You made known to them your holy Sabbath; you issued commandments, statutes, and law to them through ¹  Moses your servant.

Going after them were Hoshaiah, half the leaders of Judah,

However, due to your abundant mercy you did not do away with them altogether; you did not abandon them. For you are a merciful and compassionate God.

You prolonged your kindness ¹  with them for many years, and you solemnly admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they paid no attention, ²  so you delivered them into the hands of the neighboring peoples. ³ 

You provided bread from heaven for them in their time of hunger, and you brought forth water from the rock for them in their time of thirst. You told them to enter in order to possess the land that you had sworn ¹  to give them.

“You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You provided them with just judgments, true laws, and good statutes and commandments.

Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, who oppressed them. But in the time of their distress they called to you, and you heard from heaven. In your abundant compassion you provided them with deliverers to rescue them from ¹  their adversaries.

So I registered a complaint with the leaders, asking “Why is the temple of God neglected?” Then I gathered them and reassigned them to their positions. ¹ 

You guided them with a pillar of cloud by day and with a pillar of fire by night to illumine for them the path they were to travel.

Bakbukiah and Unni, ¹  their colleagues, stood opposite them in the services.

After them Benjamin and Hasshub worked opposite their house. After them Azariah son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, worked near his house.

So I entered a complaint with them. I called down a curse on them, and I struck some of the men and pulled out their hair. I had them swear by God saying, “You will not marry off ¹  your daughters to their sons, and you will not take any of their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves!

Our adversaries also boasted, ¹  “Before they are aware or anticipate ²  anything, we will come in among them and kill them, and we will bring this work to a halt!”

“Due to your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. The pillar of cloud did not stop guiding them in the path by day, ¹  nor did the pillar of fire stop illuminating for them by night the path on which they should travel.

So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard to protect against them ¹  both day and night.

“Then, when they were at rest again, they went back to doing evil before you. Then you abandoned them to ¹  their enemies, and they gained dominion over them. When they again cried out to you, in your compassion you heard from heaven and rescued them time and again.

“You gave them kingdoms and peoples, and you allocated them to every corner of the land. ¹  They inherited the land of King Sihon of Heshbon ²  and the land of King Og of Bashan.

The men of Jericho ¹  built adjacent to it, and Zaccur son of Imri built adjacent to them. ² 

This very day return to them their fields, their vineyards, their olive trees, and their houses, along with the interest ¹  that you are exacting from them on the money, the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil.”

Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakoz, worked on the section adjacent to them. Meshullam son of Berechiah the son of Meshezabel worked on the section next to them. And Zadok son of Baana worked on the section adjacent to them.