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and do what the Lord your God orders you to do. Obey all his laws and commands, as written in the Law of Moses, so that wherever you go you may prosper in everything you do. If you obey him, the Lord will keep the promise he made when he told me that my descendants would rule Israel as long as they were careful to obey his commands faithfully with all their heart and soul.

(A)“There is something else. You remember what Joab did to me by killing the two commanders of Israel's armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. You remember how he murdered them in time of peace as revenge for deaths they had caused in time of war. He killed innocent men,[a] and now I bear the responsibility for what he did, and I suffer[b] the consequences.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 2:5 Some ancient translations innocent men; Hebrew men in battle.
  2. 1 Kings 2:5 Some ancient translations I bear … and I suffer; Hebrew he bears … and he suffers.

and observe(A) what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper(B) in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his promise(C) to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully(D) before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

“Now you yourself know what Joab(E) son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s armies, Abner(F) son of Ner and Amasa(G) son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood he stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet.

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