Night and day may you watch over this temple, the place where you promised you would live. ¹  May you answer your servant’s prayer for this place. ² 

“The time will come when ¹  the skies are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people ²  sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you, ³  and turn away from their sin because you punish ⁴  them,

“When you direct your people to march out and fight their enemies, ¹  and they direct their prayers to the Lord ²  toward his chosen city and this temple I built for your honor, ³ 

When Solomon finished presenting all these prayers and requests to the Lord, he got up from before the altar of the Lord where he had kneeled and spread out his hands toward the sky. ¹ 

When the Israelites had mustered and had received their supplies, they marched out to face them in battle. When the Israelites deployed opposite them, they were like two small flocks ¹  of goats, but the Syrians filled the land.

The armies were deployed opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day the battle began, and the Israelites killed 100,000 Syrian foot soldiers in one day.

When the members of the prophetic guild in Jericho, ¹  who were standing at a distance, ²  saw him do this, they said, “The spirit that energized Elijah ³  rests upon Elisha.” They went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him.

Jehu aimed his bow and shot an arrow right between Jehoram’s shoulders. ¹  The arrow went through ²  his heart and he fell to his knees in his chariot.

Finally ¹  the Lord rejected Israel ²  just as he had warned he would do ³  through all his servants the prophets. Israel was deported from its land to Assyria and remains there to this very day.

The Lord announced, “I will also spurn Judah, ¹  just as I spurned Israel. I will reject this city that I chose – both Jerusalem and the temple, about which I said, “I will live there.” ² 

During Josiah’s reign Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt marched toward ¹  the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to fight him, but Necho ²  killed him at Megiddo ³  when he saw him.

Night and day may you watch over this temple, the place where you promised you would live. ¹  May you answer your servant’s prayer for this place. ² 

“The time will come when ¹  the skies ²  are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people ³  sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you, ⁴  and turn away from their sin because you punish ⁵  them,

Our God, will you not judge them? For we are powerless against this huge army that attacks us! We don’t know what we should do; we look to you for help.” ¹ 

O Lord God of Israel, you are righteous, for we are left as a remnant this day. Indeed, we stand before you in our guilt. However, because of this guilt ¹  no one can really stand before you.”

Then I said to them, “You see the problem that we have: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates are burned. Come on! Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that this reproach will not continue.”

Therefore, because of the account found in this letter and what they had faced in this regard and what had happened to them, the Jews established as binding on themselves, their descendants, and all who joined their company that they should observe these two days without fail, just as written and at the appropriate time on an annual basis.

Why are you depressed, ¹  O my soul? ²  Why are you upset? ³  Wait for God! For I will again give thanks to my God for his saving intervention. ⁴ 

Why are you depressed, ¹  O my soul? ²  Why are you upset? ³  Wait for God! For I will again give thanks to my God for his saving intervention. ⁴ 

Why are you depressed, ¹  O my soul? ²  Why are you upset? ³  Wait for God! For I will again give thanks to my God for his saving intervention. ⁴