<t /><p class="bodytext">An adversary<n id="1" /> opposed<n id="2" /> Israel, inciting David to count how many warriors Israel had.<n id="3" />

<p class="poetry">And surely, he drew you<n id="1" /> from the mouth of distress,p> <p class="poetry">to a wide place, unrestricted,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and to the comfort<n id="3" /> of your tablep> <p class="poetry">filled with rich food.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">Be careful that<n id="1" /> no one entices you with riches;p> <p class="poetry">do not let a large bribe<n id="2" /> turn you aside.p>

<p class="bodytext">One time Acsah<n id="1" /> came and charmed her father<n id="2" /> so that she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, &#8220;What would you like?&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">One time Acsah<n id="1" /> came and charmed her father<n id="2" /> so she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, &#8220;What would you like?&#8221;

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s anger again raged against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, &#8220;Go count Israel and Judah.&#8221;<n id="1" />

(There had never been anyone like Ahab, who was firmly committed<n id="1" /> to doing evil in the sight of<n id="2" /> the <sc>Lordsc>, urged on by his wife Jezebel.<n id="3" />

Hezekiah says, &#8220;The <sc>Lordsc> our God will rescue us from the power<n id="1" /> of the king of Assyria.&#8221; But he is misleading you and you will die of hunger and thirst!<n id="2" />

Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, &#8220;The <sc>Lordsc> will rescue us.&#8221; Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria?<n id="1" />

But Baruch son of Neriah is stirring you up against us.<n id="1" /> He wants to hand us over<n id="2" /> to the Babylonians<n id="3" /> so that they will kill us or carry us off into exile in Babylon.&#8221;

<t /><p class="bodytext">Suppose your own full brother,<n id="1" /> your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend should seduce you secretly and encourage you to go and serve other gods<n id="2" /> that neither you nor your ancestors<n id="3" /> have previously known,<n id="4" />

until I come and take you to a land just like your own &#8211; a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Then you will live and not die. Don&#8217;t listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, &#8220;The <sc>Lordsc> will rescue us.&#8221;

and after several years<n id="1" /> went down to visit<n id="2" /> Ahab in Samaria.<n id="3" /> Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle to honor Jehoshaphat and those who came with him.<n id="4" /> He persuaded him to join in an attack<n id="5" /> against Ramoth Gilead.

When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, &#8220;He must be the king of Israel!&#8221; So they turned and attacked him, but Jehoshaphat cried out. The <sc>Lordsc> helped him; God lured them away from him.

Then the <sc>Lordsc> said to Satan, &#8220;Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil. And he still holds firmly<n id="1" /> to his integrity,<n id="2" /> so that<n id="3" /> you stirred me up to destroy him<n id="4" /> without reason.&#8221;<n id="5" />p>

All the women who are left in the royal palace of Judah will be led out to the officers of the king of Babylon. They will taunt you saying,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;Your trusted friends misled you;p> <p class="poetry">they have gotten the best of you.p> <p class="poetry">Now that your feet are stuck in the mud,p> <p class="poetry">they have turned their backs on you.&#8217;<n id="2" />p>

So let my lord the king now listen to the words of his servant. If the <sc>Lordsc> has incited you against me, may he take delight in<n id="1" /> an offering. But if men have instigated this,<n id="2" /> may they be cursed before the <sc>Lordsc>! For they have driven me away this day from being united with the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s inheritance, saying, &#8216;Go on, serve other gods!&#8217;

Now don&#8217;t let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this. Don&#8217;t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my power or the power of my predecessors. So how<n id="1" /> can your gods rescue<n id="2" /> you from my power?&#8217;&#8221;p>