But Judah will reside securely forever, and Jerusalem will be secure ¹  from one generation to the next.

Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom, ¹  and your dominion endures through all generations.

for riches do not last ¹  forever, nor does a crown last ²  from generation to generation.

A generation comes ¹  and a generation goes, ²  but the earth remains ³  the same ⁴  through the ages. ⁵ 

But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation.

In the fourth generation ¹  your descendants ²  will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” ³ 

‘I will give you an eternal dynasty ¹  and establish your throne throughout future generations.’” ²  (Selah)

You were once abandoned and despised, with no one passing through, but I will make you ¹  a permanent source of pride and joy to coming generations.

They will rebuild the perpetual ruins and restore the places that were desolate; ¹  they will reestablish the ruined cities, the places that have been desolate since ancient times.

Remember the ancient days; bear in mind ¹  the years of past generations. ²  Ask your father and he will inform you, your elders, and they will tell you.

No one will live there again; no one will ever reside there again. ¹  No bedouin ²  will camp ³  there, no shepherds will rest their flocks ⁴  there.

He assigns them their allotment; ¹  he measures out their assigned place. ²  They will live there ³  permanently; they will settle in it through successive generations.

Your perpetual ruins will be rebuilt; ¹  you will reestablish the ancient foundations. You will be called, ‘The one who repairs broken walls, the one who makes the streets inhabitable again.’ ² 

Therefore desert creatures and jackals will live there. Ostriches ¹  will dwell in it too. ²  But no people will ever live there again. No one will dwell there for all time to come. ³ 

These days were to be remembered and to be celebrated in every generation and in every family, every province, and every city. The Jews were not to fail to observe these days of Purim; the remembrance of them was not to cease among their descendants.

It will be ¹  a day of dreadful darkness, ²  a day of foreboding storm clouds, ³  like blackness ⁴  spread over the mountains. It is a huge and powerful army ⁵  – there has never been anything like it ever before, and there will not be anything like it for many generations to come! ⁶