He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

“Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you;

and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son,

Perhaps my father will feel me, then I will be as a deceiver in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.”

That which was torn of beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself. You required it of my hand whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

I myself will be surety for him; you may hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever.

‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am about to die; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’”

and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, Lord, I did not make Myself known to them.

So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”

‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.

And behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you:

And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”

then I Myself will set My face against that man and against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all those who play the harlot after him, by playing the harlot after Molech.

Hence I have said to you, “You are to possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples.

For all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from man to beast. They shall be Mine; I am the Lord.”

for they are wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself instead of every first issue of the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel.

For every firstborn among the sons of Israel is Mine, among the men and among the animals; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself.

He said,“Hear now My words:If there is a prophet among you,I, the Lord, shall make Myself known to him in a vision.I shall speak with him in a dream.

It will come about that the rod of the man whom I choose will sprout. Thus I will lessen from upon Myself the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you.”

Behold, I Myself have taken your fellow Levites from among the sons of Israel; they are a gift to you, dedicated to the Lord, to perform the service for the tent of meeting.

Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, “Now behold, I Myself have given you charge of My offerings, even all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual allotment.

And he said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering while I myself meet the Lord over there.”

It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.

She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.

The closest relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, because I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, for I cannot redeem it.”

Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house?

But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always.

therefore I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.”

Now the men of Israel were hard-pressed on that day, for Saul had put the people under oath, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening, and until I have avenged myself on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food.

Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have selected a king for Myself among his sons.”

So David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I ought to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening.

and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand.

Now therefore, gather the rest of the people together and camp against the city and capture it, or I will capture the city myself and it will be named after me.”

Absalom commanded his servants, saying, “See now, when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon,’ then put him to death. Do not fear; have not I myself commanded you? Be courageous and be valiant.”

So the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours.” And Ziba said, “I prostrate myself; let me find favor in your sight, O my lord, the king!”

David sent the people out, one third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, “I myself will surely go out with you also.”

So he answered, “O my lord, the king, my servant deceived me; for your servant said, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself that I may ride on it and go with the king,’ because your servant is lame.

“I was also blameless toward Him,And I kept myself from my iniquity.

But to his son I will give one tribe, that My servant David may have a lamp always before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen for Myself to put My name.

Elijah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.”

The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle.

In this matter may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon your servant in this matter.”

Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.

The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle.

I consulted with myself and contended with the nobles and the rulers and said to them, “You are exacting usury, each from his brother!” Therefore, I held a great assembly against them.

I also applied myself to the work on this wall; we did not buy any land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.

“Have I sinned? What have I done to You,O watcher of men?Why have You set me as Your target,So that I am a burden to myself?

“I am guiltless;I do not take notice of myself;I despise my life.

“If I should wash myself with snowAnd cleanse my hands with lye,

“Then I would speak and not fear Him;But I am not like that in myself.

Whom I myself shall behold,And whom my eyes will see and not another.My heart faints within me!

Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,I would bind it to myself like a crown.

I was also blameless with Him,And I kept myself from my iniquity.

For it is not an enemy who reproaches me,Then I could bear it;Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me,Then I could hide myself from him.

I have remembered Your ordinances from of old, O Lord,And comfort myself.

A Song of Ascents, of David.O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;Nor do I involve myself in great matters,Or in things too difficult for me.

I said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility.

I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself;

I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees;

I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees.

Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men—many concubines.

Then I said to myself, “As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise?” So I said to myself, “This too is vanity.”

I said to myself, “God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man,” for a time for every matter and for every deed is there.

I said to myself concerning the sons of men, “God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts.”

There was a certain man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity and it is a grievous task.

Therefore the Lord God of hosts,The Mighty One of Israel, declares,“Ah, I will be relieved of My adversariesAnd avenge Myself on My foes.

And I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”

‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;I will make myself like the Most High.’

“The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none,And their tongue is parched with thirst;I, the Lord, will answer them Myself,As the God of Israel I will not forsake them.

“I have kept silent for a long time,I have kept still and restrained Myself.Now like a woman in labor I will groan,I will both gasp and pant.

“The people whom I formed for MyselfWill declare My praise.

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb,“I, the Lord, am the maker of all things,Stretching out the heavens by MyselfAnd spreading out the earth all alone,

“I have sworn by Myself,The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousnessAnd will not turn back,That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.

“Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows the fire of coalsAnd brings out a weapon for its work;And I have created the destroyer to ruin.

“I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me;I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’To a nation which did not call on My name.

“Shall I not punish these people,” declares the Lord,“And on a nation such as thisShall I not avenge Myself?

‘Shall I not punish these people?’ declares the Lord,‘On a nation such as thisShall I not avenge Myself?’

“Shall I not punish them for these things?” declares the Lord.“On a nation such as thisShall I not avenge Myself?

“So I Myself have also stripped your skirts off over your face,That your shame may be seen.

I Myself will war against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm, even in anger and wrath and great indignation.

But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a desolation.”’”

Who says, ‘I will build myself a roomy houseWith spacious upper rooms,And cut out its windows,Paneling it with cedar and painting it bright red.’

“Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply.

For I have sworn by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that Bozrah will become an object of horror, a reproach, a ruin and a curse; and all its cities will become perpetual ruins.”

and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, the hills, the ravines and the valleys: “Behold, I Myself am going to bring a sword on you, and I will destroy your high places.

and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On the day when I chose Israel and swore to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God,

But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.

As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will prove Myself holy among you in the sight of the nations.

Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,The great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers,That has said, ‘My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it.’

For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.

therefore as I live,” declares the Lord God, “I will deal with you according to your anger and according to your envy which you showed because of your hatred against them; so I will make Myself known among them when I judge you.

I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight.

I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord.”’

Even all the people of the land will bury them; and it will be to their renown on the day that I glorify Myself,” declares the Lord God.

The king reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’

“At this point the revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly alarming me and my face grew pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”

I looked in the vision, and while I was looking I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam; and I looked in the vision and I myself was beside the Ulai Canal.

“I will sow her for Myself in the land.I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion,And I will say to those who were not My people,‘You are My people!’And they will say, ‘You are my God!’”

So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley.