You should not ¹  have gloated ²  when your relatives ³  suffered calamity. ⁴  You should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah when they were destroyed. ⁵  You should not have boasted ⁶  when they suffered adversity. ⁷ 

Residents ¹  of Shaphir, ²  pass by in nakedness and humiliation! ³  The residents of Zaanan can’t leave their city. ⁴  Beth Ezel ⁵  mourns, ⁶  “He takes from you what he desires.” ⁷ 

“But all these nations will someday taunt him ¹  and ridicule him with proverbial sayings: ²  ‘The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead ³  (How long will this go on?) ⁴  – he who gets rich by extortion!’ ⁵ 

On the first day of the sixth month ¹  of King Darius’ ²  second year, the Lord spoke this message through the prophet Haggai ³  to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak: ⁴ 

The angel of the Lord then asked, “Lord who rules over all, ¹  how long before you have compassion on Jerusalem ²  and the other cities of Judah which you have been so angry with for these seventy years?” ³ 

But you took along the tabernacle ¹  of Moloch ²  and the star of the ³  god Rephan, ⁴  the images you made to worship, but I will deport ⁵  you beyond Babylon.’ ⁶ 

In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands. Then, ¹  even if some are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without a word by the way you live, ² 

When the king passed by, he called out to the king, “Your servant went out into the heat ¹  of the battle, and then a man turned aside and brought me a prisoner. ²  He told me, ‘Guard this prisoner. If he ends up missing for any reason, ³  you will pay with your life or with a talent ⁴  of silver.’ ⁵ 

¹ In the first ²  year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the Lord’s message ³  spoken through ⁴  Jeremiah, ⁵  the Lord stirred the mind ⁶  of King Cyrus of Persia. He disseminated ⁷  a proclamation ⁸  throughout his entire kingdom, announcing in a written edict ⁹  the following:

This is what the Lord says: “Where is your mother’s divorce certificate by which I divorced her? Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? ¹  Look, you were sold because of your sins; ²  because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother. ³ 

You will lose your hold on the land ¹  which I gave to you as a permanent possession. I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you know nothing about. For you have made my anger burn like a fire that will never be put out.” ² 

For I will rouse into action and bring against Babylon a host of mighty nations ¹  from the land of the north. They will set up their battle lines against her. They will come from the north and capture her. ²  Their arrows will be like a skilled soldier ³  who does not return from the battle empty-handed. ⁴ 

I will direct ¹  my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in rage. They will cut off your nose and your ears, ²  and your survivors will die ³  by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your survivors will be consumed by fire.

Indeed, wine will betray the proud, restless man! ¹  His appetite ²  is as big as Sheol’s; ³  like death, he is never satisfied. He gathers ⁴  all the nations; he seizes ⁵  all peoples.

Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ¹  along with the whole remnant of the people, ²  obeyed ³  the Lord their God. They responded favorably to the message of the prophet Haggai, who spoke just as the Lord their God had instructed him, ⁴  and the people began to respect the Lord. ⁵ 

Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him led off all the people who had been left alive at Mizpah. They had rescued them from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after he killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. They led off the men, women, children, soldiers, and court officials whom they had brought away from Gibeon.