The Lord saw Israel’s intense suffering; everyone was weak and incapacitated and Israel had no deliverer.

because they have done evil in my sight and have angered me from the time their ancestors left Egypt right up to this very day!’”

The Lord was so furious with Uzzah, he killed him, because he reached out his hand and touched the ark. He died right there before God.

The priests and Levites carried the ark, the tent where God appeared to his people, and all the holy items in the tent.

Whenever the king visited the Lord’s temple, the royal guards carried them and then brought them back to the guardroom.

So when Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord relented from his anger and did not annihilate him; Judah experienced some good things.

he consulted with his advisers and military officers about stopping up the springs outside the city, and they supported him.

Let darkness and the deepest shadow claim it; let a cloud settle on it; let whatever blackens the day terrify it!

The one true God acts in a faithful manner; the Lord’s promise is reliable; he is a shield to all who take shelter in him.

May the Lord protect him and save his life! May he be blessed in the land! Do not turn him over to his enemies!

By day the Lord decrees his loyal love, and by night he gives me a song, a prayer to the living God.

I will continually thank you when you execute judgment; I will rely on you, for your loyal followers know you are good.

I am surrounded by lions; I lie down among those who want to devour me; men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are a sharp sword.

Be my protector and refuge, a stronghold where I can be safe! For you are my high ridge and my stronghold.

May he live! May they offer him gold from Sheba! May they continually pray for him! May they pronounce blessings on him all day long!

It is vain for you to rise early, come home late, and work so hard for your food. Yes, he can provide for those whom he loves even when they sleep.

The Lord avenges me. O Lord, your loyal love endures. Do not abandon those whom you have made!

All this monotony is tiresome; no one can bear to describe it: The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content with hearing.

One dead fly makes the perfumer’s ointment give off a rancid stench, so a little folly can outweigh much wisdom.

The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. They beat me, they bruised me; they took away my cloak, those watchmen on the walls!