Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents which I gave to the troops of Israel?” The man of God answered, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.”

Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and Levites about the heaps.

And so in the matter of the envoys of the rulers of Babylon, who were sent to him to inquire about the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him alone only to test him, in order to know everything that was in his heart.

In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their surrounding ruins,

“Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah in regard to the words of the book which has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord which has been poured out on us because our fathers have not kept and obeyed the word of the Lord, to act in accordance with everything that is written in this book.”

For you are sent by the king and his seven advisers to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem in accordance with the Law of your God, which is in your hand,

Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them about the surviving Jews who had escaped and survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem.

Moreover, there were at my table a hundred and fifty Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.

Now in the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar) on the thirteenth day when the king’s command and edict were about to be executed, on the [very] day when the enemies of the Jews had hoped to gain power over them [and slaughter them], it happened the other way around so that the Jews themselves gained power over those who hated them.

Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full power and authority to confirm this second letter about Purim.

Have You not put a hedge [of protection] around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands [and conferred prosperity and happiness upon him], and his possessions have increased in the land.

“For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;
So that he does not abandon (turn away from) the fear of the Almighty.

“His [godless] roots are wrapped around a pile of rocks,
And he gazes at a house of stones.

“Then you would trust [with confidence], because there is hope;
You would look around you and rest securely.

“He loosens the bond of kings
And binds their loins with a loincloth.

“The vigorous stride will be shortened,
And his own counsel and the scheme [in which he trusted] will bring his downfall.

Know then that God has wronged me and overthrown me
And has closed His net around me.

“His troops come together
And build up their way and siege works against me
And camp around my tent.

“When he fills his belly,
God will send His fierce anger on him
And will rain it upon him while he is eating.

“They send forth their little ones like a flock,
And their children skip about.

“Therefore snares surround you,
And sudden dread terrifies and overwhelms you;

“You say, ‘What does God know [about me]?
Can He judge through the thick darkness?

“They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing,
And they take away the sheaves [of grain] from the hungry.

“This [which I am about to explain] is the portion of a wicked man from God,
And the inheritance which tyrants and oppressors receive from the Almighty:

When the Almighty was still with me
And my boys were around me,

“The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me,
And I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.

“By the great force [of my disease] my garment (skin) is disfigured and blemished;
It binds about me [choking me] like the collar of my coat.

“You lift me up on the wind and cause me to ride [upon it];
And You toss me about in the tempest and dissolve me in the storm.

“I go about mourning without comfort [my skin blackened by disease, not by the heat of the sun];
I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.

“Surely I would [proudly] bear it on my shoulder,
And bind the scroll around my head like a crown.

“Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;
I also will give you my opinion [about Job’s situation] and tell you plainly what I think.’

“Its direction is turned around by His guidance,
That it may do whatever He commands it
On the face of the inhabited earth.

“Who provides prey for the raven
When its young cry to God
And wander about without food?

“The lotus plants cover him with their shade;
The willows of the brook surround him.

“Who can open the doors (jaws) of his face?
Around his [open jaws and] teeth there is terror.

I will not be intimidated or afraid of the ten thousands
Who have set themselves against me all around.

Let the assembly of the nations be gathered around You,
And return on high over them.

His ways prosper at all times;
Your judgments [Lord] are on high, out of his sight [so he never thinks about them];
As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.

The wicked strut about [in pompous self-importance] on every side,
As vileness is exalted and baseness is prized among the sons of men.

He made darkness His hiding place (covering); His pavilion (canopy) around Him,
The darkness of the waters, the thick clouds of the skies.

I will wash my hands in innocence,
And I will go about Your altar, O Lord,

And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
In His tent I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
But he who trusts in and relies on the Lord shall be surrounded with compassion and lovingkindness.

I am bent over and greatly bowed down;
I go about mourning all day long.

For innumerable evils have encompassed me;
My sins have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see.
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my heart has failed me.

All who hate me whisper together about me;
Against me they devise my hurt [imagining the worst for me], saying,

You have made us the reproach and taunt of our neighbors,
A scoffing and a derision to those around us.

Walk about Zion, go all around her;
Count her towers,

May our God come and not keep silent;
Fire devours before Him,
And around Him a mighty tempest rages.

The righteous will see it and fear,
And will [scoffingly] laugh, saying,

Day and night they go around her walls;
Wickedness and mischief are in her midst.

They return at evening, they howl and snarl like dogs,
And go [prowling] around the city.

They return at evening, they howl and snarl like dogs,
And go [prowling] around the city.

They who sit in the [city’s] gate talk about me and mock me,
And I am the song of the drunkards.

For they have persecuted him whom You have struck,
And they tell of the pain of those whom You have pierced and wounded.

Therefore pride is their necklace;
Violence covers them like a garment [like a long, luxurious robe].

Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them;
Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared [with awe-inspired reverence].

And He let them fall in the midst of their camp,
Around their tents.

They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem,
And there was no one to bury them.

We have become an object of taunting to our neighbors [because of our humiliation],
A derision and mockery to those who encircle us.

A God greatly feared and reverently worshiped in the council of the holy [angelic] ones,
And awesome above all those who are around Him?

O Lord God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds You [as an intrinsic, unchangeable part of Your very being].

Clouds and thick darkness surround Him [as at Sinai];
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

Fire goes before Him
And burns up His adversaries on all sides.

They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And have fought against me without a cause.

All nations encompassed me;
In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.

They encompassed me, yes, they surrounded me [on every side];
In the name of the Lord I will cut them off.

They swarmed around me like bees;
They flare up and are extinguished like a fire of thorns;
In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.

This [day in which God has saved me] is the day which the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So the Lord surrounds His people
From this time forth and forever.

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
Within the innermost part of your house;
Your children will be like olive plants
Around your table.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me,
And the night will be the only light around me,”

Do not let mercy and kindness and truth leave you [instead let these qualities define you];
Bind them [securely] around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.

My son, do not reject or take lightly the discipline of the Lord [learn from your mistakes and the testing that comes from His correction through discipline];
Nor despise His rebuke,

So that she does not think [seriously] about the path of life;
Her ways are aimless and unstable; you cannot know where her path leads.

A worthless person, a wicked man,
Is one who walks with a perverse (corrupt, vulgar) mouth.

Bind them continually upon your heart (in your thoughts),
And tie them around your neck.

He who goes about as a gossip reveals secrets,
But he who is trustworthy and faithful keeps a matter hidden.

“It is [almost] worthless, it is [almost] worthless,” says the buyer [as he negotiates the price];
But when he goes his way, then he boasts [about his bargain].

He who goes about as a gossip reveals secrets;
Therefore do not associate with a gossip [who talks freely or flatters].

The wind blows toward the south,
Then circles toward the north;
The wind circles and swirls endlessly,
And on its circular course the wind returns.

I turned around and directed my heart to know, to investigate and to seek [skillful and godly] wisdom and the reason for things, and to know that wickedness is folly and that foolishness is madness [leading to stupidity and recklessness].

Furthermore, they are afraid of a high place and of dangers on the road; the almond tree (hair) blossoms [white], and the grasshopper (a little thing) is a burden, and the caperberry (desire, appetite) fails. For man goes to his eternal home and the mourners go about the streets and market places.

But beyond this my son, [about going further than the words given by one Shepherd], be warned: the writing of many books is endless [so do not believe everything you read], and excessive study and devotion to books is wearying to the body.

“The watchmen who go around the city found me,
And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’

“The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me.
They struck me, they wounded me;
The guardsmen of the walls took my shawl from me.

“Before I was aware [of what was happening], my desire had brought me
Into the area of the princes of my people [the king’s retinue].”

“Your navel is a round goblet
Which never lacks mixed wine.
Your belly is like a heap of wheat
Surrounded with lilies.

“For ten acres of vineyard will yield [only] one bath of wine,
And a homer (six bushels) of seed will produce [only] one ephah of grain.”

When the report reaches Egypt,
They will be in agony at the report about Tyre.

Take a harp, walk around the city,
O forgotten prostitute;
Play the strings skillfully, sing many songs,
That you may be remembered.

In that day [it will be said of the redeemed nation of Israel],
“A vineyard of wine, sing in praise of it!

I will camp against you and encircle you,
And I will hem you in with siege works,
And I will raise fortifications against you.

Therefore He poured out on Israel the heat of His anger
And the fierceness of battle;
And engulfed him in fire,
Yet he did not recognize [the lesson of repentance which the Assyrian conquest was intended to teach];
It burned him, but he did not take it to heart.

For the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker says this,

“Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons,
And give Me orders concerning the work of My hands.

“Assemble yourselves and come;
Come together, you survivors of the nations!
They are ignorant,
Who carry around their wooden idols [in religious processions or into battle]
And keep on praying to a god that cannot save them.

Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;
Their idols are on the beasts [of burden] and on the cattle.
Your burdens [of idols] are loaded [on them],
Burdens on the weary animals.

“Therefore disaster will come on you;
You will not know how to make it disappear [with your magic].
And disaster will fall on you
For which you cannot atone [with all your offerings to your gods];
And destruction about which you do not know
Will come on you suddenly.

“Lift up your eyes and look around [at the returning exiles];
All these gather together and they come to you [to rebuild you].
As I live,” declares the Lord,
“You [Zion] will indeed clothe yourself with all of them as jewels and tie them on as a bride.

“Lift up your eyes around you and see;
They all gather together, they come to you.
Your sons will come from far away,
And your daughters will be looked after at their side.