Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest until the rain fell on them, ¹  she did not allow the birds of the air to feed ²  on them by day, nor the wild animals ³  by night.

At that time Solomon and all Israel with him celebrated a festival before the Lord our God for two entire weeks. This great assembly included people from all over the land, from Lebo Hamath in the north to the Brook of Egypt ¹  in the south. ² 

On the fifteenth day after the festival started, ¹  he dismissed the people. They asked God to empower the king ²  and then went to their homes, happy and content ³  because of all the good the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.

At noon Elijah mocked them, “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.” ¹ 

The king of Syria said, “Go! I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman ¹  went, taking with him ten talents ²  of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, ³  and ten suits of clothes.

So the horseman ¹  went to meet him and said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” ²  Jehu replied, “None of your business! ³  Follow me.” The watchman reported, “The messenger reached them, but hasn’t started back.”

Some men from Manasseh joined ¹  David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. (But in the end they did not help the Philistines because, after taking counsel, the Philistine lords sent David away, saying: “It would be disastrous for us if he deserts to his master Saul.”) ² 

The priests then entered the Lord’s temple to purify it; they brought out to the courtyard of the Lord’s temple every ceremonially unclean thing they discovered inside. ¹  The Levites took them out to the Kidron Valley.

On the first day of the first month they began consecrating; by the eighth day of the month they reached the porch of the Lord’s temple. ¹  For eight more days they consecrated the Lord’s temple. On the sixteenth day of the first month they were finished.

Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the areas belonging to the Israelites and encouraged ¹  all who were in Israel to worship the Lord their God. Throughout the rest of his reign ²  they did not turn aside from following the Lord God of their ancestors.

Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak ¹  and his priestly colleagues ²  and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his colleagues ³  started to build ⁴  the altar of the God of Israel so they could offer burnt offerings on it as required by ⁵  the law of Moses the man of God.

On the twelfth day of the first month we began traveling from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from our enemy and from bandits ¹  along the way.

Then I related to them how the good hand of my God was on me and what ¹  the king had said to me. Then they replied, “Let’s begin rebuilding right away!” ²  So they readied themselves ³  for this good project.

Then Eliashib the high priest and his priestly colleagues ¹  arose and built the Sheep Gate. They dedicated ²  it and erected its doors, working as far as the Tower of the Hundred ³  and ⁴  the Tower of Hananel.

This young woman pleased him, ¹  and she found favor with him. He quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her rations; he also provided her with the seven specially chosen ²  young women who were from the palace. He then transferred her and her young women to the best quarters in the harem. ³ 

Haman then related to his wife Zeresh and to all his friends everything that had happened to him. These wise men, ¹  along with his wife Zeresh, said to him, “If indeed this Mordecai before whom you have begun to fall is Jewish, ²  you will not prevail against him. No, you will surely fall before him!”

I have stirred up one out of the north ¹  and he advances, one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. ²  He steps on ³  rulers as if they were clay, like a potter treading the clay.

Listen to this, O family of Jacob, ¹  you who are called by the name ‘Israel,’ and are descended from Judah, ²  who take oaths in the name of the Lord, and invoke ³  the God of Israel – but not in an honest and just manner. ⁴ 

Look, all of you who start a fire and who equip yourselves with ¹  flaming arrows, ²  walk ³  in the light ⁴  of the fire you started and among the flaming arrows you ignited! ⁵  This is what you will receive from me: ⁶  you will lie down in a place of pain. ⁷ 

Then I will reply, ¹  ‘I will bring them back from the land of the north. I will gather them in from the distant parts of the earth. Blind and lame people will come with them, so will pregnant women and women about to give birth. A vast throng of people will come back here.