When Elijah finished speaking, Ahab tore his clothes, took them off, and put on sackcloth. He refused food, slept in the sackcloth, and went about gloomy and depressed.

"Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Since he has done this, I will not bring disaster on him during his lifetime; it will be during his son's lifetime that I will bring disaster on Ahab's family."

The LORD said to Jehu, "You have done to Ahab's descendants everything I wanted you to do. So I promise you that your descendants, down to the fourth generation, will be kings of Israel."

But Jehu did not obey with all his heart the Law of the LORD, the God of Israel; instead, he followed the example of Jeroboam, who led Israel into sin.

Throughout his life he did what pleased the LORD, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him.

He did what was pleasing to the LORD, but he was not like his ancestor King David; instead, he did what his father Joash had done.

They worship me every day, claiming that they are eager to know my ways and obey my laws. They say they want me to give them just laws and that they take pleasure in worshiping me."

'These people, says God, honor me with their words, but their heart is really far away from me.

All the people and their leaders agreed to free their slaves and never to enslave them again. They did set them free,

but later they changed their minds, took them back, and forced them to become slaves again.

King Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem had made an agreement to set free

He stood by the royal column and made a covenant with the LORD to obey him, to keep his laws and commands with all his heart and soul, and to put into practice the demands attached to the covenant, as written in the book. And all the people promised to keep the covenant.

do hereby join with our leaders in an oath, under penalty of a curse if we break it, that we will live according to God's Law, which God gave through his servant Moses; that we will obey all that the LORD, our Lord, commands us; and that we will keep all his laws and requirements.

Give the LORD your God what you promised him; bring gifts to him, all you nearby nations. God makes everyone fear him;

I will keep my solemn promise to obey your just instructions.

You do these things I hate, and then you come and stand in my presence, in my own Temple, and say, 'We are safe!'

Do you think that my Temple is a hiding place for robbers? I have seen what you are doing.