I know that after my death you will become evil. You will turn from the way I commanded you to follow. Terrible things will happen to you in the future, because you want to do what the Lord says is wrong. You will make him angry because of the evil things you do.”

“The Lord says, ‘I am saving that punishment. I have it locked up in my storehouse!

He chose the best part for himself. He took the king’s share. The leaders of the people come to him. He did what the Lord says is good. He did what is right for the Israelites.”

“Now go and make the people pure. Tell them, ‘Make yourselves pure. Prepare for tomorrow. The Lord, the God of Israel, says that some people are keeping things that he commanded to be destroyed. You will never be able to defeat your enemies until you throw away those things.

“You must do what the Lord says. Watch me and I will give you the command to attack the city. When you have taken control of the city, burn it.”

Then Joshua spoke to all the people. He said, “I am telling you what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you: ‘A long time ago, your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River. I am talking about men like Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor. At that time they worshiped other gods.

The Lord sent a prophet to them. He said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘You were slaves in the land of Egypt. I made you free and brought you out of that land.

The Terrible Prophecy About Eli’s Family

A man of God came to Eli and said, “The Lord says, ‘I appeared to your ancestors when they were slaves of Pharaoh.

“The Lord, the God of Israel, promised that your father’s family would serve him forever. But now the Lord says, ‘That will never be! I will honor people who honor me, but bad things will happen to those who refuse to respect me.

Samuel told the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of Israel says, ‘I led Israel out of Egypt. I saved you from Egypt’s control and from the other kingdoms that tried to hurt you.’

But if you don’t listen to the Lord, if you refuse to do what the Lord says, he will be against you. The Lord will destroy you and your king.

The Lord All-Powerful says: ‘When the Israelites came out of Egypt, the Amalekites tried to stop them from going to Canaan. I saw what the Amalekites did.

“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build a house for me to live in.

“You must say this to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: I chose you while you were out in the pasture following the sheep. I took you from that job and made you the leader of my people, the Israelites.

Nathan Tells David About His Sin

Then Nathan said to David, “You are that rich man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I chose you to be the king of Israel. I saved you from Saul.

“This is what the Lord says: ‘I am bringing trouble against you. This trouble will come from your own family. I will take your wives from you and give them to someone who is very close to you. He will have sexual relations with your wives, and everyone will know it!

Maybe the Lord will see the wrong things that are happening to me and give me something good for every bad thing that Shimei says today.”

“Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: There are three ways you can be punished. Choose the one you want.’”

Benaiah went into the Lord’s Tent and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!’” But Joab answered, “No, I will die here.” Benaiah went back to the king and told him what Joab had said.

Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces of this coat for yourself because the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will tear the kingdom away from Solomon, and I will give you ten of the tribes.

Say to them, ‘The Lord says that you must not go to war against your brothers. Everyone, go home! I made all this happen.’” So all the men in Rehoboam’s army obeyed the Lord. They went home, just as the Lord had commanded.

The Lord had commanded the man of God to speak against the altar. He said, “Altar, the Lord says to you: ‘David’s family will have a son. His name will be Josiah. The priests of the high places are now burning incense on you, but Josiah will offer the priests on you and burn human bones on you, so you can never be used again!’”

Go back and tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jeroboam, I chose you from among all the Israelites. I made you the ruler of my people.

The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘That jar of flour will never be empty and the jug will always have oil in it. This will continue until the day the Lord sends rain to the land.’”

Then a prophet went to King Ahab and said, “King Ahab, the Lord says to you, ‘Do you see that great army? I will defeat that army for you today. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”