The men of Judah turned around and realized they were being attacked from the front and the rear. ¹  So they cried out for help to the Lord. The priests blew their trumpets,

All Judah was happy about the oath, because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord and he responded to them. ¹  He made them secure on every side. ² 

Our God, you drove out ¹  the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it as a permanent possession ²  to the descendants of your friend ³  Abraham.

Now the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir are coming! ¹  When Israel came from the land of Egypt, you did not allow them to invade these lands. ²  They bypassed them and did not destroy them.

When the edict was issued, ¹  the Israelites freely contributed ²  the initial portion of their grain, wine, olive oil, honey, and all the produce of their fields. They brought a tenth of everything, which added up to a huge amount.

All the leaders of the priests and people became more unfaithful and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations. ¹  They defiled the Lord’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his warnings, ¹  and ridiculed his prophets. ²  Finally the Lord got very angry at his people and there was no one who could prevent his judgment. ³ 

After him Palal son of Uzai worked ¹  opposite the buttress and the tower that protrudes from the upper palace ²  of the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah son of Parosh

I considered these things carefully ¹  and then registered a complaint with the wealthy ²  and the officials. I said to them, “Each one of you is seizing the collateral ³  from your own countrymen!” ⁴  Because of them I called for ⁵  a great public assembly.

and I returned to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by supplying him with a storeroom in the courts of the temple of God.

² There was a man ³  in the land of Uz ⁴  whose ⁵  name was Job. ⁶  And that man was pure ⁷  and upright, ⁸  one who feared God and turned away from evil. ⁹ 

So the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered ¹  my servant Job? There ²  is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away ³  from evil.”

Yet he is compassionate. He forgives sin and does not destroy. He often holds back his anger, and does not stir up his fury. ¹ 

He threatened ¹  to destroy them, but ²  Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him ³  and turned back his destructive anger. ⁴ 

Oppressors treat my ¹  people cruelly; creditors rule over them. ²  My people’s leaders mislead them; they give you confusing directions. ³ 

The Egyptians will panic, ¹  and I will confuse their strategy. ²  They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead, from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians. ³ 

You ¹  will hear a word spoken behind you, saying, “This is the correct ²  way, walk in it,” whether you are heading to the right or the left.

His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river ¹  that reaches one’s neck. He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff; ²  he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction. ³ 

For a fool speaks disgraceful things; ¹  his mind plans out sinful deeds. ²  He commits godless deeds ³  and says misleading things about the Lord; he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite ⁴  and gives the thirsty nothing to drink. ⁵ 

¹ Certainly you must have heard! ²  Long ago I worked it out, in ancient times I planned ³  it, and now I am bringing it to pass. The plan is this: Fortified cities will crash into heaps of ruins. ⁴