<p class="poetry">The wild animals of the desert honor me,p> <p class="poetry">the jackals and ostriches,p> <p class="poetry">because I put water in the desertp> <p class="poetry">and streams in the wilderness,p> <p class="poetry">to quench the thirst of my chosen people,p>

<p class="poetry">You did not bring me lambs for your burnt offerings;p> <p class="poetry">you did not honor me with your sacrifices.p> <p class="poetry">I did not burden you with offerings;p> <p class="poetry">I did not make you weary by demanding<n id="1" /> incense.p>

<p class="poetry">I was angry at my people;p> <p class="poetry">I defiled my special possessionp> <p class="poetry">and handed them over to you.p> <p class="poetry">You showed them no mercy;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">you even placed a very heavy burden on old people.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">The splendor of Lebanon will come to you,p> <p class="poetry">its evergreens, firs, and cypresses together,p> <p class="poetry">to beautify my palace;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">I will bestow honor on my throne room.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Hear the word of the <sc>Lordsc>,p> <p class="poetry">you who respect what he has to say!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Your countrymen,<n id="2" /> who hate youp> <p class="poetry">and exclude you, supposedly for the sake of my name,p> <p class="poetry">say, &#8220;May the <sc>Lordsc> be glorified,p> <p class="poetry">then we will witness your joy.&#8221;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">But they will be put to shame.p>

<p class="lamhebrew">&#1495; (<i>Kheti>)p> <p class="poetry">Jerusalem committed terrible sin;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">therefore she became an object of scorn.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">All who admired<n id="3" /> her have despised her<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">because they have seen her nakedness.<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">She groans aloud<n id="6" />p> <p class="poetry">and turns away in shame.<n id="7" />p>

<t /><n id="1" /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> said<n id="2" /> to Moses, &#8220;Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display<n id="3" /> these signs of mine before him,<n id="4" />

Honor<n id="1" /> your father and your mother just as the <sc>Lordsc> your God has commanded you to do, so that your days may be extended and that it may go well with you in the land that he<n id="2" /> is about to give you.

<t /><p class="bodytext">&#8220;If you refuse to obey<n id="1" /> all the words of this law, the things written in this scroll, and refuse to fear this glorious and awesome name, the <sc>Lordsc> your God,

So they assembled<n id="1" /> all the leaders of the Philistines and said, &#8220;Get the ark of the God of Israel out of here! Let it go back to its own place so that it won&#8217;t kill us<n id="2" /> and our<n id="3" /> people!&#8221; The terror<n id="4" /> of death was throughout the entire city; God was attacking them very severely there.<n id="5" />

But the servant said to him, &#8220;Look, there is a man of God in this town. He is highly respected. Everything that he says really happens.<n id="1" /> Now let&#8217;s go there. Perhaps he will tell us where we should go from here.&#8221;<n id="2" />

When David went home to pronounce a blessing on his own house,<n id="1" /> Michal, Saul&#8217;s daughter, came out to meet him.<n id="2" /> She said, &#8220;How the king of Israel has distinguished<n id="3" /> himself this day! He has exposed himself today before his servants&#8217; slave girls the way a vulgar fool<n id="4" /> might do!&#8221;p>

the Ammonite officials said to their lord Hanun, &#8220;Do you really think David is trying to honor your father by sending these messengers to express his sympathy?<n id="1" /> No, David has sent his servants to you to get information about the city and spy on it so they can overthrow it!&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

<p class="bodytext">But the king said to Absalom, &#8220;No, my son. We shouldn&#8217;t all go. We shouldn&#8217;t burden you in that way.&#8221; Though Absalom<n id="1" /> pressed<n id="2" /> him, the king<n id="3" /> was not willing to go. Instead, David<n id="4" /> blessed him.p>

When he would shave his head &#8211; at the end of every year he used to shave his head, for it grew too long<n id="1" /> and he would shave it &#8211; he used to weigh the hair of his head at three pounds<n id="2" /> according to the king&#8217;s weight.

The young advisers with whom Rehoboam<n id="1" /> had grown up said to him, &#8220;Say this to these people who have said to you, &#8216;Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden.&#8217;<n id="2" /> Say this to them: &#8216;I am a lot harsher than my father!<n id="3" />

and followed<n id="1" /> the advice of the younger ones. He said, &#8220;My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier.<n id="2" /> My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.&#8221;<n id="3" />

the Ammonite officials said to Hanun, &#8220;Do you really think David is trying to honor your father by sending these messengers to express his sympathy?<n id="1" /> No, his servants have come to you so they can get information and spy out the land!&#8221;<n id="2" />

The young advisers with whom Rehoboam<n id="1" /> had grown up said to him, &#8220;Say this to these people who have said to you, &#8216;Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden&#8217;<n id="2" /> &#8211; say this to them: &#8216;I am a lot harsher than my father!<n id="3" />

But the former governors who preceded me had burdened the people and had taken food and wine from them, in addition to<n id="1" /> forty shekels of silver. Their associates were also domineering over the people. But I did not behave in this way, due to my fear of God.