When all your people Israel pray and ask for help, as they acknowledge their intense pain and spread out their hands toward this temple,

then listen from your heavenly dwelling place, forgive their sin, and act favorably toward each one based on your evaluation of their motives. (Indeed you are the only one who can correctly evaluate the motives of all people.)

"Foreigners, who do not belong to your people Israel, will come from a distant land because of your great reputation and your ability to accomplish mighty deeds; they will come and direct their prayers toward this temple.

"When you direct your people to march out and fight their enemies, and they direct their prayers to you toward this chosen city and this temple I built for your honor,

When they return to you with all their heart and being in the land where they are held prisoner and direct their prayers toward the land you gave to their ancestors, your chosen city, and the temple I built for your honor,

When all the Israelites saw the fire come down and the Lord's splendor over the temple, they got on their knees with their faces downward toward the pavement. They worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, "Certainly he is good; certainly his loyal love endures!"

You will not fight in this battle. Take your positions, stand, and watch the Lord deliver you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Don't be afraid and don't panic! Tomorrow march out toward them; the Lord is with you!'"

Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face toward the ground, and all the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord and worshiped him.

With antiphonal response they sang, praising and glorifying the Lord: "For he is good; his loyal love toward Israel is forever." All the people gave a loud shout as they praised the Lord when the temple of the Lord was established.

They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the Lord had given them joy and had changed the opinion of the king of Assyria toward them, so that he assisted them in the work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.

I had them assemble at the canal that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I observed that the people and the priests were present, but I found no Levites there.

"Everything that has happened to us has come about because of our wicked actions and our great guilt. Even so, our God, you have exercised restraint toward our iniquities and have given us a remnant such as this.

But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard all this, they derided us and expressed contempt toward us. They said, "What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?"

and the temple servants who were living on Ophel worked up to the area opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the protruding tower.

When you perceived that his heart was faithful toward you, you established a covenant with him to give his descendants the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites. You have fulfilled your promise, for you are righteous.

I brought the leaders of Judah up on top of the wall, and I appointed two large choirs to give thanks. One was to proceed on the top of the wall southward toward the Dung Gate.

They went over the Fountain Gate and continued directly up the steps of the City of David on the ascent to the wall. They passed the house of David and continued on to the Water Gate toward the east.

For the matter concerning the queen will spread to all the women, leading them to treat their husbands with contempt, saying, 'When King Ahasuerus gave orders to bring Queen Vashti into his presence, she would not come.'

So the king removed his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, who was hostile toward the Jews.

Now Haman went forth that day pleased and very much encouraged. But when Haman saw Mordecai at the king's gate, and he did not rise nor tremble in his presence, Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.

The Jews assembled themselves in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to strike out against those who were seeking their harm. No one was able to stand before them, for dread of them fell on all the peoples.

All the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and those who performed the king's business were assisting the Jews, for the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them.

Do you intend to criticize mere words, and treat the words of a despairing man as wind?

I dread all my sufferings, for I know that you do not hold me blameless.

"As for you, if you prove faithful, and if you stretch out your hands toward him,

Surely then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and will lift up your face toward God.

They press out the olive oil between the rows of olive trees; they tread the winepresses while they are thirsty.

He preys on the barren and childless woman, and does not treat the widow well.

"Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, and spreads its wings toward the south?

Whoever strikes it with a sword will have no effect, nor with the spear, arrow, or dart.

But as for me, because of your great faithfulness I will enter your house; I will bow down toward your holy temple as I worship you.

Turn toward me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and oppressed!

Hear my plea for mercy when I cry out to you for help, when I lift my hands toward your holy temple!

For the music director; By David, a psalm. I relied completely on the Lord, and he turned toward me and heard my cry for help.

You made us an object of ridicule among the nations; foreigners treat us with contempt.

For we lie in the dirt, with our bellies pressed to the ground.

My own brothers treat me like a stranger; they act as if I were a foreigner.

Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good! Because of your great compassion, turn toward me!

Turn toward me and have mercy on me! Give your servant your strength! Deliver your slave!

They treat me like those who descend into the grave. I am like a helpless man,

Turn back toward us, O Lord! How long must this suffering last? Have pity on your servants!

For he will look down from his sanctuary above; from heaven the Lord will look toward earth,

He raises the poor from the dirt, and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile,

(Dalet) I collapse in the dirt. Revive me with your word!

Take away the insults that I dread! Indeed, your regulations are good.

Turn toward me and extend mercy to me, as you typically do to your loyal followers.

A song of ascents. I look up toward the hills. From where does my help come?

A song of ascents. I look up toward you, the one enthroned in heaven.

Lift your hands toward the sanctuary and praise the Lord!

I will bow down toward your holy temple, and give thanks to your name, because of your loyal love and faithfulness, for you have exalted your promise above the entire sky.

so I myself will laugh when disaster strikes you, I will mock when what you dread comes,

when what you dread comes like a whirlwind, and disaster strikes you like a devastating storm, when distressing trouble comes on you.

But the one who listens to me will live in security, and will be at ease from the dread of harm.

The people will treat each other harshly; men will oppose each other; neighbors will fight. Youths will proudly defy the elderly and riffraff will challenge those who were once respected.

Oppressors treat my people cruelly; creditors rule over them. My people's leaders mislead them; they give you confusing directions.

But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs.

I sent him against a godless nation, I ordered him to attack the people with whom I was angry, to take plunder and to carry away loot, to trample them down like dirt in the streets.

For very soon my fury will subside, and my anger will be directed toward their destruction."

He will treat the poor fairly, and make right decisions for the downtrodden of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and order the wicked to be executed.

Ephraim's jealousy will end, and Judah's hostility will be eliminated. Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah, and Judah will no longer be hostile toward Ephraim.

Like a frightened gazelle or a sheep with no shepherd, each will turn toward home, each will run to his homeland.

"I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals and covered with pools of stagnant water. I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom," says the Lord who commands armies.

There will be some left behind, like when an olive tree is beaten -- two or three ripe olives remain toward the very top, four or five on its fruitful branches," says the Lord God of Israel.

the deep waters! Grain from the Shihor region, crops grown near the Nile she receives; she is the trade center of the nations.

For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion.

"Fall down! Sit in the dirt, O virgin daughter Babylon! Sit on the ground, not on a throne, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, you will no longer be called delicate and pampered.

Kings will be your children's guardians; their princesses will nurse your children. With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you and they will lick the dirt on your feet. Then you will recognize that I am the Lord; those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.

Shake off the dirt! Get up, captive Jerusalem! Take off the iron chains around your neck, O captive daughter Zion!

You must observe the Sabbath rather than doing anything you please on my holy day. You must look forward to the Sabbath and treat the Lord's holy day with respect. You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities, and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals.

A wolf and a lamb will graze together; a lion, like an ox, will eat straw, and a snake's food will be dirt. They will no longer injure or destroy on my entire royal mountain," says the Lord.

So I will choose severe punishment for them; I will bring on them what they dread, because I called, and no one responded, I spoke and they did not listen. They did evil before me; they chose to do what displeases me."

The Lord again asked me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a pot of boiling water; it is tipped toward us from the north."

"I thought to myself, 'Oh what a joy it would be for me to treat you like a son! What a joy it would be for me to give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful piece of property there is in all the world!' I thought you would call me, 'Father' and would never cease being loyal to me.

You must change the way you have been living and do what is right. You must treat one another fairly.

The people I call my own have turned on me like a lion in the forest. They have roared defiantly at me. So I will treat them as though I hate them.

For the honor of your name, do not treat Jerusalem with contempt. Do not treat with disdain the place where your glorious throne sits. Be mindful of your covenant with us. Do not break it!

They will be like a tree planted near a stream whose roots spread out toward the water. It has nothing to fear when the heat comes. Its leaves are always green. It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought. It does not stop bearing fruit.

The Lord who rules over all says, 'I will bring war, starvation, and disease on them. I will treat them like figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten.

And all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use them as examples when they put a curse on anyone. They will say, "May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab whom the king of Babylon roasted to death in the fire!"

"Moab has vaunted itself against me. So make him drunk with the wine of my wrath until he splashes around in his own vomit, until others treat him as a laughingstock.

They will ask the way to Zion; they will turn their faces toward it. They will come and bind themselves to the Lord in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten.

(Yod) The elders of Daughter Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dirt on their heads; They have dressed in sackcloth. Jerusalem's young women stare down at the ground.

Under the platform their wings were stretched out, each toward the other. Each of the beings also had two wings covering its body.

Then for your part take an iron frying pan and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face toward it. It is to be under siege; you are to besiege it. This is a sign for the house of Israel.

You must turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared and prophesy against it.

"Son of man, turn toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them:

He said to me, "Son of man, look up toward the north." So I looked up toward the north, and I noticed to the north of the altar gate was this statue of jealousy at the entrance.

Then he brought me to the inner court of the Lord's house. Right there at the entrance to the Lord's temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the Lord's temple, facing east -- they were worshiping the sun toward the east!

Then one of the cherubim stretched out his hand toward the fire which was among the cherubim. He took some and put it into the hands of the man dressed in linen, who took it and left.

"As for you, son of man, turn toward the daughters of your people who are prophesying from their imagination. Prophesy against them

It sprouted and became a vine, spreading low to the ground; its branches turning toward him, its roots were under itself. So it became a vine; it produced shoots and sent out branches.

"'There was another great eagle with broad wings and thick plumage. Now this vine twisted its roots toward him and sent its branches toward him to be watered from the soil where it was planted.

Treat my Sabbaths as holy and they will be a reminder of our relationship, and then you will know that I am the Lord your God."

"Son of man, turn toward the south, and speak out against the south. Prophesy against the open scrub land of the Negev,

"Son of man, turn toward Jerusalem and speak out against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel

They will treat you with hatred, take away all you have labored for, and leave you naked and bare. Your nakedness will be exposed, just as when you engaged in prostitution and obscene conduct.

"Son of man, turn toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them.

The elders of Gebal and her skilled men were within you, mending cracks; all the ships of the sea and their mariners were within you to trade for your merchandise.

"'Tarshish was your trade partner because of your abundant wealth; they exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your products.

Edom was your trade partner because of the abundance of your goods; they exchanged turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your products.