He divided the three hundred men into three units. He gave them all trumpets and empty jars with torches inside them.

All three units blew their trumpets and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right. Then they yelled, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”

The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines for forty years.

They said to him, “We have come down to take you prisoner so we can hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Promise me you will not kill me.”

“But they forgot the Lord their God, so he gave them into the hand of Sisera, the general in command of Hazor’s army, and into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.

So Saul asked God, “Should I go down after the Philistines? Will you deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But he did not answer him that day.

So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a container of wine, and a young goat and sent them to Saul with his son David.

David prevailed over the Philistine with just the sling and the stone. He struck down the Philistine and killed him. David did not even have a sword in his hand.

Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing the lyre.

David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul’s hand?” The Lord said, “They will deliver you over.”

The Lord rewards each man for his integrity and loyalty. Even though today the Lord delivered you into my hand, I was not willing to extend my hand against the Lord’s chosen one.

David said to Gad, “I am very upset! I prefer that we be attacked by the Lord, for his mercy is great; I do not want to be attacked by men!”

The king then gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada who went and executed Shimei. So Solomon took firm control of the kingdom.

All Israel buried him and mourned for him, just as the Lord had predicted through his servant the prophet Ahijah.

Zimri destroyed Baasha’s entire family, just as the Lord had predicted to Baasha through Jehu the prophet.

The jar of flour was never empty and the jug of oil never ran out, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.

All the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “Attack Ramoth Gilead! You will succeed; the Lord will hand it over to the king.”

The king of Israel said, “Oh no! Certainly the Lord has summoned these three kings so that he can hand them over to the king of Moab!”

The Lord was furious with Israel and handed them over to King Hazael of Syria and to Hazael’s son Ben Hadad for many years.

The Lord had not decreed that he would blot out Israel’s memory from under heaven, so he delivered them through Jeroboam son of Joash.