He offered sacrifices in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom and passed his sons through the fire, ¹  a horrible sin practiced by the nations ²  whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites.

Ahaz passed away ¹  and was buried in the City of David; ²  they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king.

They gave money to the craftsmen and builders to buy chiseled stone and wood for the braces and rafters of the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into disrepair. ¹ 

As a result, ¹  all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate were bowing and paying homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded. However, Mordecai did not bow, ²  nor did he pay him homage.

Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb. ¹  All the days ordained for me were recorded in your scroll before one of them came into existence. ² 

Wake up! Wake up! Get up, O Jerusalem! You drank from the cup the Lord passed to you, which was full of his anger! ¹  You drained dry the goblet full of intoxicating wine. ² 

Your children faint; they lie at the head of every street like an antelope in a snare. They are left in a stupor by the Lord’s anger, by the battle cry of your God. ¹ 

He was despised and rejected by people, ¹  one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; ²  he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. ³ 

I looked, but there was no one to help; I was shocked because there was no one offering support. ¹  So my right arm accomplished deliverance; my raging anger drove me on. ² 

“Stand in the gate of the Lord’s temple and proclaim ¹  this message: ‘Listen, all you people of Judah who have passed through these gates to worship the Lord. ²  Hear what the Lord has to say.

When King Zedekiah of Judah and all his soldiers saw them, they tried to escape. They departed from the city during the night. They took a path through the king’s garden and passed out through the gate between the two walls. ¹  Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. ² 

I will weep for the grapevines of Sibmah just like the town of Jazer weeps over them. ¹  Their branches once spread as far as the Dead Sea. ²  They reached as far as the town of Jazer. ³  The destroyer will ravage her fig, date, ⁴  and grape crops.

ס (Samek) All who passed by on the road clapped their hands to mock you. ¹  They sneered and shook their heads at Daughter Jerusalem. “Ha! Is this the city they called ²  ‘The perfection of beauty, ³  the source of joy of the whole earth!’?” ⁴ 

ש (Sin/Shin) Rejoice and be glad for now, ¹  O people of Edom, ²  who reside in the land of Uz. But the cup of judgment ³  will pass ⁴  to you also; you will get drunk and take off your clothes.

For they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and their sons, whom they bore to me, ¹  they have passed through the fire as food to their idols. ² 

Those who lived in its shade, its allies ¹  among the nations, also went down with it to Sheol, to those killed by the sword.

In the first ¹  year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had ²  a dream filled with visions ³  while he was lying on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream in summary fashion. ⁴ 

until the Ancient of Days arrived and judgment was rendered ¹  in favor of the holy ones of the Most High. Then the time came for the holy ones to take possession of the kingdom.

“Then there will arise in his place a despicable person ¹  to whom the royal honor has not been rightfully conferred. He will come on the scene in a time of prosperity and will seize the kingdom through deceit.

Ephraim was a well-trained heifer who loved to thresh grain; I myself put a fine yoke ¹ on her neck. I will harness Ephraim. Let Judah plow! ²  Let Jacob break up ³  the unplowed ground for himself!