²² It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment,^(A) with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him.

⁹ Within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin^(A) had gathered in Jerusalem. And on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people were sitting in the square before the house of God, greatly distressed by the occasion and because of the rain.

¹³ But there are many people here and it is the rainy season; so we cannot stand outside. Besides, this matter cannot be taken care of in a day or two, because we have sinned greatly in this thing.