20 Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace[a](A) and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose(B) from his seat,

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 3:20 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verse 24.

20 And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.

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15 I will tear down the winter house(A)
    along with the summer house;(B)
the houses adorned with ivory(C) will be destroyed
    and the mansions(D) will be demolished,(E)
declares the Lord.(F)

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15 And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the Lord.

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Israel’s Guilt and Punishment

Listen! The Lord is calling to the city—
    and to fear your name is wisdom—
    “Heed the rod(A) and the One who appointed it.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 6:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.

The Lord's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.

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Who should not fear(A) you,
    King of the nations?(B)
    This is your due.
Among all the wise leaders of the nations
    and in all their kingdoms,
    there is no one like you.

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Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.

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Psalm 29

A psalm of David.

Ascribe to the Lord,(A) you heavenly beings,(B)
    ascribe to the Lord glory(C) and strength.

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29 Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength.

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12 “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’”

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12 Go and say unto David, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.

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Nathan Rebukes David(A)

12 The Lord sent Nathan(B) to David.(C) When he came to him,(D) he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

“Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

David(E) burned with anger(F) against the man(G) and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives,(H) the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over,(I) because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!(J) This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed(K) you(L) king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you,(M) and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise(N) the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down(O) Uriah(P) the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed(Q) him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword(R) will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household(S) I am going to bring calamity on you.(T) Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight.(U) 12 You did it in secret,(V) but I will do this thing in broad daylight(W) before all Israel.’”

13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned(X) against the Lord.”

Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away(Y) your sin.(Z) You are not going to die.(AA) 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for[a] the Lord,(AB) the son born to you will die.”

15 After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck(AC) the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 12:14 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition; Masoretic Text for the enemies of

12 And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:

But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.

And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:

And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.

And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

11 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.

13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.

15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.

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19 But on reaching the stone images near Gilgal he himself went back to Eglon and said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.”

The king said to his attendants, “Leave us!” And they all left.

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19 But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.

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