So the Lord said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant

They shouted to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!"

because we are about to destroy it. The outcry against this place is so great before the Lord that he has sent us to destroy it."

When his brother came out with his hand clutching Esau's heel, they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, "The water belongs to us!" So Isaac named the well Esek because they argued with him about it.

Then Rebekah took her older son Esau's best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob.

So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's, but the hands are Esau's."

He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau's hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob.

"These men are at peace with us. So let them live in the land and travel freely in it, for the land is wide enough for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry.

These were the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau's wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau's wife Basemath.

Timna, a concubine of Esau's son Eliphaz, bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons of Esau's wife Adah.

These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons of Esau's wife Basemath.

These were the sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon: She bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah to Esau.

These were the chiefs among the descendants of Esau, the sons of Eliphaz, Esau's firstborn: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz,

These were the sons of Esau's son Reuel: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Esau's wife Basemath.

These were the sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These were the chiefs descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.

He then said, "Look, I hear that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us so that we may live and not die."

"The elders will listen to you, and then you and the elders of Israel must go to the king of Egypt and tell him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.'

For how will it be known then that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not by your going with us, so that we will be distinguished, I and your people, from all the people who are on the face of the earth?"

This is so that the Israelites will bring their sacrifices that they are sacrificing in the open field to the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent to the priest and sacrifice them there as peace offering sacrifices to the Lord.

Then the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord that he would take away the snakes from us." So Moses prayed for the people.

It is not in heaven, as though one must say, "Who will go up to heaven to get it for us and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?"

And it is not across the sea, as though one must say, "Who will cross over to the other side of the sea and get it for us and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?"

The men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you live near us. So how can we make a treaty with you?"

When they really started celebrating, they said, "Call for Samson so he can entertain us!" So they summoned Samson from the prison and he entertained them. They made him stand between two pillars.

They said to him, "Seek a divine oracle for us, so we can know if we will be successful on our mission."

But this request displeased Samuel, for they said, "Give us a king to lead us." So Samuel prayed to the Lord.

While they were going down to the edge of town, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go on ahead of us." So he did. Samuel then said, "You remain here awhile, so I can inform you of God's message."

Then the men of the garrison said to Jonathan and his armor bearer, "Come on up to us so we can teach you a thing or two!" Then Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "Come up behind me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel!"

David was angry because the Lord attacked Uzzah; so he called that place Perez Uzzah, which remains its name to this very day.

But the soldiers replied, "You should not do this! For if we should have to make a rapid retreat, they won't be too concerned about us. Even if half of us should die, they won't be too concerned about us. But you are like ten thousand of us! So it is better if you remain in the city for support."

They replied to the king, "As for this man who exterminated us and who schemed against us so that we were destroyed and left without status throughout all the borders of Israel --

Ben Hadad accepted King Asa's offer and ordered his army commanders to attack the cities of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and all the territory of Naphtali, including the region of Kinnereth.

The rest of the events of Asa's reign, including all his successes and accomplishments, as well as a record of the cities he built, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. Yet when he was very old he developed a foot disease.

In the second year of Asa's reign over Judah, Jeroboam's son Nadab became the king of Israel; he ruled Israel for two years.

Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa's reign over Judah and replaced him as king.

In the third year of Asa's reign over Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Tirzah; he ruled for twenty-four years.

In the twenty-sixth year of King Asa's reign over Judah, Baasha's son Elah became king over Israel; he ruled in Tirzah for two years.

Zimri came in and struck him dead. (This happened in the twenty-seventh year of Asa's reign over Judah.) Zimri replaced Elah as king.

In the twenty-seventh year of Asa's reign over Judah, Zimri became king over Israel; he ruled for seven days in Tirzah. Zimri's revolt took place while the army was deployed in Gibbethon, which was in Philistine territory.

In the thirty-first year of Asa's reign over Judah, Omri became king over Israel. He ruled for twelve years, six of them in Tirzah.

In the thirty-eighth year of Asa's reign over Judah, Omri's son Ahab became king over Israel. Ahab son of Omri ruled over Israel for twenty-two years in Samaria.

In the fourth year of King Ahab's reign over Israel, Asa's son Jehoshaphat became king over Judah.

He followed in his father Asa's footsteps and was careful to do what the Lord approved. However, the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places.

The king ordered, "Go, find out where he is, so I can send some men to capture him." The king was told, "He is in Dothan."

Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of King Uzziah's reign over Judah. He reigned for one month in Samaria.

In the second year of the reign of Israel's King Pekah son of Remaliah, Uzziah's son Jotham became king over Judah.

David was angry because the Lord attacked Uzzah; so he called that place Perez Uzzah, which remains its name to this very day.

They assembled in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign.

There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.

In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign, King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah, and he established Ramah as a military outpost to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of King Asa of Judah.

Ben Hadad accepted King Asa's offer and ordered his army commanders to attack the cities of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali.

The events of Asa's reign, from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

He followed in his father Asa's footsteps and was careful to do what the Lord approved.

The rest of the events of Uzziah's reign, from start to finish, were recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.

"Now if the king is so inclined, let a search be conducted in the royal archives there in Babylon in order to determine whether King Cyrus did in fact issue orders for this temple of God to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us a decision concerning this matter."

and said to the king, "If the king is so inclined and if your servant has found favor in your sight, dispatch me to Judah, to the city with the graves of my ancestors, so that I can rebuild it."

I said to the king, "If the king is so inclined, let him give me letters for the governors of Trans-Euphrates that will enable me to travel safely until I reach Judah,

Then those in Judah said, "The strength of the laborers has failed! The debris is so great that we are unable to rebuild the wall."

If the king is so inclined, let a royal edict go forth from him, and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media that cannot be repealed, that Vashti may not come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king convey her royalty to another who is more deserving than she.

If the king is so inclined, let an edict be issued to destroy them. I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to be conveyed to the king's treasuries for the officials who carry out this business."

Esther replied, "If the king is so inclined, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him."

Queen Esther replied, "If I have met with your approval, O king, and if the king is so inclined, grant me my life as my request, and my people as my petition.

She said, "If the king is so inclined and if I have met with his approval and if the matter is agreeable to the king and if I am attractive to him, let an edict be written rescinding those recorded intentions of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, which he wrote in order to destroy the Jews who are throughout all the king's provinces.

Esther replied, "If the king is so inclined, let the Jews who are in Susa be permitted to act tomorrow also according to today's law, and let them hang the ten sons of Haman on the gallows."

"Truly, I know that this is so. But how can a human be just before God?

why it is so dark you cannot see, and why a flood of water covers you.

each one is so close to the next that no air can come between them.

The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks, "God won't hold me accountable; he doesn't care."

When the wicked sprout up like grass, and all the evildoers glisten, it is so that they may be annihilated.

Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension; it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.

So I thought to myself, "The fate of the fool will happen even to me! Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise?" So I lamented to myself, "The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless!"

In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the sovereign master seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple.

Yet the children born during your time of bereavement will say within your hearing, 'This place is too cramped for us, make room for us so we can live here.'

All your allies have abandoned you. They no longer have any concern for you. For I have attacked you like an enemy would. I have chastened you cruelly. For your wickedness is so great and your sin is so much.

Why do you complain about your injuries, that your pain is incurable? I have done all this to you because your wickedness is so great and your sin is so much.

They said to him, "Please sit down and read it to us." So Baruch sat down and read it to them.

But I will strip everything away from Esau's descendants. I will uncover their hiding places so they cannot hide. Their children, relatives, and neighbors will all be destroyed. Not one of them will be left!

(Samek) People cry to them, "Turn away! You are unclean! Turn away! Turn away! Don't touch us!" So they have fled and wander about; but the nations say, "They may not stay here any longer."

Why do you keep on forgetting us? Why do you forsake us so long?

They sacrifice on the mountaintops, and burn offerings on the hills; they sacrifice under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is so pleasant. As a result, your daughters have become cult prostitutes, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery!

At that time," the Lord says, "I will destroy the wise sages of Edom! the advisers from Esau's mountain!

Your warriors will be shattered, O Teman, so that everyone will be destroyed from Esau's mountain!

The people of the Negev will take possession of Esau's mountain, and the people of the Shephelah will take possession of the land of the Philistines. They will also take possession of the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria, and the people of Benjamin will take possession of Gilead.

Those who have been delivered will go up on Mount Zion in order to rule over Esau's mountain. Then the Lord will reign as King!

The ship's captain approached him and said, "What are you doing asleep? Get up! Cry out to your god! Perhaps your god might take notice of us so that we might not die!"

The sailors said to one another, "Come on, let's cast lots to find out whose fault it is that this disaster has overtaken us." So they cast lots, and Jonah was singled out.

and rejected Esau. I turned Esau's mountains into a deserted wasteland and gave his territory to the wild jackals."

Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.'

Then they said to him, "Who are you? Tell us so that we can give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

They replied, "You were born completely in sinfulness, and yet you presume to teach us?" So they threw him out.

that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me.

We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

But now we have been released from the law, because we have died to what controlled us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit and not under the old written code.

These things happened as examples for us, so that we will not crave evil things as they did.

For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow toward us, so also our comfort through Christ overflows to you.

Indeed we felt as if the sentence of death had been passed against us, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.

We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may be able to answer those who take pride in outward appearance and not in what is in the heart.

God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.

He died for us so that whether we are alert or asleep we will come to life together with him.