He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord ¹  said, ‘Deceive and overpower him. ²  Go out and do as you have proposed.’

You defeated Edom ¹  and it has gone to your head. ²  Gloat over your success, ³  but stay in your palace. Why bring calamity on yourself? Why bring down yourself and Judah along with you?” ⁴ 

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.

But Manasseh misled the people of ¹  Judah and the residents of Jerusalem so that they sinned more than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed ahead of the Israelites.

They established the altar on its foundations, even though they were in terror of the local peoples, ¹  and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and the evening offerings.

So the Lord said to Satan, “All right then, ¹  everything he has is ²  in your power. ³  Only do not extend your hand against the man himself!” ⁴  So Satan went out ⁵  from the presence of the Lord. ⁶ 

You have scrutinized my inner motives; ¹  you have examined me during the night. ²  You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin. I am determined I will say nothing sinful. ³ 

I have received a distressing message: ¹  “The deceiver deceives, the destroyer destroys. Attack, you Elamites! Lay siege, you Medes! I will put an end to all the groaning!” ² 

Predict how future events will turn out, ¹  so we might know you are gods. Yes, do something good or bad, so we might be frightened and in awe. ² 

Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know? Who announced it ¹  ahead of time, so we could say, ‘He’s correct’? Indeed, none of them decreed it! Indeed, none of them announced it! Indeed, no one heard you say anything!

Who is like me? Let him make his claim! ¹  Let him announce it and explain it to me – since I established an ancient people – ²  let them announce future events! ³ 

I announced them to you beforehand; before they happened, I predicted them for you, so you could never say, ‘My image did these things, my idol, my cast image, decreed them.’

Yet do not depart quickly or leave in a panic. ¹  For the Lord goes before you; the God of Israel is your rear guard.

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 

He also ordered Jerahmeel, who was one of the royal princes, ¹  Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. However, the Lord hid them.

Go ahead and ¹  charge into battle, you horsemen! Drive furiously, you charioteers! Let the soldiers march out into battle, those from Ethiopia and Libya who carry shields, and those from Lydia ²  who are armed with the bow. ³ 

ח (Khet) The Lord was determined to tear down Daughter Zion’s wall. He prepared to knock it down; ¹  he did not withdraw his hand from destroying. ²  He made the ramparts and fortified walls lament; together they mourned their ruin. ³ 

When they ¹  moved, they would go in any of the four directions they faced without turning as they moved; in the direction the head would turn they would follow ²  without turning as they moved,

“Take note, son of man, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for distant days; he is prophesying about the far future.’

I did this ¹  because they rejected my regulations, did not follow my statutes, and desecrated my Sabbaths; for their hearts followed their idols. ²