There is a generation whose teeth are like ¹  swords ²  and whose molars ³  are like knives to devour ⁴  the poor from the earth and the needy from among the human race.

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.

So realize that the Lord your God is the true God, ¹  the faithful God who keeps covenant faithfully ²  with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

A person of illegitimate birth ¹  may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation no one related to him may do so. ² 

An Ammonite or Moabite ¹  may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation none of their descendants shall ever ²  do so, ³ 

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.

He said, “I will reject them, ¹  I will see what will happen to them; for they are a perverse generation, children ²  who show no loyalty.

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.

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 

So, mourn, ¹  you people of this nation. ²  Cut off your hair and throw it away. Sing a song of mourning on the hilltops. For the Lord has decided to reject ³  and forsake this generation that has provoked his wrath!’” ⁴ 

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 

Take the choice bone of the flock, heap up bones under it; boil rapidly, and boil its bones in it.

That entire generation passed away; ¹  a new generation grew up ²  that had not personally experienced the Lord’s presence or seen what he had done for Israel. ³ 

So Saul instructed his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, ¹  so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” His servants replied to him, “There is a woman who is a medium in Endor.”

On the border of Manasseh’s territory were Beth-Shean ¹  and its surrounding towns, Taanach and its surrounding towns, Megiddo ²  and its surrounding towns, and Dor and its surrounding towns. The descendants of Joseph, Israel’s son, lived here.

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 

The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shan, Taanach, or their surrounding towns. Nor did they conquer the people living in Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo ¹  or their surrounding towns. ²  The Canaanites managed ³  to remain in those areas. ⁴