In those days ¹  no one could travel safely, ²  for total chaos had overtaken all the people of the surrounding lands. ³ 

In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. ¹  He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a sign confirming that he would be healed. ² 

In those days the aristocrats of Judah repeatedly sent letters to Tobiah, and responses from Tobiah were repeatedly coming to them.

Under his rule Judah will enjoy safety ¹  and Jerusalem ²  will live in security. At that time Jerusalem will be called “The Lord has provided us with justice.” ³ 

“In those times many will oppose ¹  the king of the south. ²  Those who are violent ³  among your own people will rise up in confirmation of ⁴  the vision, but they will falter.

And,’ says the Lord who rules over all, ‘though such a thing may seem to be difficult in the opinion of the small community of those days, will it also appear difficult to me?’ asks the Lord who rules over all.

The Nephilim ¹  were on the earth in those days (and also after this) ²  when the sons of God were having sexual relations with ³  the daughters of humankind, who gave birth to their children. ⁴  They were the mighty heroes ⁵  of old, the famous men. ⁶ 

¹ During ²  that long period of time ³  the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites ⁴  groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cry ⁵  because of their slave labor went up to God.

Moreover, ¹  you have not brought us into a land that flows with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you think you can blind ²  these men? We will not come up.”

You must go to the priest in office at that time and say to him, “I declare today to the Lord your ¹  God that I have come into the land that the Lord ²  promised ³  to our ancestors ⁴  to give us.”

Among those nations you will have no rest nor will there be a place of peaceful rest for the soles of your feet, for there the Lord will give you an anxious heart, failing eyesight, and a spirit of despair.

He must remain ¹  in that city until his case is decided by the assembly ²  and the high priest dies. ³  Then the one who committed manslaughter may return home to the city from which he escaped.” ⁴ 

In those days Israel had no king. There was a Levite ¹  living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. He acquired a concubine ²  from Bethlehem ³  in Judah.

Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving the Lord ¹  in those days), “Should we ²  once more march out to fight the Benjaminites our brothers, ³  or should we ⁴  quit?” The Lord said, “Attack, for tomorrow I will hand them ⁵  over to you.”

In those days the Philistines gathered their troops ¹  for war in order to fight Israel. Achish said to David, “You should fully understand that you and your men must go with me into the battle.” ² 

In those days Ahithophel’s advice was considered as valuable as a prophetic revelation. ¹  Both David and Absalom highly regarded the advice of Ahithophel. ² 

In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. ¹  The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give your household instructions, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’” ² 

In those days while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan ¹  and Teresh, ²  two of the king’s eunuchs who protected the entrance, ³  became angry and plotted to assassinate ⁴  King Ahasuerus.

In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. ¹  The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give instructions to your household, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’”

“But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel ¹  after I plant them back in the land,” ²  says the Lord. ³  “I will ⁴  put my law within them ⁵  and write it on their hearts and minds. ⁶  I will be their God and they will be my people. ⁷