He built up Tadmor in the wilderness and all the storage cities he had built in Hamath.

Because you favor Zion, do what is good for her! ¹  Fortify ²  the walls of Jerusalem! ³ 

For he makes the bars of your gates strong. He blesses your children ¹  within you.

The wealth ¹  of a rich person is like ²  a strong city, ³  and it is like a high wall in his imagination. ⁴ 

So come on, let’s go ahead and attack it by night and destroy all its fortified buildings.’

“I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will burn up the palaces of Ben Hadad.” ¹ 

The prophet ¹  visited the king of Israel and instructed him, “Go, fortify your defenses. ²  Determine ³  what you must do, for in the spring ⁴  the king of Syria will attack ⁵  you.”

He said to the people of Judah: ¹  “Let’s build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates. ²  The land remains ours because we have followed ³  the Lord our God and he has made us secure on all sides.” ⁴  So they built the cities ⁵  and prospered.

Hazael asked, “Why are you crying, my master?” He replied, “Because I know the trouble you will cause the Israelites. You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to bits, and rip open their pregnant women.”

They should gather all the excess food ¹  during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh’s authority ²  they should store up grain so the cities will have food, ³  and they should preserve it. ⁴ 

If it is not redeemed before the full calendar year is ended, ¹  the house in the walled city ²  will belong without reclaim ³  to the one who bought it throughout his generations; it will not revert in the jubilee.

The houses of villages, however, ¹  which have no wall surrounding them ²  must be considered as the field ³  of the land; they will have the right of redemption and must revert in the jubilee.

Then they came very close to him and said, “We will build sheep folds here for our flocks and cities for our families, ¹ 

But Israel did not burn any of the cities located on mounds, ¹  except for Hazor; ²  it was the only one Joshua burned.

There was a fortified ¹  tower ²  in the center of the city, so all the men and women, as well as the city’s leaders, ran into it and locked the entrance. Then they went up to the roof of the tower.

Here are the details concerning the work crews ¹  King Solomon conscripted ²  to build the Lord’s temple, his palace, the terrace, the wall of Jerusalem, ³  and the cities of ⁴  Hazor, ⁵  Megiddo, ⁶  and Gezer.

¹ Jeroboam built up Shechem in the Ephraimite hill country and lived there. From there he went out and built up Penuel.

When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he went into the fortified area of the royal palace. He set the palace on fire and died in the flames. ¹ 

His servants conspired against him ¹  and murdered Joash at Beth-Millo, on the road that goes down to Silla. ² 

When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning. ¹