The pomegranates have appeared ¹  in the land, the time for pruning and singing ²  has come; the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

The fortified city (along with the very tops of your ¹  walls) ²  he will knock down, he will bring it down, he will throw it down to the dusty ground. ³ 

The time has come; the day has struck! The customer should not rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for divine wrath ¹  comes against their whole crowd.

Oded, a prophet of the Lord, was there. He went to meet the army as they arrived in Samaria and said to them: “Look, because the Lord God of your ancestors was angry with Judah he handed them over to you. You have killed them so mercilessly that God has taken notice. ¹ 

In the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), on its thirteenth day, the edict of the king and his law were to be executed. It was on this day that the enemies of the Jews had supposed that they would gain power over them. But contrary to expectations, the Jews gained power over their enemies.

For this reason these days are known as Purim, after the name of pur.

ב (Bet) The Lord ¹  destroyed ²  mercilessly ³  all the homes of Jacob’s descendants. ⁴  In his anger he tore down the fortified cities ⁵  of Daughter Judah. He knocked to the ground and humiliated the kingdom and its rulers. ⁶