You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict.

A single witness may not testify ¹  against another person for any trespass or sin that he commits. A matter may be legally established ²  only on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

Any man who rebels against what you say and does not obey all your commands will be executed. ¹  But ²  be strong and brave!”

Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying, “Why have ¹  you come against me to attack my land?”

The Lord’s messenger said to him, “You should not ask me my name, because you cannot comprehend it.” ¹ 

She nagged him ¹  every day and pressured him until he was sick to death of it. ² 

The residents of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark ¹  go up from here?”

So they inquired again of the Lord, “Has the man arrived here yet?” The Lord said, “He has hidden himself among the equipment.” ¹ 

So David asked the Lord, “Should I go and strike down these Philistines?” The Lord said to David, “Go, strike down the Philistines and deliver Keilah.”

So David asked the Lord once again. But again the Lord replied, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.”

Samuel said, “Why are you asking me, now that the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy?

Who will listen to you in this matter? The portion of the one who went down into the battle will be the same as the portion of the one who remained with the equipment! Let their portions be the same!”

But Amnon became frustrated because he was so lovesick ¹  over his sister Tamar. For she was a virgin, and to Amnon it seemed out of the question to do anything to her.

Absalom would then say, “If only they would make me ¹  a judge in the land! Then everyone who had a judicial complaint ²  could come to me and I would make sure he receives a just settlement.”

She said, “In the past they would always say, ‘Let them inquire in Abel,’ and that is how they settled things.

He said, “Why do you want to go see him today? It is not the new moon ¹  or the Sabbath.” She said, “Everything’s fine.” ² 

he consulted with his advisers and military officers about stopping up the springs ¹  outside the city, and they supported him.

But God was watching over ¹  the elders of Judah, and they were not stopped ²  until a report could be dispatched ³  to Darius and a letter could be sent back concerning this.

We inquired of those elders, asking them, ‘Who gave you the authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?’

Hanani, who was one of my relatives, ¹  along with some of the men from Judah, came to me, ²  and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped and had survived the exile, and about Jerusalem. ³