The Lord decided not to do this. “It will not happen,” the Lord said.

The people regretted what had happened to Benjamin because the Lord had weakened the Israelite tribes.

The king longed to go to Absalom, for he had since been consoled over the death of Amnon.

The sons of Hodiah’s wife, the sister of Naham: the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maacathite.

In unison give a joyful shout, O ruins of Jerusalem! For the Lord consoles his people; he protects Jerusalem.

The Lord decided not to do this. The sovereign Lord said, “This will not happen either.”

Certainly the Lord will console Zion; he will console all her ruins. He will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the Garden of the Lord. Happiness and joy will be restored to her, thanksgiving and the sound of music.

Shout for joy, O sky! Rejoice, O earth! Let the mountains give a joyful shout! For the Lord consoles his people and shows compassion to the oppressed.

May that man be like the cities that the Lord destroyed without showing any mercy. May he hear a cry of distress in the morning and a battle cry at noon.

Will I deliver them from the power of Sheol? No, I will not! Will I redeem them from death? No, I will not! O Death, bring on your plagues! O Sheol, bring on your destruction! My eyes will not show any compassion!

When Pharaoh released the people, God did not lead them by the way to the land of the Philistines, although that was nearby, for God said, “Lest the people change their minds and return to Egypt when they experience war.”

Until the day he died Samuel did not see Saul again. Samuel did, however, mourn for Saul, but the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

I have listened to them very carefully, but they do not speak honestly. None of them regrets the evil he has done. None of them says, “I have done wrong!” All of them persist in their own wayward course like a horse charging recklessly into battle.