“At this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin. You must consecrate ¹  him as a leader over my people Israel. He will save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked with favor on my people. Their cry has reached me!”

Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. No one regretted his death; ¹  he was buried in the City of David, ²  but not in the royal tombs.

Then Nehemiah the governor, ¹  Ezra the priestly scribe, ²  and the Levites who were imparting understanding to the people said to all of them, ³  “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping when they heard the words of the law.

He said to them, “Go and eat delicacies and drink sweet drinks and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our Lord. ¹  Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

A putrid stench will replace the smell of spices, ¹  a rope will replace a belt, baldness will replace braided locks of hair, a sackcloth garment will replace a fine robe, and a prisoner’s brand will replace beauty.

For this is what the high and exalted one says, the one who rules ¹  forever, whose name is holy: “I dwell in an exalted and holy place, but also with the discouraged and humiliated, ²  in order to cheer up the humiliated and to encourage the discouraged. ³ 

Is this really the kind of fasting I want? ¹  Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, ²  bowing their heads like a reed and stretching out ³  on sackcloth and ashes? Is this really what you call a fast, a day that is pleasing to the Lord?

to strengthen those who mourn in Zion, by giving them a turban, instead of ashes, oil symbolizing joy, ¹  instead of mourning, a garment symbolizing praise, ²  instead of discouragement. ³  They will be called oaks of righteousness, ⁴  trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. ⁵ 

In fact, ¹  I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby. It is the cry of Daughter Zion ²  gasping for breath, reaching out for help, ³  saying, “I am done in! ⁴  My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”

I said, ¹  “I will weep and mourn ²  for the grasslands on the mountains, ³  I will sing a mournful song for the pastures in the wilderness because they are so scorched no one travels through them. The sound of livestock is no longer heard there. Even the birds in the sky and the wild animals in the fields have fled and are gone.”

‘If you will just stay ¹  in this land, I will build you up. I will not tear you down. I will firmly plant you. ²  I will not uproot you. For I am filled with sorrow because of the disaster that I have brought on you.

ז (Zayin) Jerusalem ¹  remembers, ²  when ³  she became a poor homeless person, ⁴  all her treasures that she owned in days of old. ⁵  When her people fell into an enemy’s grip, ⁶  none of her allies came to her rescue. ⁷  Her enemies ⁸  gloated over ⁹  her; they sneered at her downfall.

מ (Mem) With what can I equate ¹  you? To what can I compare you, O Daughter Jerusalem? To what can I liken you ²  so that ³  I might comfort you, O Virgin Daughter Zion? Your wound is as deep ⁴  as the sea. ⁵  Who can heal you? ⁶ 

The king will mourn and the prince will be clothed with shuddering; the hands of the people of the land will tremble. Based on their behavior I will deal with them, and by their standard of justice ¹  I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the Lord!”

They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord; they will not please him with their sacrifices. Their sacrifices will be like bread eaten while in mourning; all those who eat them will make themselves ritually unclean. For their bread will be only to satisfy their appetite; it will not come into the temple of the Lord.

Then ¹  the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, ²  and ³  all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They ⁴  will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven ⁵  with power and great glory.

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work. ¹  Let them do this ²  with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you.