<p class="poetry">If you should pound<n id="1" /> the fool in the mortarp> <p class="poetry">among the grain<n id="2" /> with the pestle,p> <p class="poetry">his foolishness would not depart from him.<n id="3" />p>

But you must not turn away from all the commandments I am giving<n id="1" /> you today, to either the right or left, nor pursue other gods and worship<n id="2" /> them.p>

So now the sword will never depart from your house. For you have despised me by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite as your own!&#8217;

You must do what you are instructed, and the verdict they pronounce to you, without fail. Do not deviate right or left from what they tell you.

Make sure you are<n id="1" /> very strong and brave! Carefully obey<n id="2" /> all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep!<n id="3" /> Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful<n id="4" /> in all you do.<n id="5" />

<p class="bodytext">They replied, &#8220;If you are going to send the ark of<n id="1" /> the God of Israel back, don&#8217;t send it away empty. Be sure to return it with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will understand why his hand is not removed from you.&#8221;