At that time Merodach-Baladan ¹  son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah was ill.

That day ¹  the Israelites were defeated; the men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the Lord God of their ancestors.

Asa was so angry at the prophet, he put him in jail. ¹  Asa also oppressed some of the people at that time.

They were unable to observe it at the regular ¹  time because not enough priests had consecrated themselves and the people had not assembled in Jerusalem.

So the Israelites who were present observed the Passover at that time, as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

At that time I instructed ¹  the people, “Let every man and his coworker spend the night in Jerusalem and let them be guards for us by night and workers by day.

At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been ill and had recovered.

This is what the Lord says: “At the time I decide to show my favor, I will respond to you; in the day of deliverance I will help you; I will protect you ¹  and make you a covenant mediator for people, ²  to rebuild ³  the land ⁴  and to reassign the desolate property.

But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them save you when you are in trouble. The sad fact is that ¹  you have as many gods as you have towns, Judah.

“At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem ¹  will be told, ‘A scorching wind will sweep down from the hilltops in the desert on ²  my dear people. ³  It will not be a gentle breeze for winnowing the grain and blowing away the chaff. ⁴ 

Then those living in the towns of Judah and in Jerusalem will ¹  go and cry out for help to the gods to whom they have been sacrificing. However, those gods will by no means ²  be able to save them when disaster strikes them.

The Lord said, “Jerusalem, ¹  I will surely send you away for your own good. I will surely ²  bring the enemy upon you in a time of trouble and distress.

May that man be like the cities ¹  that the Lord destroyed without showing any mercy. May he hear a cry of distress in the morning and a battle cry at noon.

At that time I will be the God of all the clans of Israel ¹  and they will be my people. I, the Lord, affirm it!” ² 

Kill all the farmers who sow the seed in the land of Babylon. Kill all those who wield the sickle at harvest time. ¹  Let all the foreigners return to their own people. Let them hurry back to their own lands to escape destruction by that enemy army. ² 

“‘As for you, profane and wicked prince of Israel, ¹  whose day has come, the time of final punishment,

Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, ¹  but he will not answer them. He will hide his face from them at that time, because they have done such wicked deeds.”

Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you. I will rescue the lame sheep ¹  and gather together the scattered sheep. I will take away their humiliation and make the whole earth admire and respect them. ² 

Ask the Lord for rain in the season of the late spring rains ¹  – the Lord who causes thunderstorms – and he will give everyone showers of rain and green growth in the field.

So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “Now this mass of people ¹  will lick up everything around us, as the bull devours the grass of the field. Now Balak son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at this time.