Sharon ¹  will become a pasture for sheep, and the Valley of Achor ²  a place where cattle graze; ³  they will belong to my people, who seek me. ⁴ 

“‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out.

and those who turn their backs on ¹  the Lord and do not want the Lord’s help or guidance.” ² 

“And you, Solomon my son, obey ¹  the God of your father and serve him with a submissive attitude and a willing spirit, ²  for the Lord examines all minds and understands every motive of one’s thoughts. If you seek him, he will let you find him, ³  but if you abandon him, he will reject you permanently.

He said to the people of Judah: ¹  “Let’s build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates. ²  The land remains ours because we have followed ³  the Lord our God and he has made us secure on all sides.” ⁴  So they built the cities ⁵  and prospered.

¹ They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. ²  Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?” ³ 

“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and tell them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Are you coming to seek me? As surely as I live, I will not allow you to seek me, ¹  declares the sovereign Lord.’

When you present your sacrifices ¹  – when you make your sons pass through the fire – you defile yourselves with all your idols to this very day. Will I allow you to seek me, ²  O house of Israel? As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will not allow you to seek me! ³ 

But the children struggled ¹  inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” ²  So she asked the Lord, ³ 

Reuben said to them, “Didn’t I say to you, ‘Don’t sin against the boy,’ but you wouldn’t listen? So now we must pay for shedding his blood!” ¹ 

a land the Lord your God looks after. ¹  He is constantly attentive to it ²  from the beginning to the end of the year. ³ 

But you must seek only the place he ¹  chooses from all your tribes to establish his name as his place of residence, ²  and you must go there.

You must investigate thoroughly and inquire carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing is being done among you, ¹ 

When it is reported to you and you hear about it, you must investigate carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing ¹  is being done in Israel,

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

I will personally hold responsible ¹  anyone who then pays no attention to the words that prophet ²  speaks in my name.

They said to one another, ¹  “Who did this?” ²  They investigated the matter thoroughly ³  and concluded ⁴  that Gideon son of Joash had done it.

(Now it used to be in Israel that whenever someone went to inquire of God he would say, “Come on, let’s go to the seer.” For today’s prophet used to be called a seer.)

So David sent someone to inquire about the woman. The messenger ¹  said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”

So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord and did not obey the Lord’s instructions; he even tried to conjure up underworld spirits. ¹