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Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. If you do this, then the Lord will keep the promise he made to me. He told me, ‘If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’

“And there is something else. You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me when he murdered my two army commanders, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He pretended that it was an act of war, but it was done in a time of peace,[a] staining his belt and sandals with innocent blood.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 2:5a Or He murdered them during a time of peace as revenge for deaths they had caused in time of war.
  2. 2:5b As in some Greek and Old Latin manuscripts; Hebrew reads with the blood of war.

and observe(A) what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper(B) in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his promise(C) to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully(D) before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

“Now you yourself know what Joab(E) son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s armies, Abner(F) son of Ner and Amasa(G) son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood he stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet.

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