The rest ¹  turned and ran toward the wilderness, heading toward the cliff of Rimmon. But the Israelites ²  caught ³  five thousand of them on the main roads. They stayed right on their heels ⁴  all the way to Gidom and struck down two thousand more.

So I am legally informing you: ¹  Acquire it before those sitting here and before the leaders of my people! ²  If you want to exercise your right to redeem it, then do so. ³  But if not, then tell me ⁴  so I will know. ⁵  For you possess the first option to redeem it; I am next in line after you.” ⁶  He replied, “I will redeem it.”

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.

So Saul said to his servant, “All right, ¹  we can go. But what can we bring the man, since the food in our bags is used up? We have no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?”

But Asahel ¹  refused to turn aside. So Abner struck him in the abdomen with the back end of his ²  spear. The spear came out his back; Asahel ³  collapsed on the spot and died there right before Abner. ⁴  Everyone who now comes to the place where Asahel fell dead pauses in respect. ⁵ 

This is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to bring disaster on you ¹  from inside your own household! ²  Right before your eyes I will take your wives and hand them over to your companion. ³  He will have sexual relations with ⁴  your wives in broad daylight! ⁵ 

So your servant said, ‘May the word of my lord the king be my security, for my lord the king is like the angel of God when it comes to deciding between right and wrong! May the Lord your God be with you!’”

The king said, “Did Joab put you up to all of this?” ¹  The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, there is no deviation to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has said. For your servant Joab gave me instructions. He has put all these words in your servant’s mouth.

You seem to love your enemies and hate your friends! For you have as much as declared today that leaders and servants don’t matter to you. I realize now ¹  that if ²  Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, ³  it would be all right with you.

So get up now and go out and give some encouragement to ¹  your servants. For I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out there, not a single man will stay here with you tonight! This disaster will be worse for you than any disaster that has overtaken you from your youth right to the present time!”

So Bathsheba visited King Solomon to speak to him on Adonijah’s behalf. The king got up to greet ¹  her, bowed to her, and then sat on his throne. He ordered a throne to be brought for the king’s mother, ²  and she sat at his right hand.

May the Lord your God be praised because he favored ¹  you by placing you on the throne of Israel! Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he made you king so you could make just and right decisions.” ² 

He replied, “Do not strike them down! You did not capture them with your sword or bow, so what gives you the right to strike them down? ¹  Give them some food and water, so they can eat and drink and then go back to their master.”

Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the community leaders. ¹  The king ²  sent a messenger on ahead, but before he arrived, ³  Elisha ⁴  said to the leaders, ⁵  “Do you realize this assassin intends to cut off my head?” ⁶  Look, when the messenger arrives, shut the door and lean against it. His master will certainly be right behind him.” ⁷ 

An officer who was the king’s right-hand man ¹  responded to the prophet, ²  “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” ³  Elisha ⁴  said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” ⁵ 

Then they said to one another, “It’s not right what we’re doing! This is a day to celebrate, but we haven’t told anyone. ¹  If we wait until dawn, ²  we’ll be punished. ³  So come on, let’s go and inform the royal palace.”

Now the king had placed the officer who was his right-hand man ¹  at the city gate. When the people rushed out, they trampled him to death in the gate. ²  This fulfilled the prophet’s word which he had spoken when the king tried to arrest him. ³ 

When Jehu rejoined ¹  his master’s servants, they ²  asked him, “Is everything all right? ³  Why did this madman visit you?” He replied, “Ah, it’s not important. You know what kind of man he is and the kinds of things he says.” ⁴ 

‘“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 

Jehoiada the priest took a chest and drilled a hole in its lid. He placed it on the right side of the altar near the entrance of ¹  the Lord’s temple. The priests who guarded the entrance would put into it all the silver brought to the Lord’s temple.