But as for us, the Lord is our God and we have not rejected him. Aaron’s descendants serve as the Lord’s priests and the Levites assist them with the work. ¹ 

and to all the infants, wives, sons, and daughters of the entire assembly listed in the genealogical records, for they faithfully consecrated themselves.

Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat in light of these actions of theirs – also Noadiah the prophetess and the other prophets who were trying to scare me!

and also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam, and Ezer. The choirs sang loudly ¹  under the direction of Jezrahiah.

Now his sons used to go ¹  and hold ²  a feast in the house of each one in turn, ³  and they would send and invite ⁴  their three ⁵  sisters to eat and to drink with them.

For look, the wicked ¹  prepare ²  their bows, ³  they put their arrows on the strings, to shoot in the darkness ⁴  at the morally upright. ⁵ 

Their grave becomes their permanent residence, their eternal dwelling place. ¹  They name their lands after themselves, ² 

But those who wait for the Lord’s help ¹  find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, ²  they run without growing weary, they walk without getting tired.

Listen, ¹  your watchmen shout; in unison they shout for joy, for they see with their very own eyes ²  the Lord’s return to Zion.

Their houses will be turned over to others as will their fields and their wives. For I will unleash my power ¹  against those who live in this land,” says the Lord.

But the Lord is with me to help me like an awe-inspiring warrior. ¹  Therefore those who persecute me will fail and will not prevail over me. They will be thoroughly disgraced because they did not succeed. Their disgrace will never be forgotten.

I will bring such disaster on them that all the kingdoms of the earth will be horrified. I will make them an object of reproach, a proverbial example of disaster. I will make them an object of ridicule, an example to be used in curses. ¹  That is how they will be remembered wherever I banish them. ² 

They have turned away from me instead of turning to me. ¹  I tried over and over again ²  to instruct them, but they did not listen and respond to correction. ³ 

Kill all her soldiers! ¹  Let them be slaughtered! ²  They are doomed, ³  for their day of reckoning ⁴  has come, the time for them to be punished.”

A drought will come upon her land; her rivers and canals will be dried up. ¹  All of this will happen because her land is filled with idols. ²  Her people act like madmen because of ³  those idols they fear. ⁴ 

Therefore fathers will eat their sons within you, Jerusalem, ¹  and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments on you, and I will scatter any survivors ²  to the winds. ³ 

Violence ¹  has grown into a staff that supports wickedness. Not one of them will be left ²  – not from their crowd, not from their wealth, not from their prominence. ³ 

Even if these three men were in it, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, they could not save their own sons or daughters – they would save only their own lives.

“‘I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters (along with your fortunes among them),

It will never again be Israel’s source of confidence, but a reminder of how they sinned by turning to Egypt for help. ¹  Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.’”