Then the herald ¹  made a loud ²  proclamation: “To you, O peoples, nations, and language groups, the following command is given: ³ 

For this gospel ¹  I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher. ² 

I first decreed to Zion, ‘Look, here’s what will happen!’ ¹  I sent a herald to Jerusalem. ² 

Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion! Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem! ¹  Shout, don’t be afraid! Say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!”

and if he did not spare the ancient world, but did protect Noah, a herald of righteousness, along with seven others, ¹  when God ²  brought a flood on an ungodly world, ³ 

Deliverance goes ¹  before him, and prepares ²  a pathway for him. ³ 

For messengers are coming, heralding disaster, from the city of Dan and from the hills of Ephraim. ¹ 

For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle – I am telling the truth; ¹  I am not lying – and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

The Lord responded: ¹  “Write down this message! ²  Record it legibly on tablets, so the one who announces ³  it may read it easily. ⁴ 

Preach the message, ¹  be ready ²  whether it is convenient or not, ³  reprove, rebuke, exhort ⁴  with complete patience and instruction.

Then she saw ¹  the king standing by the pillar, according to custom. The officers stood beside the king with their trumpets and all the people of the land were celebrating and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Treason, treason!” ² 

And he will go as forerunner before the Lord ¹  in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ²  to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”

Then she saw ¹  the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and trumpeters stood beside the king and all the people of the land were celebrating and blowing trumpets, and the musicians with various instruments were leading the celebration. Athaliah tore her clothes and yelled, “Treason! Treason!” ² 

In the first year of the reign of ¹  King Cyrus of Persia, in fulfillment of the promise he delivered through Jeremiah, ²  the Lord moved ³  King Cyrus of Persia to issue a written decree throughout his kingdom.

¹ In the first ²  year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the Lord’s message ³  spoken through ⁴  Jeremiah, ⁵  the Lord stirred the mind ⁶  of King Cyrus of Persia. He disseminated ⁷  a proclamation ⁸  throughout his entire kingdom, announcing in a written edict ⁹  the following:

(2:1) ¹  Look! A herald is running ²  on the mountains! A messenger is proclaiming deliverance: ³  “Celebrate your sacred festivals, O Judah! Fulfill your sacred vows to praise God! ⁴  For never again ⁵  will the wicked ⁶  Assyrians ⁷  invade ⁸  you, they ⁹  have been completely destroyed.”