But Absalom, whom we anointed as our king,<n id="1" /> has died in battle. So now why do you hesitate to bring the king back?&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

&#8220;Your father made us work too hard.<n id="1" /> Now if you lighten the demands he made and don&#8217;t make us work as hard, we will serve you.&#8221;<n id="2" />

She said to her husband, &#8220;Look, I&#8217;m sure<n id="1" /> that the man who regularly passes through here is a very special prophet.<n id="2" />

&#8220;Your father made us work too hard!<n id="1" /> Now if you lighten the demands he made and don&#8217;t make us work as hard, we will serve you.&#8221;<n id="2" />

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;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<n id="1" /> toward our iniquities and have given us a remnant such as this.

<p class="bodytext">So it happened that the Jews who were living near them came and warned us repeatedly<n id="1" /> about all the schemes<n id="2" /> they were plotting<n id="3" /> against us.p>

Its abundant produce goes to the kings you have placed over us due to our sins. They rule over our bodies and our livestock as they see fit,<n id="1" /> and we are in great distress!p>

<p class="poetry">Seven women will grab hold ofp> <p class="poetry">one man at that time.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">They will say, &#8220;We will provide<n id="2" /> our own food,p> <p class="poetry">we will provide<n id="3" /> our own clothes;p> <p class="poetry">but let us belong to you<n id="4" /> &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">take away our shame!&#8221;<n id="5" />p>

<p class="poetry">&#8220;These people have denied what the <sc>Lordsc> says.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">They have said, &#8216;That is not so!<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">No harm will come to us.p> <p class="poetry">We will not experience war and famine.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">So I said,<n id="1" /> &#8220;Oh, my dear people,<n id="2" /> put on sackclothp> <p class="poetry">and roll in ashes.p> <p class="poetry">Mourn with painful sobsp> <p class="poetry">as though you had lost your only child.p> <p class="poetry">For any moment now<n id="3" /> that destructive army<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">will come against us.&#8221;p>

<p class="poetry">Why should you be like someone who is helpless,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">like a champion<n id="2" /> who cannot save anyone?p> <p class="poetry">You are indeed with us,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">and we belong to you.<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">Do not abandon us!&#8221;p>

<p class="poetry">Listen, you<n id="1" /> who sit enthroned above the valley on a rocky plateau.p> <p class="poetry">I am opposed to you,&#8217;<n id="2" /> says the <sc>Lordsc>.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;You boast, &#8220;No one can swoop down on us.p> <p class="poetry">No one can penetrate into our places of refuge.&#8221;<n id="4" />p>

The <sc>LORDsc> was mindful of the calamity, and he brought it on us. For the <sc>LORDsc> our God is just<n id="1" /> in all he has done,<n id="2" /> and we have not obeyed him.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">The high places of the &#8220;House<n id="1" /> of Wickedness&#8221;<n id="2" /> will be destroyed;p> <p class="poetry">it is the place where Israel sins.p> <p class="poetry">Thorns and thistles will grow up over its altars.p> <p class="poetry">Then they will say to the mountains, &#8220;Cover us!&#8221;p> <p class="poetry">and to the hills, &#8220;Fall on us!&#8221;p>

<p class="poetry"><v id="(4:14)" /><n id="1" /> But now slash yourself,<n id="2" /> daughter surrounded by soldiers!<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">We are besieged!p> <p class="poetry">With a scepter<n id="4" /> they strike Israel&#8217;s ruler<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">on the side of his face.p>

<p class="bodytext">The man<n id="1" /> replied, &#8220;Who made you a ruler<n id="2" /> and a judge over us? Are you planning<n id="3" /> to kill me like you killed that<n id="4" /> Egyptian?&#8221; Then Moses was afraid, thinking,<n id="5" /> &#8220;Surely what I did<n id="6" /> has become known.&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;The elders<n id="1" /> will listen<n id="2" /> to you, and then you and the elders of Israel must go to the king of Egypt and tell him, &#8216;The <sc>Lordsc>, the God of the Hebrews, has met<n id="3" /> with us. So now, let us go<n id="4" /> three days&#8217; journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice<n id="5" /> to the <sc>Lordsc> our God.&#8217;

And they said, &#8220;The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Let us go a three-day journey<n id="1" /> into the desert so that we may sacrifice<n id="2" /> to the <sc>Lordsc> our God, so that he does not strike us with plague or the sword.&#8221;<n id="3" />

<p class="bodytext">Moses said, &#8220;You will know this<n id="1" /> when the <sc>Lordsc> gives you<n id="2" /> meat to eat in the evening and bread in the morning to satisfy you, because the <sc>Lordsc> has heard your murmurings that you are murmuring against him. As for us, what are we?<n id="3" /> Your murmurings are not against us,<n id="4" /> but against the <sc>Lordsc>.&#8221;p>

She said to the men, &#8220;I know the <sc>Lordsc> is handing this land over to you.<n id="1" /> We are absolutely terrified of you,<n id="2" /> and all who live in the land are cringing before<n id="3" /> you.<n id="4" />