The people say, ¹  “Why are we just sitting here? Let us gather together inside the fortified cities. ²  Let us at least die there fighting, ³  since the Lord our God has condemned us to die. He has condemned us to drink the poison waters of judgment ⁴  because we have sinned against him. ⁵ 

“When you tell these people about all this, ¹  they will undoubtedly ask you, ‘Why has the Lord threatened us with such great disaster? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done to offend the Lord our God?’

“All Israel has broken ¹  your law and turned away by not obeying you. ²  Therefore you have poured out on us the judgment solemnly threatened ³  in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you. ⁴