When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister&#8217;s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob<n id="1" /> told Laban how he was related to him.<n id="2" />

<p class="bodytext">They replied, &#8220;The man questioned us<n id="1" /> thoroughly<n id="2" /> about ourselves and our family, saying, &#8216;Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?&#8217;<n id="3" /> So we answered him in this way.<n id="4" /> How could we possibly know<n id="5" /> that he would say,<n id="6" /> &#8216;Bring your brother down&#8217;?&#8221;p>

<p class="bodytext">Moses came<n id="1" /> and told the people all the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s words<n id="2" /> and all the decisions. All the people answered together,<n id="3" /> &#8220;We are willing to do<n id="4" /> all the words that the <sc>Lordsc> has said,&#8221;

So Moses took the blood and splashed it on<n id="1" /> the people and said, &#8220;This is the blood of the covenant<n id="2" /> that the <sc>Lordsc> has made with you in accordance with all these words.&#8221;p>

<t /><n id="1" /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> said to Moses, &#8220;Cut out<n id="2" /> two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write<n id="3" /> on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you smashed.

So he was there with the <sc>Lordsc> forty days and forty nights;<n id="1" /> he did not eat bread, and he did not drink water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.<n id="2" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">This is what<n id="1" /> Moses said to the assembly of Israel<n id="2" /> in the Transjordanian<n id="3" /> wastelands, the arid country opposite<n id="4" /> Suph,<n id="5" /> between<n id="6" /> Paran<n id="7" /> and Tophel,<n id="8" /> Laban,<n id="9" /> Hazeroth,<n id="10" /> and Di Zahab<n id="11" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">Again, however, pay very careful attention,<n id="1" /> lest you forget the things you have seen and disregard them for the rest of your life; instead teach them to your children and grandchildren.

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> said these things to your entire assembly at the mountain from the middle of the fire, the cloud, and the darkness with a loud voice, and that was all he said.<n id="1" /> Then he inscribed the words<n id="2" /> on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

The <sc>Lordsc> gave me the two stone tablets, written by the very finger<n id="1" /> of God, and on them was everything<n id="2" /> he<n id="3" /> said to you at the mountain from the midst of the fire at the time of that assembly.

The <sc>Lordsc><n id="1" /> then wrote on the tablets the same words,<n id="2" /> the ten commandments,<n id="3" /> which he<n id="4" /> had spoken to you at the mountain from the middle of the fire at the time of that assembly, and he<n id="5" /> gave them to me.

Pay careful attention to all these things I am commanding you so that it may always go well with you and your children after you when you do what is good and right in the sight of the <sc>Lordsc> your God.p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">&#8220;When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses<n id="1" /> I have set before you, you will reflect upon them<n id="2" /> in all the nations where the <sc>Lordsc> your God has banished you.

he said to them, &#8220;Keep in mind all the words I am solemnly proclaiming to you today; you must command your children to observe carefully all the words of this law.

<p class="bodytext">When Phinehas the priest and the community leaders and clan leaders who accompanied him heard the defense of the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites,<n id="1" /> they were satisfied.<n id="2" />

His mother&#8217;s relatives<n id="1" /> spoke on his behalf to<n id="2" /> all the leaders of Shechem and reported his proposal.<n id="3" /> The leaders were drawn to Abimelech;<n id="4" /> they said, &#8220;He is our close relative.&#8221;<n id="5" />

Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he had done formerly.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="bodytext">When David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, &#8220;Is that your voice, my son David?&#8221; Then Saul wept loudly.<n id="1" />

<p class="bodytext">Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel.<n id="1" /> When his sons came home, they told their father<n id="2" /> everything the prophet<n id="3" /> had done in Bethel that day and all the words he had spoken to the king.<n id="4" />

<p class="bodytext">After this<n id="1" /> the son of the woman who owned the house got sick. His illness was so severe he could no longer breathe.