Now the king had placed the officer who was his right-hand man ¹  at the city gate. When the people rushed out, they trampled him to death in the gate. ²  This fulfilled the prophet’s word which he had spoken when the king tried to arrest him. ³ 

King Jehoiachin of Judah, along with his mother, his servants, his officials, and his eunuchs surrendered ¹  to the king of Babylon. The king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, ²  took Jehoiachin ³  prisoner.

King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served ¹  his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them, ²  “How do you advise me to answer these people?”

Furthermore, be aware of the fact ¹  that you have no authority to impose tax, tribute, or toll on any of the priests, the Levites, the musicians, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or the attendants at the temple of this God.

“Now the rest of the people – the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple attendants, and all those who have separated themselves from the neighboring peoples ¹  because of the law of God, along with their wives, their sons, and their daughters, all of whom are able to understand –

These are the provincial leaders ¹  who settled in Jerusalem. (While other Israelites, the priests, the Levites, the temple attendants, and the sons of the servants of Solomon settled in the cities of Judah, each on his own property in their cities,

in the third ¹  year of his reign he provided a banquet for all his officials and his servants. The army ²  of Persia and Media ³  was present, ⁴  as well as the nobles and the officials of the provinces.

Look, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a female servant look to the hand of her mistress, ¹  so my eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.

If you see the extortion ¹  of the poor, or the perversion ²  of justice and fairness in the government, ³  do not be astonished by the matter. For the high official is watched by a higher official, ⁴  and there are higher ones over them! ⁵ 

Everyone will suffer – the priest as well as the people, ¹  the master as well as the servant, ²  the elegant lady as well as the female attendant, ³  the seller as well as the buyer, ⁴  the borrower as well as the lender, ⁵  the creditor as well as the debtor. ⁶ 

The Lord says, “Do what is just and right. Deliver those who have been robbed from those ¹  who oppress them. Do not exploit or mistreat foreigners who live in your land, children who have no fathers, or widows. ²  Do not kill innocent people ³  in this land.

All the people living in Jerusalem ¹  and all the people who came into Jerusalem from the towns of Judah came to observe a fast before the Lord. The fast took place in the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah. ² 

I will punish him and his descendants and the officials who serve him for the wicked things they have done. ¹  I will bring on them, the citizens of Jerusalem, ²  and the people of Judah all the disaster that I threatened to do to them. I will punish them because I threatened them but they still paid no heed.”’” ³ 

Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent out a summons to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, ¹  and all the other authorities of the province to attend the dedication of the statue that he ²  had erected.

Gather the people; sanctify an assembly! Gather the elders; gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out from his bedroom and the bride from her private quarters. ¹ 

The angel ¹  spoke up to those standing all around, “Remove his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “I have freely forgiven your iniquity and will dress you ²  in fine clothing.”

And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, ¹  which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, ²  won’t he clothe you even more, ³  you people of little faith?

And if ¹  this is how God clothes the wild grass, ²  which is here ³  today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, ⁴  how much more ⁵  will he clothe you, you people of little faith!

The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly ¹  when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my joy, and it is complete. ² 

When the chief priests and their officers saw him, they shouted out, “Crucify ¹  him! Crucify him!” ²  Pilate said, ³  “You take him and crucify him! ⁴  Certainly ⁵  I find no reason for an accusation ⁶  against him!”