44
So the congregation assembled to be ready for battle, and to pray and ask for mercy and compassion.
45
Jerusalem was uninhabited like a wilderness; not one of her children went in or out. The sanctuary was trampled down, and aliens held the citadel; it was a lodging place for the Gentiles. Joy was taken from Jacob; the flute and the harp ceased to play.
46
Then they gathered together and went to Mizpah, opposite Jerusalem, because Israel formerly had a place of prayer in Mizpah.
47
They fasted that day, put on sackcloth and sprinkled ashes on their heads, and tore their clothes.
48
And they opened the book of the law to inquire into those matters about which the Gentiles consulted the likenesses of their gods.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.