The LORD rewards me because I do what is right; he blesses me because I am innocent.

I have observed all his laws; I have not disobeyed his commands.

I do not keep company with worthless people; I have nothing to do with hypocrites.

I hate the company of the evil and avoid the wicked.

I said, "I will be careful about what I do and will not let my tongue make me sin; I will not say anything while evil people are near."

Keep me from paying attention to what is worthless; be good to me, as you have promised.

I hate those who are not completely loyal to you, but I love your law.

"Do not desire another man's house; do not desire his wife, his slaves, his cattle, his donkeys, or anything else that he owns."

One day, late in the afternoon, David got up from his nap and went to the palace roof. As he walked around up there, he saw a woman taking a bath in her house. She was very beautiful.

So he sent a messenger to find out who she was, and learned that she was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.

One day Ahab said to Naboth, "Let me have your vineyard; it is close to my palace, and I want to use the land for a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard for it or, if you prefer, I will pay you a fair price."

Ahab went home, depressed and angry over what Naboth had said to him. He lay down on his bed, facing the wall, and would not eat.

He answered, "Because of what Naboth said to me. I offered to buy his vineyard or, if he preferred, to give him another one for it, but he told me that I couldn't have it!"

Then she wrote some letters, signed Ahab's name to them, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the officials and leading citizens of Jezreel.

Get a couple of scoundrels to accuse him to his face of cursing God and the king. Then take him out of the city and stone him to death."

They proclaimed a day of fasting, called the people together, and gave Naboth the place of honor.

The message was sent to Jezebel: "Naboth has been put to death."

At once Ahab went to the vineyard to take possession of it.

"Go to King Ahab of Samaria. You will find him in Naboth's vineyard, about to take possession of it.

When Ahab saw Elijah, he said, "Have you caught up with me, my enemy?" "Yes, I have," Elijah answered. "You have devoted yourself completely to doing what is wrong in the LORD's sight.

Your family will become like the family of King Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the family of King Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have stirred up my anger by leading Israel into sin.'

Any of your relatives who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and any who die in the open country will be eaten by vultures."

He committed the most shameful sins by worshiping idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the LORD had driven out of the land as the people of Israel advanced.)

The LORD said to the prophet Elijah,

I have made a solemn promise never to look with lust at a woman.

Don't be tempted by their beauty; don't be trapped by their flirting eyes.

Don't let wine tempt you, even though it is rich red, and it sparkles in the cup, and it goes down smoothly.

Weird sights will appear before your eyes, and you will not be able to think or speak clearly.

"I must have been hit," you will say; "I must have been beaten up, but I don't remember it. Why can't I wake up? I need another drink."

It is useless; it is like chasing the wind. It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else.

You can survive if you say and do what is right. Don't use your power to cheat the poor and don't accept bribes. Don't join with those who plan to commit murder or to do other evil things.

But you can only see your selfish interests; you kill the innocent and violently oppress your people. The LORD has spoken.

Yes, they burned like an oven with their plotting. All night their anger smoldered, and in the morning it burst into flames.

"In the heat of their anger they murdered their rulers. Their kings have been assassinated one after another, but no one prays to me for help."

When they want fields, they seize them; when they want houses, they take them. No one's family or property is safe.

But now I tell you: anyone who looks at a woman and wants to possess her is guilty of committing adultery with her in his heart.

If we are tempted by such trials, we must not say, "This temptation comes from God." For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one.

Then our evil desires conceive and give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

The two scoundrels publicly accused him of cursing God and the king, and so he was taken outside the city and stoned to death.

The LORD loves those who hate evil; he protects the lives of his people; he rescues them from the power of the wicked.

Love must be completely sincere. Hate what is evil, hold on to what is good.

But they have all gone wrong; they are all equally bad. Not one of them does what is right, not a single one.

Their speech is wicked and full of lies; they no longer do what is wise and good.

Happy are those who trust the LORD, who do not turn to idols or join those who worship false gods.

Again and again they put God to the test and brought pain to the Holy God of Israel.

but were rebellious and disloyal like their ancestors, unreliable as a crooked arrow.

But when you punish the wicked, punish also those who abandon your ways. Peace be with Israel!

They have already left the way that I commanded them to follow; they have made a bull-calf out of melted gold and have worshiped it and offered sacrifices to it. They are saying that this is their god, who led them out of Egypt.

So be careful to obey and do everything that is written in the book of the Law of Moses. Do not neglect any part of it,

"Don't be afraid," Samuel answered. "Even though you have done such an evil thing, do not turn away from the LORD, but serve him with all your heart.

Don't go after false gods; they cannot help you or save you, for they are not real.

"I am sorry that I made Saul king; he has turned away from me and disobeyed my commands." Samuel was angry, and all night long he pleaded with the LORD.

Get out of our way and stop blocking our path. We don't want to hear about your holy God of Israel."

I will destroy anyone who goes up on the roof and worships the sun, the moon, and the stars. I will also destroy those who worship me and swear loyalty to me, but then take oaths in the name of the god Molech.

I will destroy those who have turned back and no longer follow me, those who do not come to me or ask me to guide them."

But now that you know God---or, I should say, now that God knows you---how is it that you want to turn back to those weak and pitiful ruling spirits? Why do you want to become their slaves all over again?

We are not people who turn back and are lost. Instead, we have faith and are saved.

It would have been much better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and then turn away from the sacred command that was given them.

These people really did not belong to our fellowship, and that is why they left us; if they had belonged to our fellowship, they would have stayed with us. But they left so that it might be clear that none of them really belonged to us.

Do not keep for yourselves anything that was condemned to destruction, and then the LORD will turn from his fierce anger and show you mercy. He will be merciful to you and make you a numerous people, as he promised your ancestors,