There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets Moses had placed there in Horeb. ¹  (It was there that ²  the Lord made an agreement with the Israelites after he brought them out of the land of Egypt.)

The priests left the holy place. ¹  All the priests who participated had consecrated themselves, no matter which division they represented. ² 

and prayed: ¹  “O Lord God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven or on earth! You maintain covenantal loyalty ²  to your servants who obey you with sincerity. ³ 

In those days ¹  no one could travel safely, ²  for total chaos had overtaken all the people of the surrounding lands. ³ 

Respect the Lord and make careful decisions, for the Lord our God disapproves of injustice, partiality, and bribery.” ¹ 

“The time will come when your people ¹  will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry at them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their land, whether far away or close by.

All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time. ¹ 

Micaiah ¹  replied, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd. Then the Lord said, ‘They have no master. They should go home in peace.’”

Our God, will you not judge them? For we are powerless against this huge army that attacks us! We don’t know what we should do; we look to you for help.” ¹ 

But a prophet ¹  visited him and said: “O king, the Israelite troops must not go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel or any of the Ephraimites. ² 

The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, manned their posts, as prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s prophet. ¹  The guards at the various gates did not need to leave their posts, for their fellow Levites made preparations for them.

Asa prayed ¹  to the Lord his God: “O Lord, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered. ²  Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army. ³  O Lord our God, don’t let men prevail against you!” ⁴ 

He told the Levites, who instructed all Israel about things consecrated to the Lord, “Place the holy ark in the temple which King Solomon son of David of Israel built. Don’t carry it on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel!