The exiles from Judah will say, ¹  ‘The Lord has brought about a great deliverance for us! ²  Come on, let’s go and proclaim in Zion what the Lord our God has done!’

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.

so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in consoling them.

He took one of the seedlings ¹  of the land, placed it in a cultivated plot; ²  a shoot by abundant water, like a willow he planted it.

All the choice men ¹  among his troops will die ²  by the sword and the survivors will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken!

and say: “‘What a lioness was your mother among the lions! She lay among young lions; ¹  she reared her cubs.

But those in Jerusalem ¹  will view it as a false omen. They have sworn solemn oaths, ²  but the king of Babylon ³  will accuse them of violations ⁴  in order to seize them. ⁵ 

Recite a proverb to this rebellious house ¹  and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: “‘Set on the pot, ²  set it on, pour water in it too;

In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, ¹  the word of the Lord came to me:

Even the calf idol ¹  will be carried to Assyria, as tribute for the great king. ²  Ephraim will be disgraced; Israel will be put to shame because ³  of its wooden idol. ⁴ 

Ephraim continually feeds on the wind; he chases the east wind all day; he multiplies lies and violence. They make treaties ¹  with Assyria, and send olive oil as tribute ²  to Egypt.

Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against ¹  you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up ²  from the land of Egypt:

Residents of Lachish, ¹  hitch the horses to the chariots! You ²  influenced Daughter Zion ³  to sin, ⁴  for Israel’s rebellious deeds can be traced back ⁵  to you!

Shave your heads bald as you mourn for the children you love; ¹  shave your foreheads as bald ²  as an eagle, ³  for they are taken from you into exile.

“On the day of the Lord’s sacrificial meal, I will punish the princes ¹  and the king’s sons, and all who wear foreign styles of clothing. ² 

“I have heard Moab’s taunts and the Ammonites’ insults. They ¹  taunted my people and verbally harassed those living in Judah. ² 

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem ¹  in Judea, in the time ²  of King Herod, ³  wise men ⁴  from the East came to Jerusalem ⁵ 

So ¹  Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth ²  in Galilee to Judea, to the city ³  of David called Bethlehem, ⁴  because he was of the house ⁵  and family line ⁶  of David.

They said to him, “We have come down to take you prisoner so we can hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Promise me ¹  you will not kill ²  me.”

So she decided to return home from the region of Moab, accompanied by her daughters-in-law, ¹  because while she was living in Moab ²  she had heard that the Lord had shown concern ³  for his people, reversing the famine by providing abundant crops. ⁴