The men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you ¹  and you can do with us whatever you wish.” ² 

Meonothai was the father of Ophrah. Seraiah was the father of Joab, the father of those who live in Ge Harashim, who were craftsmen. ¹ 

Now several non-Israelite peoples were left in the land after the conquest of Joshua, including the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ¹ 

A copy of this edict was to be presented as law throughout every province; it was to be made known to all the inhabitants, ¹  so that they would be prepared for this day.

Cry out and shout for joy, O citizens of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel ¹  acts mightily ²  among you!”

Your plunder ¹  disappears as if locusts were eating it; ²  they swarm over it like locusts! ³ 

These double disasters confronted you. But who feels sorry for you? Destruction and devastation, famine and sword. But who consoles you? ¹ 

Yes, ¹  the Lord has this to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground, you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning; just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted, you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives. ² 

I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt with war, starvation, and disease just as I punished Jerusalem.

Set up a gravestone for Moab, for it will certainly be laid in ruins! ¹  Its cities will be laid waste and become uninhabited.”

Nineveh was like a pool ¹  of water ²  throughout her days, ³  but now ⁴  her people ⁵  are running away; ⁶  she cries out: ⁷  “Stop! Stop!” – but no one turns back. ⁸ 

“Tell the people of Zion, ¹  ‘Look, your king is coming to you, unassuming and seated on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” ² 

This ¹  became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so that in their own language ²  they called that field ³  Hakeldama, that is, “Field of Blood.”)

This went on for two years, so that all who lived in the province of Asia, ¹  both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord. ² 

The local inhabitants ¹  showed us extraordinary ²  kindness, for they built a fire and welcomed us all because it had started to rain ³  and was cold.

They said to the messengers who had come, “Here’s what you should say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow deliverance will come to you when the sun is fully up.’” When the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh Gilead, they were happy.

Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As certainly as the Lord God of Israel lives (whom I serve), ¹  there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command.” ² 

Look up at the sky! Look at the earth below! For the sky will dissipate ¹  like smoke, and the earth will wear out like clothes; its residents will die like gnats. But the deliverance I give ²  is permanent; the vindication I provide ³  will not disappear. ⁴ 

Finally the Lord could no longer endure your wicked deeds and the disgusting things you did. That is why your land has become the desolate, uninhabited ruin that it is today. That is why it has become a proverbial example used in curses. ¹ 

“Son of man, the ones living in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land, but we are many; surely the land has been given to us for a possession.’ ¹