Job 19:23-27a
Job said, "I know that my Redeemer lives. In the end, he will stand upon the earth. After my skin is destroyed, then in my flesh shall I see God, Whom I, even I, shall see on my side. My eyes shall see, and not as a stranger."
Job 1:1; 2:1-10
Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? For there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man. He still maintains his integrity, although you incited me against him, to ruin him without cause."
Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
King Ahasuerus and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. The king asked, "What is your petition, queen Esther? It shall be granted you. What is your request? Even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed."
Nehemiah 8:1-10
They read the law of God, distinctly, and gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. They said to all the people, "This day is holy to Yahweh your God. Don't mourn, nor weep." For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.
2 Kings 5:1-15
Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him Yahweh had given victory to Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
2 Kings 4:42-44
His servant said, "Should I set twenty loaves before a hundred men?" But he said, "Thus says Yahweh, 'They will eat, and will have some left over.'" So he set it before them, and they ate, and left some of it, according to the word of Yahweh.
Hosea 11:1-11
I will not execute the fierceness of my anger. I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of you; and I will not come in wrath.
2 Kings 2:1-14
Elijah said, "Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be on me." Elijah said, "You have asked a hard thing. If you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so."
INTRODUCTION to 1-2 Kings
Christian readers today usually classify 1-2 Kings as books of Old Testament history, reflecting the fact that they include a good deal of history and read like history accounts. However, the Jewish canon classified them as the fifth and sixth books of the Former Prophets (which also include Joshua, Judges, and 1-2 Samuel), reflecting the emphasis on the work of prophets in these books.
1 Kings 21:1-21
Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, "Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house; and I will give you for it a better vineyard than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money."