that his heartmay not be liftedup abovehis countrymenand that he may not turnasidefrom the commandment,to the rightor the left,sothat he and his sonsmay continuelongin his kingdomin the midstof Israel.
"For allHis ordinances[were] beforeme, And [as for] His statutes,I did not departfrom them.
Nevertheless I will not takethe wholekingdomout of his hand,but I will makehim rulerallthe daysof his life,for the sakeof My servantDavidwhomI chose,whoobservedMy commandmentsand My statutes;
But to his sonI will giveonetribe,that My servantDavidmay havea lampalwaysbeforeMe in Jerusalem,the citywhereI have chosenfor Myself to putMy name.
He walkedin allthe sinsof his fatherwhichhe had committedbeforehim; and his heartwas not whollydevotedto the LORDhis God,like the heartof his fatherDavid.
becauseDaviddidwhatwas rightin the sightof the LORD,and had not turnedasidefrom anythingthat He commandedhim allthe daysof his life,exceptin the caseof Uriahthe Hittite.
"Keepthe chargeof the LORDyour God,to walkin His ways,to keepHis statutes,His commandments,His ordinances,and His testimonies,according to what is writtenin the Lawof Moses,that you may succeedin allthat you doand whereveryou turn,
The LORDsaidto Jehu,"Becauseyou have donewellin executingwhatis rightin My eyes,[and] have doneto the houseof Ahabaccording to allthat [was] in My heart,your sonsof the fourthgeneration shall siton the throneof Israel."
"You have indeeddefeatedEdom,and your hearthas becomeproud.Enjoyyour gloryand stayat home;for whyshould you provoketroubleso that you, even you, would fall,and Judahwith you?"
"You said,'Behold,you have defeatedEdom.'And your hearthas becomeproudin boasting.Nowstayat home;for whyshould you provoketroubleso that you, even you, would falland Judahwith you?"
But when he becamestrong,his heartwas so proudthat he actedcorruptly,and he was unfaithfulto the LORDhis God,for he enteredthe templeof the LORDto burnincenseon the altarof incense.
When he was in distress,he entreatedthe LORDhis Godand humbledhimself greatlybeforethe Godof his fathers.
His prayeralso and [how God] was entreatedby him, and allhis sin,his unfaithfulness,and the siteson whichhe builthighplacesand erectedthe Asherimand the carvedimages,beforehe humbledhimself, behold,they are writtenin the recordsof the Hozai.
Moreover, he did not humblehimself beforethe LORDas his fatherManassehhad done,but Amonmultipliedguilt.
"Becauseyour heartwas tenderand you humbledyourselfbeforeGodwhen you heardHis wordsagainstthisplaceand againstits inhabitants,and [because] you humbledyourselfbeforeMe, toreyour clothesand weptbeforeMe, I trulyhave heardyou," declaresthe LORD.
I have not turnedasidefrom Your ordinances,For You Yourselfhave taughtme.
"Ifyour sonswill keepMy covenantAnd My testimonywhichI will teachthem, Their sonsalsoshall situpon your throneforever."
Moreover,by them Your servantis warned;In keepingthem there is greatreward.
The fearof the LORDprolongslife,But the yearsof the wickedwill be shortened.
For richesare not forever,Nordoes a crown[endure] to allgenerations.
But it will not be wellfor the evilmanand he will not lengthenhis dayslike a shadow,becausehe does not fearGod.
For the LORDof hostswill have a day[of reckoning] Againsteveryonewhois proudand loftyAnd againsteveryonewho is liftedup, That he may be abased.
"Behold,as for the proudone, His soulis not rightwithin him; But the righteouswill liveby his faith.
Because of the surpassing greatnessof the revelations,for this reason,to keepme from exaltingmyself, there was givenme a thornin the flesh,a messengerof Satanto tormentme-- to keepme from exaltingmyself!
"You shall not eatit, sothat it may be wellwith you and your sonsafteryou, for you will be doingwhatis rightin the sightof the LORD.
"Be carefulto listento allthesewordswhichI commandyou, sothat it may be wellwith you and your sonsafteryou forever,for you will be doingwhatis goodand rightin the sightof the LORDyour God.
"WhateverI commandyou, you shall be carefulto do;you shall not addto nortakeawayfrom it.
"Accordingto the termsof the lawwhichthey teachyou, and accordingto the verdictwhichthey tellyou, you shall do;you shall not turnasidefrom the wordwhichthey declareto you, to the rightor the left.
"You shall not addto the wordwhichI am commandingyou, nortakeawayfrom it, that you may keepthe commandmentsof the LORDyour GodwhichI commandyou.
"So you shall observeto dojustas the LORDyour Godhas commandedyou; you shall not turnasideto the rightor to the left.
"You shall rememberallthe waywhichthe LORDyour Godhas ledyou in the wildernessthesefortyyears,that He might humbleyou, testingyou, to knowwhatwas in your heart,whether you would keepHis commandmentsornot.
You younger men,likewise,be subjectto [your] elders;and allof you, clotheyourselves with humilitytoward one another,for GODIS OPPOSEDTO THE PROUD,BUT GIVESGRACETO THE HUMBLE.
Then Samueltoldthe peoplethe ordinancesof the kingdom,and wrote[them] in the bookand placed[it] beforethe LORD.And Samuelsentallthe peopleaway,eachoneto his house.
"For rebellionis as the sinof divination,And insubordinationis as iniquityand idolatry.Becauseyou have rejectedthe wordof the LORD,He has also rejectedyou from [being] king."
