned toward the road leading to the border that overlooks the valley of Zeboim in the direction of the desert.

They replied to the king, “As for this man who exterminated us and who schemed against us so that we were destroyed and left without status throughout all the borders of Israel –

So they looked through all Israel ¹  for a beautiful young woman and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

Now all Moab had heard that the kings were attacking, ¹  so everyone old enough to fight was mustered and placed at the border. ² 

He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from the watchtower to the city fortress. ¹ 

These were the areas where Aaron’s descendants lived: ¹  The following belonged to the Kohathite clan, for they received the first allotment: ² 

Sounds of violence ¹  will no longer be heard in your land, or the sounds of ²  destruction and devastation within your borders. You will name your walls, ‘Deliverance,’ and your gates, ‘Praise.’

This city will not be a cooking pot for you, and you will not ¹  be meat within it; I will judge you at the border of Israel.

I am against ¹  you and your waterways. I will turn the land of Egypt into an utter desolate ruin from Migdol ²  to Syene, ³  as far as the border with Ethiopia.

“This is the law of the temple: The entire area on top of the mountain all around will be most holy. Indeed, this is the law of the temple.

You will take some of its blood, and place it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the border all around; you will cleanse it and make atonement for it. ¹ 

This is what the sovereign Lord says: “Here ¹  are the borders ²  you will observe as you allot the land to the twelve tribes of Israel. (Joseph will have two portions.) ³ 

All your allies ¹  will force ²  you from your homeland! ³  Your treaty partners ⁴  will deceive you and overpower you. Your trusted friends ⁵  will set an ambush ⁶  for ⁷  you that will take you by surprise! ⁸ 

“I have heard Moab’s taunts and the Ammonites’ insults. They ¹  taunted my people and verbally harassed those living in Judah. ² 

“The rest, on both sides of the holy allotment and the property of the city, will belong to the prince. Extending from the eight and a quarter miles ¹  of the holy allotment to the east border, and westward from the eight and a quarter miles ²  to the west border, alongside the portions, it will belong to the prince. The holy allotment and the sanctuary of the temple will be in the middle of it.

So Abraham secured ¹  Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border,

The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled down in all the territory ¹  of Egypt. It was very severe; ²  there had been no locusts like them before, nor will there be such ever again. ³ 

and the Lord turned a very strong west wind, ¹  and it picked up the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. ²  Not one locust remained in all the territory of Egypt.

I will set ¹  your boundaries from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River, ²  for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.

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.