Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, ¹  to watch out for those who create dissensions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them!

Therefore, remember what you received and heard, ¹  and obey it, ²  and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never ³  know at what hour I will come against ⁴  you.

But the Kohathites ¹  are not to go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, or they will die.”

Joshua said, “Roll large stones over the mouth of the cave and post guards in front of it. ¹ 

“So now, take your positions and watch this great thing that the Lord is about to do in your sight.

“Are you acquainted with the way ¹  the mountain goats ²  give birth? Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young?

Do not forsake wisdom, ¹  and she will protect you; love her, and she will guard you.

The Lord says, ¹  “The leaders of my people are sure to be judged. ²  They were supposed to watch over my people like shepherds watch over their sheep. But they are causing my people to be destroyed and scattered. ³ 

There at Riblah the king of Babylon had Zedekiah’s sons put to death while Zedekiah was forced to watch. The king of Babylon also had all the nobles of Judah put to death.

So ¹  I will pounce on them like a lion; ²  like a leopard I will lurk by the path.

So ¹  they went with the soldiers ²  of the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.

Watch ¹  yourselves! If ²  your brother ³  sins, rebuke him. If ⁴  he repents, forgive him.

So then we must not sleep as the rest, but must stay alert and sober.

For the culmination of all things is near. So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer. ¹ 

and keep your eyes open. ¹  When you see ²  the daughters of Shiloh coming out to dance in the celebration, ³  jump out from the vineyards. Each one of you, catch yourself a wife from among the daughters of Shiloh and then go home to the land of Benjamin.

Again, however, pay very careful attention, ¹  lest you forget the things you have seen and disregard them for the rest of your life; instead teach them to your children and grandchildren.

But keep an eye on it. If it should go up by the way of its own border to Beth Shemesh, then he has brought this great calamity on us. But if that is not the case, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us; rather, it just happened to us by accident.”

Instruct ¹  these people as follows: ‘You are about to cross the border of your relatives ²  the descendants of Esau, ³  who inhabit Seir. They will be afraid of you, so watch yourselves carefully.

Be careful with them and protect them, until you weigh them out before the leading priests and the Levites and the family leaders of Israel in Jerusalem, ¹  in the storerooms of the temple of the Lord.”

Hear what the Lord has to say, O nations. Proclaim it in the faraway lands along the sea. Say, “The one who scattered Israel will regather them. He will watch over his people like a shepherd watches over his flock.”