Then Abimelek called Abraham in. Abimelek said, “What have you done to us? Have I done something wrong to you? Why have you brought so much guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.”
Also keep me from the sins I want to commit. May they not be my master. Then I will be without blame. I will not be guilty of any great sin against your law.
Don’t let your mouth cause you to sin. Don’t say to the temple messenger, “My promise was a mistake.” Why should God be angry with what you say? Why should he destroy what you have done?
“ ‘Suppose someone eats a sacred offering by mistake. Then they must pay back the priest for the offering. They must also add a fifth of its value to it.
“ ‘Or suppose the whole community of Israel sins without meaning to. They do something the Lord commands us not to do. Suppose they realize their guilt.
Here is the rule about a person who kills someone. That person can run to one of those cities for safety. The rule applies to anyone who kills a neighbor they didn’t hate and didn’t mean to kill.
I used to speak evil things against Jesus. I tried to hurt his followers. I really pushed them around. But God showed me mercy anyway. I did those things without knowing any better. I wasn’t a believer.
But only the high priest went into the inner room. He went in only once a year. He never entered without taking blood with him. He offered the blood for himself. He also offered it for the sins the people had committed because they didn’t know any better.
But Jonathan hadn’t heard that his father had forced the army to make a promise. Jonathan had a long stick in his hand. He reached out and dipped the end of it into the honeycomb. He put some honey in his mouth. It gave him new life.