Then the king stood at his post and made a covenant in the Lord’s presence to follow the Lord and to keep His commands, His decrees, and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul in order to carry out the words of the covenant written in this book.

For the Lord has said to me,
“Go, post a lookout;
let him report what he sees.

Then the lookout reported,
“Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day,
and I stay at my post all night.

Raise up a signal flag
against the walls of Babylon;
fortify the watch post;
set the watchmen in place;
prepare the ambush.
For the Lord has both planned and accomplished
what He has threatened
against those who live in Babylon.

“Son of man, pose a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel.

I will stand at my guard post
and station myself on the lookout tower.
I will watch to see what He will say to me
and what I should reply about my complaint.