#The Book of First Kings

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Solomon’s Foreign Wives

1 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter – Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, ‘You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.’ Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.

7 On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods. — 1 Kings 11:1-8 | New International Version - UK (NIVUK) Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide. Cross References: Exodus 23:31; Exodus 34:12; Exodus 34:16; Leviticus 20:2; Deuteronomy 17:17; Judges 2:13; Judges 10:6; 1 Samuel 7:3; 2 Samuel 5:13; 1 Kings 3:3; 1 Kings 8:61; 1 Kings 9:4; 1 Kings 11:5; 1 Kings 11:7; 1 Kings 11:9; Ecclesiastes 7:28; Acts 7:43

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Solomon's Sin and Our Sin

[suntails]

strength and nobility

[xolasdoesntknow]

Grunkle kings of New Jersey ⚠️🎱❓📝🌲

[lizardson]

one of the things that feels so clear on rereads but so many people miss the first time they read the way of kings is shallans PTSD. I think part of it is the way it gets overshadowed by the constant unending tragedy of kaladin's story, its easy to slot shallan in as the young naive rich girl and not look much deeper. Part of it also is the way shallan drastically understates her own trauma. she says that she's timid, she doesn't like confrontation, she talks about her father's temper, but she was the lucky one because it was never directed at her. There are so many things in her first few chapters alone that are textbook PTSD, the way she freezes and shuts down any thought process that gets too close to her father's death, the flashback when jasnah gets angry at her, how she dissociates when she draws. It's so obvious if you know what you're looking for, but just subtle enough, especially when it's compared to kaladin's trauma, that a lot of people miss it at first. anyway I would defend shallan davar with my life.

[hualianschild]

saw this on my tl and oh op is so right

credits to @/melondenden on X

[chilledstrawberrysoda]

Say it with me kids

Andrew never thought he was hallucinating Neil

"you were supposed to be a side effect of the drugs"

His FEELINGS for Neil were supposed to be the side effect that would disappear once he was sober.

"I'm not a hallucination"

Andrew never thought he was, Neil misinterpreting this because Andrew speaks in riddles half the time is acceptable since he canonically has to have everything spelled out for him when it pertains to people's feelings toward him. I.e. being called a friend, thinking Andrew will choose Aaron over him, etc.

"you are a pipe dream"

This is both Andrew correcting Neil and a statement about his feelings toward Neil. A pipe dream is defined as an unrealistic and unattainable goal or an impossible hope. This sentence is as close to a confession of feelings as we get from Andrew. He WANTS.

This is the same scene, mind you, where Andrew says he hates Neil. And that's relevant because in order to hate something you have to care. This entire exchange happens in response to Neil expressing his desire to protect Andrew. When was the last time someone wanted to protect Andrew at their own expense? Insisted that Andrew was important?

"if it means losing you, then no"

Andrew knows Neil is real and here and he Wants him but Andrew is not delusional and knows that wanting things is pointless and only leads to pain.

"you are a pipe dream"

As much as this is a confession, it is also Andrew denying himself what he wants by declaring it impossible. Why hope for something when it's impossible anyway? When Neil finally finds out about Andrew's attraction to him he's shocked.

"you never said anything"

Why would he say anything to Neil or proposition him if it's impossible? Neil has said he doesn't swing and Andrew does not Want.

"nothing will come of it"

Andrew will not ask for something when he knows the answer is no. He's through being disappointed.

"I am self-destructive, not stupid"

For someone self destructive, this sure is an act of self preservation. Andrew won't pursue something pointless. He would rather pine and wait for it to pass than subject himself to trying to hold on to something he cares about. Not again. Never again.

"I know better"

[secondhand-goose]

"My Type" this "Hear me out" that--

You know what I want? I want whatever's going on with those Romance Webtoon Royal Advisors.™

Dependable, responsible, and with a loyalty to the male lead so deep that it leaves you questioning their heterosexuality.

They are out here slaying with their unnatural hair colors absolutely carrying that kingdom on their back while their boss is in the other room almost touching hands with his wife.

[sweetvillainjude]

actually wild of holly black to write cardan’s arc so powerfully that I went from genuinely hating him and never believing I’d like him to thinking “ok so maybe he’s not awful ALL the time” to desperately rooting for him and furiously wanting him to be loved and happy over the span of three books. like tfota was WILD for doing that (and doing it so well)

[vashti-lives]

The new Martha Wells book-- Witch King-- is fucking delightful if you like slightly complex fantasy that doesn't hold your hand. This is a book that never ever commits the sin of explaining stuff to a character that should already know about it for the sake of the audience. Exposition only happens in ways that are natural and logical, which sometimes means stuff just isn't explained.

It's not as obviously accessible as The Murderbot Dairies is-- it's plot is a little more opaque, there's more moving pieces, it's less directly comedic-- but man I like it and Kai is in someways a similar protagonist to Murderbot. Powerful but vulnerable and often just a little out of his element. Lonely in the face of a lot of people who are afraid of him.

Its very much a found family story. Like, literally. The book goes back and forth between the past and the present. The parts of the narrative that are set in the past are about Kai meeting the people who become his family, and the parts of the narrative set in the present are about him going to find members of that family that have gone missing. Family is a theme that's always there.

In spite of the swap in narratives there was never a moment where I was listening to one half of these stories wishing I could get back to the other one-- they were woven together very well and I found them equally compelling.

Anyway I am very certain there are people who saw there was a new Martha Wells book, then saw it wasn't Murderbot and decided to peace out. Some people probably won't but I think it's worth trying. Tor released enough excerpts that you can get a feel for what it's like and decide if you'll like it or not. The mystery is fascinating and, like Murderbot, it's casually queer in a really good way. Martha Wells clearly loves her a lesbian power couple.

[two-longing-loves]

kevins and neils relationship is something SO personal to me.

[gunsatthaphan]

#to each their own.

[throwawayasoiafaccount]

‘the black bastard of the wall’ moniker is the exact opposite of the ‘white wolf’ moniker and this perfectly highlights the irreconcilable differences between book Jon and show Jon

[atmospheral]

hey. is anybody listening. hello

One Piece x 天官賜福 (Tian Guan Ci Fu)

citations under the cut:

Luffy / 謝憐 Xie Lian

unending optimism!!! even in the face of the worst situations

extremely powerful but often underestimated to be harmless

wears a deeply treasured plant-based hat (OP: straw; TGCF: bamboo) given to them by a significant person (Shanks, OP Ch.1; Nameless passerby with rice, TGCF Ch. 196) and always retrieves it even in the midst of danger (OP Ch.18, TGCF Ch. 199)

"you can hurt me, but you can't mock/threaten my friends" (OPLA S01E01; TGCF Ch.198)

Zoro / 花城 Hua Cheng

king of hell/ruler of the underworld

one-eyed (OP: Zoro post time-skip; TGCF: HC after Mt. Tonglu)

extremely strong killing intent/demonic aura (OP Ch.3, Ch.687; TGCF Ch.8, Ch.35, Ch.95)

extremely lucky (OP Ch.97; TGCF Ch. 15 )

has cursed swords (OP: cursed katana Sandai Kitetsu; TGCF: cursed scimitar E-ming)

Red eye (OP: Zoro as king of hell Ep.1062; TGCF: HC's right eye that he carved out)

takes on the other person's entire curse/pain (OP: Thriller bark Ch. 485; TGCF Ch.198)

[starrynightsxo]

*cardan coming out of his snakeskin with everything out*

the whole of elfhame:

jude:

the fandom:

cardan:

[sweatermuppet]

favorite horror/thriller books? want to read more scary stuff for oct

[bxriles]

I’m sure that this is not a hot take and that a lot of people feel the same way but like…

The question “does it have spice?!🌶️🔥” makes me want to jump off a cliff. I’m out here looking for gothic book recommendations on Reddit, tumblr, and goodreads and WHY is this the first question so many people ask 😭

Look, I love erotica as much as the next person but come on. There have got to be other things that matter when recommending books or choosing to pick one up, my GOD.