Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Why are you here? ¹  Go to your father’s prophets or your mother’s prophets!” The king of Israel replied to him, “No, for the Lord is the one who summoned these three kings so that he can hand them over to Moab.”

But when she reached the prophet on the mountain, she grabbed hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to push her away, but the prophet said, “Leave her alone, for she is very upset. ¹  The Lord has kept the matter hidden from me; he didn’t tell me about it.”

So King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest along with the other priests, and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damage to the temple? Now, take no more silver from your treasurers unless you intend to use it to repair the damage.” ¹ 

Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your dependent. ¹  March up and rescue me from the power ²  of the king of Syria and the king of Israel, who have attacked ³  me.”

I will add fifteen years to your life and rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’” ¹ 

Shaphan the scribe went to the king and reported, ¹  “Your servants melted down the silver in the temple ²  and handed it over to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord’s temple.”

Huram sent him ships and some of his sailors, men who were well acquainted with the sea. They sailed with Solomon’s men to Ophir, ¹  and took from there 450 talents ²  of gold, which they brought back to King Solomon.

King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took away the treasures of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace; he took everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made.

At that time Hanani the prophet ¹  visited King Asa of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Syria and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand.

So the king of Israel assembled 400 prophets and asked them, “Should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” ¹  They said, “Attack! God ²  will hand it over to the king.”

He prayed: “O Lord God of our ancestors, ¹  you are the God who lives in heaven ²  and rules over all the kingdoms of the nations. You possess strength and power; no one can stand against you.

He brought against them the king of the Babylonians, who slaughtered ¹  their young men in their temple. ²  He did not spare ³  young men or women, or even the old and aging. God ⁴  handed everyone over to him.

“Now you, Ezra, in keeping with the wisdom of your God which you possess, ¹  appoint judges ²  and court officials who can arbitrate cases on behalf of all the people who are in Trans-Euphrates who know the laws of your God. Those who do not know this law should be taught.

Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race ¹  has become intermingled with the local residents. Worse still, the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront of all of this!”

From the days of our fathers until this very day our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities we, along with our kings and ¹  priests, have been delivered over by the local kings ²  to sword, captivity, plunder, and embarrassment – right up to the present time.

And now, though we share the same flesh and blood as our fellow countrymen, ¹  and our children are just like their children, ²  still we have found it necessary to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. ³  Some of our daughters have been subjected to slavery, while we are powerless to help, ⁴  since our fields and vineyards now belong to other people.” ⁵ 

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; ²  a prayer ³  of David, written when Saul sent men to surround his house and murder him. ⁴  Deliver me from my enemies, my God! Protect me ⁵  from those who attack me! ⁶ 

So ¹  I again considered ²  all the oppression ³  that continually occurs ⁴  on earth. ⁵  This is what I saw: ⁶  The oppressed ⁷  were in tears, ⁸  but no one was comforting them; no one delivers ⁹  them from the power of their oppressors.

Scarcely ¹  had I passed them by when I found my beloved! I held onto him ²  tightly and would not let him go ³  until I brought him to my mother’s house, ⁴  to the bedroom chamber ⁵  of the one who conceived me.

My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest, as one gathers up abandoned eggs, I gathered up the whole earth. There was no wing flapping, or open mouth chirping.” ¹