Gather the people – men, women, and children, as well as the resident foreigners in your villages – so they may hear and thus learn about and fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the words of this law.

Then the watchman saw another man running. The watchman called out to the gatekeeper, “There is another man running by himself.” The king said, “This one also is bringing good news.”

its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches. It had windows all around it; its length was 87½ feet ¹  and its width 43¾ feet. ² 

I went down ¹  to the very bottoms ²  of the mountains; ³  the gates ⁴  of the netherworld ⁵  barred me in ⁶  forever; ⁷  but you brought me ⁸  up from the Pit, ⁹  O Lord, my God.

They will rule ¹  the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod ²  with a drawn sword. ³  Our king ⁴  will rescue us from the Assyrians should they attempt to invade our land and try to set foot in our territory.

You may not eat any corpse, though you may give it to the resident foreigner who is living in your villages ¹  and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. You are a people holy to the Lord your God. Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. ² 

Then the Levites (because they have no allotment or inheritance with you), the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows of your villages may come and eat their fill so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work you do.

You shall rejoice before him ¹  – you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites in your villages, ²  the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows among you – in the place where the Lord chooses to locate his name.

If a matter is too difficult for you to judge – bloodshed, ¹  legal claim, ²  or assault ³  – matters of controversy in your villages ⁴  – you must leave there and go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. ⁵ 

and will secretly eat her afterbirth ¹  and her newborn children ²  (since she has nothing else), ³  because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict you in your villages.

Shallum son of Kore, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, and his relatives from his family (the Korahites) were assigned to guard the entrance to the sanctuary. ¹  Their ancestors had guarded the entrance to the Lord’s dwelling place. ² 

Now Jericho ¹  was shut tightly ²  because of the Israelites. No one was allowed to leave or enter. ³ 

the territory of Byblos ¹  and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal Gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo Hamath. ² 

Now, my dear, don’t worry! ¹  I intend to do for you everything you propose, ²  for everyone in the village ³  knows that you are a worthy woman. ⁴ 

They replied, “Yes, straight ahead! But hurry now, for he came to the town today, and the people are making a sacrifice at the high place.

So they went up to the town. As they were heading for the middle of the town, Samuel was coming in their direction ¹  to go up to the high place.

They seized her and took her into the precincts of the royal palace through the horses’ entrance. ¹  There she was executed.

All those selected to be gatekeepers at the entrances numbered 212. Their names were recorded in the genealogical records of their settlements. David and Samuel the prophet ¹  had appointed them to their positions. ² 

They would spend the night in their posts all around God’s sanctuary, ¹  for they were assigned to guard it and would open it with the key every morning.

This is what you must do. One third of you priests and Levites who are on duty during the Sabbath will guard the doors.