The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land; must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?”

But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.”

I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’

Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and rode upon the camels and followed the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him for seven days and followed close after him into the hill country of Gilead.

He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you meet him,

and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of that famine which will follow, for it will be very grievous.

When they had gone but a short distance from the city, Joseph said to his steward, “Up, follow after the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you returned evil for good? Why have you stolen my silver cup?

To his father he sent as follows: ten asses loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten she-asses loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey.

And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year, and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent; and the herds of cattle are my lord’s; there is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.

And all these your servants shall come down to me, and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get you out, and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.

The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not so much as one of them remained.

“When men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no harm follows, the one who hurt her shall be fined, according as the woman’s husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life,

You shall not follow a multitude to do evil; nor shall you bear witness in a suit, turning aside after a multitude, so as to pervert justice;

then I will set my face against that man and against his family, and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in playing the harlot after Molech.

But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

For there the Amal′ekites and the Canaanites are before you, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned back from following the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.”

and it shall be to you a tassel to look upon and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to go after wantonly.

Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abi′ram; and the elders of Israel followed him.

‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me;

none except Caleb the son of Jephun′neh the Ken′izzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord.’

For if you turn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness; and you will destroy all this people.”

except Caleb the son of Jephun′neh; he shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land upon which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the Lord!’

Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at Ba′al-pe′or; for the Lord your God destroyed from among you all the men who followed the Ba′al of Pe′or;

For they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods; then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.

and what he did to Dathan and Abi′ram the sons of Eli′ab, son of Reuben; how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the midst of all Israel;

take heed that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do likewise.’

Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God gives you.

Child-Sacrifice, Divination, and Magic Prohibited

“When you come into the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations.

Yea, he loved his people; all those consecrated to him were in his hand; so they followed in thy steps, receiving direction from thee,

and commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it,

And as Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the Lord following them.

But my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God.

And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children for ever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’

So Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephun′neh the Ken′izzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel.

The territory of the E′phraimites by their families was as follows: the boundary of their inheritance on the east was At′aroth-ad′dar as far as Upper Beth-hor′on,

So by command of the Lord the people of Israel gave to the Levites the following cities and pasture lands out of their inheritance.

Out of the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Simeon they gave the following cities mentioned by name,

“Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, ‘What is this treachery which you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away this day from following the Lord, by building yourselves an altar this day in rebellion against the Lord?

that you must turn away this day from following the Lord? And if you rebel against the Lord today he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel tomorrow.

for building an altar to turn away from following the Lord; or if we did so to offer burnt offerings or cereal offerings or peace offerings on it, may the Lord himself take vengeance.

Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord, and turn away this day from following the Lord by building an altar for burnt offering, cereal offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle!”

And he said to them, “Follow after me; for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him, and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, and allowed not a man to pass over.

And Deb′orah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sis′era into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

From E′phraim they set out thither into the valley, following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen; from Machir marched down the commanders, and from Zeb′ulun those who bear the marshal’s staff;

But the Spirit of the Lord took possession of Gideon; and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiez′rites were called out to follow him.

And he sent messengers throughout all Manas′seh; and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asher, Zeb′ulun, and Naph′tali; and they went up to meet them.

So he said to the men of Succoth, “Pray, give loaves of bread to the people who follow me; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmun′na, the kings of Mid′ian.”

And his mother’s kinsmen spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the men of Shechem; and their hearts inclined to follow Abim′elech, for they said, “He is our brother.”

And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Ba′al-be′rith with which Abim′elech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him.

On the following day the men went out into the fields. And Abim′elech was told.

So every one of the people cut down his bundle and following Abim′elech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about a thousand men and women.

But Ruth said, “Entreat me not to leave you or to return from following you; for where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God;

If you will fear the Lord and serve him and hearken to his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well;

And Samuel said to the people, “Fear not; you have done all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart;

or crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

Likewise, when all the men of Israel who had hid themselves in the hill country of E′phraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed hard after them in the battle.

“I repent that I have made Saul king; for he has turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry; and he cried to the Lord all night.

The three eldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle; and the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eli′ab the first-born, and next to him Abin′adab, and the third Shammah.

David was the youngest; the three eldest followed Saul,

David and His Followers at Adullam

David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him.

David Spares Saul’s Life

When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-ge′di.”

And now let this present which your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord.

Then David came to the two hundred men, who had been too exhausted to follow David, and who had been left at the brook Besor; and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him; and when David drew near to the people he saluted them.

Ish-bo′sheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.

and As′ahel pursued Abner, and as he went he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.

Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and seize one of the young men, and take his spoil.” But As′ahel would not turn aside from following him.

And Abner said again to As′ahel, “Turn aside from following me; why should I smite you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother Jo′ab?”

Then David said to Jo′ab and to all the people who were with him, “Rend your clothes, and gird on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David followed the bier.

Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel;

Then David said to Uri′ah, “Go down to your house, and wash your feet.” And Uri′ah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king.

And all his servants passed by him; and all the Cher′ethites, and all the Pel′ethites, and all the six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath, passed on before the king.

Behold, even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits, or in some other place. And when some of the people fall at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Ab′salom.’

When Ahith′ophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and went off home to his own city. And he set his house in order, and hanged himself; and he died, and was buried in the tomb of his father.

So all the men of Israel withdrew from David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

And one of Jo′ab’s men took his stand by Ama′sa, and said, “Whoever favors Jo′ab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Jo′ab.”

And Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of Beth-ma′acah; and all the Bichrites assembled, and followed him in.

He conferred with Jo′ab the son of Zeru′iah and with Abi′athar the priest; and they followed Adoni′jah and helped him.

But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them,

So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done.

And when all Israel heard that Jerobo′am had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.

and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you; and yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments, and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes,

Fourth Dynasty: Omri Reigns over Israel

Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts; half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri.

But the people who followed Omri overcame the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath; so Tibni died, and Omri became king.

And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel; but you have, and your father’s house, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and followed the Ba′als.

And Eli′jah came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Ba′al, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.

And he left the oxen, and ran after Eli′jah, and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?”

And he returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Eli′jah, and ministered to him.

Ben-ha′dad sent to him and said, “The gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samar′ia shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”

So these went out of the city, the servants of the governors of the districts, and the army which followed them.

So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. And when they had made a circuitous march of seven days, there was no water for the army or for the beasts which followed them.

But the woman conceived, and she bore a son about that time the following spring, as Eli′sha had said to her.

Then the mother of the child said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her.

So Geha′zi followed Na′aman. And when Na′aman saw some one running after him, he alighted from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?”

And Eli′sha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city; follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samar′ia.

Then Jehoi′ada the priest commanded the captains who were set over the army, “Bring her out between the ranks; and slay with the sword any one who follows her.” For the priest said, “Let her not be slain in the house of the Lord.”

He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins of Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from them.

They despised his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and the warnings which he gave them. They went after false idols, and became false, and they followed the nations that were round about them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them.

When he had torn Israel from the house of David they made Jerobo′am the son of Nebat king. And Jerobo′am drove Israel from following the Lord and made them commit great sin.

To this day they do according to the former manner. They do not fear the Lord, and they do not follow the statutes or the ordinances or the law or the commandment which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel.

For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses.

David’s Followers in the Wilderness

Now these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he could not move about freely because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men who helped him in war.

Now therefore thus shall you say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel;

He even followed their counsel, and went with Jeho′ram the son of Ahab king of Israel to make war against Haz′ael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead. And the Syrians wounded Joram,

Then Jehoi′ada the priest brought out the captains who were set over the army, saying to them, “Bring her out between the ranks; any one who follows her is to be slain with the sword.” For the priest said, “Do not slay her in the house of the Lord.”

And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord according to all that his father Uzzi′ah had done—only he did not invade the temple of the Lord. But the people still followed corrupt practices.

And Josi′ah took away all the abominations from all the territory that belonged to the people of Israel, and made all who were in Israel serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord the God of their fathers.

Prepare yourselves according to your fathers’ houses by your divisions, following the directions of David king of Israel and the directions of Solomon his son.

All the leading priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations; and they polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.

The following were those who came up from Tel-me′lah, Tel-har′sha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, though they could not prove their fathers’ houses or their descent, whether they belonged to Israel:

Rehum the commander and Shim′shai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Ar-ta-xerx′es the king as follows—

they sent him a report, in which was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace.

So neither I nor my brethren nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon in his hand.

The following were those who came up from Tel-me′lah, Tel-har′sha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove their fathers’ houses nor their descent, whether they belonged to Israel:

The other company of those who gave thanks went to the left, and I followed them with half of the people, upon the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall,

The clods of the valley are sweet to him; all men follow after him, and those who go before him are innumerable.

because they turned aside from following him, and had no regard for any of his ways,

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Those who render me evil for good are my adversaries because I follow after good.

So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.

for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol;

All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast

He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits has no sense.

He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

If you do not know, O fairest among women, follow in the tracks of the flock, and pasture your kids beside the shepherds’ tents.

Thus says the Lord: “The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabe′ans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours, they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying: ‘God is with you only, and there is no other, no god besides him.’”

transgressing, and denying the Lord, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.

I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices;

“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, says the Lord.

“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord, I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.

At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart.

“‘I thought how I would set you among my sons, and give you a pleasant land, a heritage most beauteous of all nations. And I thought you would call me, My Father, and would not turn from following me.

Disaster follows hard on disaster, the whole land is laid waste. Suddenly my tents are destroyed, my curtains in a moment.

but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Ba′als, as their fathers taught them.

This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this waistcloth, which is good for nothing.

and because you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, every one of you follows his stubborn evil will, refusing to listen to me;

Israel’s Stubborn Idolatry

“But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’

They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to every one who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’”

then the sword which you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow hard after you to Egypt; and there you shall die.

Disaster comes upon disaster, rumor follows rumor; they seek a vision from the prophet, but the law perishes from the priest, and counsel from the elders.

When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went, but in whatever direction the front wheel faced the others followed without turning as they went.

Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!

“My servant David shall be king over them; and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall follow my ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes.

and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by following his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall follow in his train.

there is swearing, lying, killing, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds and murder follows murder.

and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’

Before him went pestilence, and plague followed close behind.

those who have turned back from following the Lord, who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”