for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, ¹  but are made powerful by God ²  for tearing down strongholds. ³  We tear down arguments ⁴ 

Look at the land of the Chaldeans, these people who have lost their identity! ¹  The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals. They erected their siege towers, ²  demolished ³  its fortresses, and turned it into a heap of ruins. ⁴ 

The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life. ¹  The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking: “I despise Jacob’s arrogance; I hate their ²  fortresses. I will hand over to their enemies ³  the city of Samaria ⁴  and everything in it.”

He will give us peace. ¹  Should the Assyrians try to invade our land and attempt to set foot in our fortresses, ²  we will send ³  against them seven ⁴  shepherd-rulers, ⁵  make that eight commanders. ⁶ 

They will lick the dust like a snake, like serpents crawling on the ground. ¹  They will come trembling from their strongholds to the Lord our God; ²  they will be terrified ³  of you. ⁴ 

“I destroyed ¹  nations; their walled cities ²  are in ruins. I turned their streets into ruins; no one passes through them. Their cities are desolate; ³  no one lives there. ⁴ 

In a time of prosperity for the most productive areas of the province he will come and accomplish what neither his fathers nor their fathers accomplished. He will distribute loot, spoils, and property to his followers, and he will devise plans against fortified cities, but not for long. ¹ 

The Lord turned them over to ¹  King Jabin of Canaan, who ruled in Hazor. ²  The general of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. ³ 

When the Philistines heard that David had been designated ¹  king over Israel, they all ²  went up to search for David. When David heard about it, he went down to the fortress.

The Israelites said things about the Lord their God that were not right. ¹  They built high places in all their cities, from the watchtower to the fortress. ² 

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.

He made upper Beth Horon and lower Beth Horon fortified cities with walls and barred gates, ¹ 

He placed troops in all of Judah’s fortified cities and posted garrisons ¹  throughout the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim that his father Asa had seized.

Their father gave them many presents, including silver, gold, and other precious items, along with fortified cities in Judah. But he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.

Uzziah attacked ¹  the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. He built cities in the region of Ashdod and throughout Philistine territory. ² 

“This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: ‘Why are you so confident that you remain in Jerusalem while it is under siege? ¹ 

Now there happened to be a Jewish man in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai. ¹  He was the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite,

The messengers ¹  scurried forth ²  with the king’s order. ³  The edict was issued in Susa the citadel. While the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in an uproar! ⁴ 

The couriers who were riding the royal horses went forth with the king’s edict without delay. ¹  And the law was presented in Susa the citadel as well.

Consider its defenses! ¹  Walk through ²  its fortresses, so you can tell the next generation about it! ³