¹ Nahash ²  the Ammonite marched ³  against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh Gilead said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us and we will serve you.”

David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul’s hand?” The Lord said, “They will deliver you over.”

The men of Judah came and there they anointed David as king over the people ¹  of Judah. David was told, ²  “The people ³  of Jabesh Gilead are the ones who buried Saul.”

Now be courageous ¹  and prove to be valiant warriors, for your lord Saul is dead. The people of Judah have anointed me as king over them.”

Absalom acted this way toward everyone in Israel who came to the king for justice. In this way Absalom won the loyalty ¹  of the citizens ²  of Israel.

The Lord saw Israel’s intense suffering; ¹  everyone was weak and incapacitated and Israel had no deliverer. ² 

The residents of Jebus said to David, “You cannot invade this place!” But David captured the fortress of Zion (that is, the City of David).

The Lord delivered Hezekiah and the residents of Jerusalem from the power of King Sennacherib of Assyria and from all the other nations. ¹  He made them secure on every side. ² 

But Manasseh misled the people of ¹  Judah and the residents of Jerusalem so that they sinned more than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed ahead of the Israelites.

Stand in the sanctuary and, together with the Levites, represent the family divisions of your countrymen. ¹ 

I mention Rahab ¹  and Babylon to my followers. ²  Here are ³  Philistia and Tyre, ⁴  along with Ethiopia. ⁵  It is said of them, “This one was born there.” ⁶ 

But it is said of Zion’s residents, ¹  “Each one of these ²  was born in her, and the sovereign One ³  makes her secure.” ⁴ 

He will become a sanctuary, ¹  but a stone that makes a person trip, and a rock that makes one stumble – to the two houses of Israel. ²  He will become ³  a trap and a snare to the residents of Jerusalem. ⁴ 

Cry out and shout for joy, O citizens of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel ¹  acts mightily ²  among you!”

As you stand in those places ¹  announce, ‘Listen, all you people who pass through these gates. Listen, all you kings of Judah, all you people of Judah and all you citizens of Jerusalem. Listen to what the Lord says. ² 

Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people, particularly to all the women. ¹  “Listen to what the Lord has to say all you people of Judah who are in Egypt.

Pack your bags for exile, you inhabitants of poor dear Egypt. ¹  For Memphis will be laid waste. It will lie in ruins ²  and be uninhabited.

“Son of man, speak to your people, ¹  and say to them, ‘Suppose I bring a sword against the land, and the people of the land take one man from their borders and make him their watchman.

The company of priests is like a gang of robbers, lying in ambush to pounce on a victim. They commit murder on the road to Shechem; they have done heinous crimes!

The Lord roars from Zion; from Jerusalem ¹  his voice bellows out. ²  The heavens ³  and the earth shake. But the Lord is a refuge for his people; he is a stronghold for the citizens ⁴  of Israel.