⁶ He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,

⁵ They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet:^(A)

1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of King Uzziah of Judah and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years^[a] before the earthquake.^(A)

The Imminence and Horror of the Invasion

²⁷ After him the Tekoites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.

⁵ Next to them the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work of their Lord.^[a]

²⁰ They rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa, and as they went out Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God and you will be established; believe his prophets and you will succeed.”^(A)

³² And their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan, five towns,

² Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He said to her, “Pretend to be a mourner; put on mourning garments, and do not anoint yourself with oil, but behave like a woman who has been mourning many days for the dead.^(A)

¹² Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.^[a](A)