¹⁷ Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, that they should be the Lord’s people; also between the king and the people.^(A)

³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.^(A)

¹² They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and with all their soul,^{(A) 13} and whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman.^{(B) 14} They took an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns.

³¹ The king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord, keeping his commandments, his decrees, and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.^(A)

²⁵ So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.^(A)

³ So now let us make a covenant with our God to send away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the law.^(A)

¹⁰ Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger may turn away from us.^(A)

²⁵ Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people back to their homes.^(A)

⁵ and not as we expected. Instead, they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us,

Being Subject to Authorities

13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God.^{(A) 2} Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval,^{(B) 4} for it is God’s agent for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority^[a] does not bear the sword in vain! It is the agent of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience.^{(C) 6} For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s agents, busy with this very thing.