This happened because the Israelites sinned against the Lord their God, who brought them up from the land of Egypt and freed them from the power of ¹  Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped ²  other gods;

Instead you must worship the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt by his great power and military ability; ¹  bow down to him and offer sacrifices to him.

Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord when he says, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.”

They paid 600 silver pieces for each chariot from Egypt, and 150 silver pieces for each horse. They also sold chariots and horses to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria. ¹ 

The Lord was angry at Amaziah and sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why are you following ¹  these gods ²  that could not deliver their own people from your power?” ³ 

The Lord delivered Hezekiah and the residents of Jerusalem from the power of King Sennacherib of Assyria and from all the other nations. ¹  He made them secure on every side. ² 

Hilkiah informed Shaphan the scribe, “I found the law scroll in the Lord’s temple.” Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan.

This took place to fulfill the Lord’s message delivered through Jeremiah. ¹  The land experienced ²  its sabbatical years; ³  it remained desolate for seventy years, ⁴  as prophesied. ⁵ 

But after our ancestors ¹  angered the God of heaven, he delivered them into the hands ²  of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and exiled the people to Babylon. ³ 

Then I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, and I presented to them the letters from the king. The king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.

You prolonged your kindness ¹  with them for many years, and you solemnly admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they paid no attention, ²  so you delivered them into the hands of the neighboring peoples. ³ 

Not only that, ¹  but I have seen the wicked approaching ²  and entering the temple, ³  and as they left the holy temple, ⁴  they boasted ⁵  in the city that they had done so. This also is an enigma. ⁶ 

The Maidens about His Beloved: Who is this coming up from the desert, leaning on her beloved? The Beloved to Her Lover: Under the apple tree I aroused you; ¹  there your mother conceived you, there she who bore you was in labor of childbirth. ² 

At that time they will say, ¹  “Look, here ²  is our God! We waited for him and he delivered us. Here ³  is the Lord! We waited for him. Let’s rejoice and celebrate his deliverance!”

So this is what the Lord, the one who delivered Abraham, says to the family of Jacob: ¹  “Jacob will no longer be ashamed; their faces will no longer show their embarrassment. ² 

For this is what the master, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: “If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered; ¹  if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength, ²  but you are unwilling.

I decreed and delivered and proclaimed, and there was no other god among you. You are my witnesses,” says the Lord, “that I am God.

All of you, gather together and listen! Who among them ¹  announced these things? The Lord’s ally ²  will carry out his desire against Babylon; he will exert his power against the Babylonians. ³ 

Did you not dry up the sea, the waters of the great deep? Did you not make ¹  a path through the depths of the sea, so those delivered from bondage ²  could cross over?

Your gates will remain open at all times; they will not be shut during the day or at night, so that the wealth of nations may be delivered, with their kings leading the way. ¹