Highways are empty, ¹  there are no travelers. ²  Treaties are broken, ³  witnesses are despised, ⁴  human life is treated with disrespect. ⁵ 

I will bring the most wicked of the nations and they will take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the arrogance of the strong, and their sanctuaries ¹  will be desecrated.

I will put an end to the obscene conduct in the land; all the women will learn a lesson from this and not engage in obscene conduct.

“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt, by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar ¹  of Babylon.

I will put an end to all her celebration: her annual religious festivals, monthly new moon celebrations, and weekly Sabbath festivities – all her appointed festivals.

They are all like bakers, ¹  they ²  are like a smoldering oven; they are like a baker who does not stoke the fire until the kneaded dough is ready for baking.

By ¹  the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, ²  and he ceased ³  on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing.

God blessed the seventh day and made it holy ¹  because on it he ceased all the work that he ²  had been doing in creation. ³ 

“While the earth continues to exist, ¹  planting time ²  and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.”

For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, in order that your ox and your donkey may rest and that your female servant’s son and any hired help ¹  may refresh themselves. ² 

Moreover, you must season every one of your grain offerings with salt; you must not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be missing from your grain offering ¹  – on every one of your grain offerings you must present salt.

It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must humble yourselves on the ninth day of the month in the evening, from evening until evening you must observe your Sabbath.” ¹ 

“Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land must observe a Sabbath ¹  to the Lord.

I will grant peace in the land so that ¹  you will lie down to sleep without anyone terrifying you. ²  I will remove harmful animals ³  from the land, and no sword of war ⁴  will pass through your land.

“‘Then the land will make up for ¹  its Sabbaths all the days it lies desolate while you are in the land of your enemies; then the land will rest and make up its Sabbaths.

The manna stopped appearing the day they ate ¹  some of the produce of the land; the Israelites never ate manna again. ² 

The village women said to Naomi, “May the Lord be praised because he has not left you without a guardian ¹  today! May he ²  become famous in Israel! ³ 

This took place to fulfill the Lord’s message delivered through Jeremiah. ¹  The land experienced ²  its sabbatical years; ³  it remained desolate for seventy years, ⁴  as prophesied. ⁵ 

Our adversaries also boasted, ¹  “Before they are aware or anticipate ²  anything, we will come in among them and kill them, and we will bring this work to a halt!”

So I sent messengers to them saying, “I am engaged in ¹  an important work, and I am unable to come down. Why should the work come to a halt when I leave it to come down to you?”