¹⁹ Now let my lord the king listen^(A) to his servant’s words. If the Lord has incited you against me, then may he accept an offering.^(B) If, however, people have done it, may they be cursed before the Lord! They have driven me today from my share in the Lord’s inheritance^(C) and have said, ‘Go, serve other gods.’^(D)

¹¹ David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son,^(A) my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to.^(B)

¹⁶ Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from God’s inheritance.’^(A)

¹⁹ We are the peaceful^(A) and faithful in Israel. You are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why do you want to swallow up the Lord’s inheritance?”^(B)

²⁵ The Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you—you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the Lord.’ So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the Lord.

²⁶ “That is why we said, ‘Let us get ready and build an altar—but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.’ ²⁷ On the contrary, it is to be a witness^(A) between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings.^(B) Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, ‘You have no share in the Lord.’

²¹ The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma^(A) and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground^(B) because of humans, even though^[a] every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.^(C) And never again will I destroy^(D) all living creatures,^(E) as I have done.

¹⁴ Alexander^(A) the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done.^(B)

¹² As for those agitators,^(A) I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

⁸ But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you,^(A) let them be under God’s curse!^{(B) 9} As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted,^(C) let them be under God’s curse!