Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the godly and the congregation.

He delivered his people; ¹  he ordained that his covenant be observed forever. ²  His name is holy and awesome.

Is there anything about which someone can say, “Look at this! It is new!”? ¹  It was already ²  done long ago, ³  before our time. ⁴ 

Listen to the Lord’s word, you leaders of Sodom! ¹  Pay attention to our God’s rebuke, ²  people of Gomorrah!

The crops of the fields ¹  have been destroyed. ²  The ground is in mourning because the grain has perished. The fresh wine has dried up; the olive oil languishes.

“Because ¹  you violently slaughtered ²  your relatives, ³  the people of Jacob, ⁴  shame will cover you, and you will be destroyed ⁵  forever.

Don’t spread the news in Gath! ¹  Don’t shed even a single tear! ²  In Beth Leaphrah sit in the dust! ³ 

They mock kings and laugh at rulers. They laugh at every fortified city; they build siege ramps ¹  and capture them.

Then the man standing among the myrtle trees spoke up and said, “These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk about ¹  on the earth.”

Come, let’s deal wisely ¹  with them. Otherwise ²  they will continue to multiply, ³  and if ⁴  a war breaks out, they will ally themselves with ⁵  our enemies and fight against us and leave ⁶  the country.”

The men of Judah attacked the Canaanites living in Hebron. (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba.) They killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

and Solomon supplied Hiram annually with 20,000 cors ¹  of wheat as provision for his royal court, ²  as well as 20,000 baths ³  of pure ⁴  olive oil. ⁵ 

On the seventh day, as King Ahasuerus was feeling the effects of the wine, ¹  he ordered Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who attended him, ² 

Have you ¹  not made a hedge ²  around him and his household and all that he has on every side? You have blessed ³  the work of his hands, and his livestock ⁴  have increased ⁵  in the land.

Your people willingly follow you ¹  when you go into battle. ²  On the holy hills ³  at sunrise ⁴  the dew of your youth ⁵  belongs to you. ⁶ 

To obey the Lord is the fundamental principle for wise living; ¹  all who carry out his precepts acquire good moral insight. ²  He will receive praise forever. ³ 

Know for certain that ¹  I hereby give you the authority to announce to nations and kingdoms that they will be ²  uprooted and torn down, destroyed and demolished, rebuilt and firmly planted.” ³ 

י (Yod) An enemy grabbed ¹  all her valuables. ²  Indeed she watched in horror ³  as Gentiles ⁴  invaded her holy temple ⁵  – those whom you ⁶  had commanded: “They must not enter ⁷  your assembly place.” ⁸ 

Hearing this, ¹  the men became even more afraid ²  and said to him, “What have you done?” (The men said this because they knew that he was trying to escape ³  from the Lord, ⁴  because he had previously told them. ⁵ )

On that day,” says the Lord, “a loud cry will go up ¹  from the Fish Gate, ²  wailing from the city’s newer district, ³  and a loud crash ⁴  from the hills.