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 

Many were bringing presents ¹  to the Lord in Jerusalem and precious gifts to King Hezekiah of Judah. From that time on he was respected by ²  all the nations.

Say this to the king of Judah, who sent you to seek an oracle from the Lord: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says concerning the words you have heard:

Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹  He did evil in the sight of ²  the Lord his God.

Jehoiachin was eighteen ¹  years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. ²  He did evil in the sight of ³  the Lord.

He deported to Babylon all who escaped the sword. They served him and his sons until the Persian kingdom rose to power.

¹ These are the people ²  of the province who were going up, ³  from the captives of the exile whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had forced into exile in Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem ⁴  and Judah, each to his own city.

So the work on the temple of God in Jerusalem came to a halt. It remained halted until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia. ¹ 

Now after these things had happened, during the reign of King Artaxerxes ¹  of Persia, Ezra came up from Babylon. ²  Ezra was the son of Seraiah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Hilkiah,

You have also established prophets to announce ¹  in Jerusalem ²  on your behalf, ‘We have a king in Judah!’ Now the king is going to hear about these rumors. So come on! Let’s talk about this.” ³ 

These are the people ¹  of the province who returned ²  from the captivity of the exiles, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had forced into exile. ³  They returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each to his own city.

It is lofty and pleasing to look at, ¹  a source of joy to the whole earth. ²  Mount Zion resembles the peaks of Zaphon; ³  it is the city of the great king.

The Lord reigns! He is robed in majesty, the Lord is robed, he wears strength around his waist. ²  Indeed, the world is established, it cannot be moved.

There was once ¹  a small city with a few men in it, and a mighty king attacked it, besieging ²  it and building strong ³  siege works against it.

for before the child knows how to cry out, ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria ¹  will be carried off by the king of Assyria.” ² 

so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, both young and old. They will be in undergarments and barefoot, with the buttocks exposed; the Egyptians will be publicly humiliated. ¹ 

At that time ¹  Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, ²  the typical life span of a king. ³  At the end of seventy years Tyre will try to attract attention again, like the prostitute in the popular song: ⁴ 

The full moon will be covered up, ¹  the bright sun ²  will be darkened; ³  for the Lord who commands armies will rule ⁴  on Mount Zion in Jerusalem ⁵  in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor. ⁶ 

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, ¹  King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.

The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect, ¹  “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria.