(13:23) ¹  Abijah passed away ²  and was buried in the City of David. ³  His son Asa replaced him as king. During his reign ⁴  the land had rest for ten years.

He removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. The kingdom had rest under his rule. ¹ 

Even a fool who remains silent is considered ¹  wise, and the one who holds his tongue is deemed discerning. ² 

I ¹  post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they should keep praying all day and all night. ²  You who pray to ³  the Lord, don’t be silent!

Now Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, ¹  came down to meet the king. From the day the king had left until the day he safely ²  returned, Mephibosheth ³  had not cared for his feet ⁴  nor trimmed ⁵  his mustache nor washed his clothes.

He will set fire ¹  to the temples of the gods of Egypt. He will burn their gods or carry them off as captives. ²  He will pick Egypt clean like a shepherd picks the lice from his clothing. ³  He will leave there unharmed. ⁴ 

“You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me – how he murdered two commanders of the Israelite armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. ¹  During peacetime he struck them down like he would in battle; ²  when he shed their blood as if in battle, he stained his own belt and the sandals on his feet. ³ 

Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke: ‘Among the ones close to me I will show myself holy, ¹  and in the presence of all the people I will be honored.’” ²  So Aaron kept silent.

Whom are you worried about? Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully and not remember me or think about me? ¹  Because I have been silent for so long, ²  you are not afraid of me. ³ 

“For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem ¹  I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines brightly ²  and her deliverance burns like a torch.”

I said, ¹  “Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! ²  I writhe in anguish. Oh, the pain in my heart! ³  My heart pounds within me. I cannot keep silent. For I hear the sound of the trumpet; ⁴  the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul! ⁵ 

“At that time ¹  I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creatures that crawl on the ground. I will abolish ²  the warrior’s bow and sword – that is, every weapon of warfare ³  – from the land, and I will allow them to live securely.” ⁴ 

but you rise up as an enemy against my people. ¹  You steal a robe from a friend, ²  from those who pass by peacefully as if returning from a war. ³ 

The Israelites who remain ¹  will not act deceitfully. They will not lie, and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouth. Indeed, they will graze peacefully like sheep ²  and lie down; no one will terrify them.”

There was no war between Syria and Israel for three years. ¹ 

There ¹  the prisoners ²  relax ³  together; ⁴  they do not hear the voice of the oppressor. ⁵ 

“One man dies in his full vigor, ¹  completely secure and prosperous,

the voices of the nobles fell silent, ¹  and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

Look, I will escape to a distant place; I will stay in the wilderness. (Selah)

They speak as if they rule in heaven, and lay claim to the earth. ¹