Then they went to the fortress of Tyre ¹  and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went on to the Negev of Judah, to Beer Sheba.

All of these were built with the best ¹  stones, chiseled to the right size ²  and cut with a saw on all sides, ³  from the foundation to the edge of the roof ⁴  and from the outside to the great courtyard.

Around the great courtyard were three rows of chiseled stones and one row of cedar beams, like the inner courtyard of the Lord’s temple and the hall of the palace. ¹ 

You will defeat every fortified city and every important ¹  city. You must chop down ²  every productive ³  tree, stop up all the springs, and cover all the cultivated land with stones.” ⁴ 

Let’s make a small private upper room ¹  and furnish it with ²  a bed, table, chair, and lamp. When he visits us, he can stay there.”

“You have with you the sons of your master, chariots and horses, a fortified city, and weapons. So when this letter arrives, ¹ 

He wisely placed some of his many sons throughout the regions of Judah and Benjamin in the various fortified cities. ¹  He supplied them with abundant provisions and acquired many wives for them. ² 

He built fortified cities throughout Judah, for the land was at rest and there was no war during those years; the Lord gave him peace.

He placed troops in all of Judah’s fortified cities and posted garrisons ¹  throughout the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim that his father Asa had seized.

Their father gave them many presents, including silver, gold, and other precious items, along with fortified cities in Judah. But he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.

After these faithful deeds were accomplished, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He besieged the fortified cities, intending to seize them. ¹ 

The Lord is my high ridge, ¹  my stronghold, ²  my deliverer. My God is my rocky summit where ³  I take shelter, ⁴  my shield, the horn that saves me, ⁵  and my refuge. ⁶ 

The Lord said, ¹  “Announce ²  this in Judah and proclaim it in Jerusalem: ³  ‘Sound the trumpet ⁴  throughout the land!’ Shout out loudly, ‘Gather together! Let us flee into the fortified cities!’

He did this while the army of the king of Babylon was attacking Jerusalem and the cities of Lachish and Azekah. He was attacking these cities because they were the only fortified cities of Judah which were still holding out. ¹ 

They will say, “This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden; the ruined, desolate, and destroyed cities are now fortified and inhabited.”

Israel has forgotten his Maker and built royal palaces, and Judah has built many fortified cities. But I will send fire on their cities; it will consume their royal citadels.

You are no more secure ¹  than Thebes ²  – she was located on the banks of the Nile; the waters surrounded her, her ³  rampart ⁴  was the sea, the water ⁵  was her wall.

“I destroyed ¹  nations; their walled cities ²  are in ruins. I turned their streets into ruins; no one passes through them. Their cities are desolate; ³  no one lives there. ⁴ 

The gold mice corresponded in number to all the Philistine cities of the five leaders, from the fortified cities to hamlet villages, to greater Abel, ¹  where they positioned the ark of the Lord until this very day in the field of Joshua who was from Beth Shemesh.

Then David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba son of Bicri will cause greater disaster for us than Absalom did! Take your lord’s servants and pursue him. Otherwise he will secure ¹  fortified cities for himself and get away from us.”