¹⁴ And Onias spoke, saying, “This is a man who loves the family of Israel and prays much for the people and the holy city: Jeremiah, the prophet of God.”^(A)

²² our harp has been laid low, our song has been silenced, and our rejoicing has been ended; the light of our lampstand has been put out, the ark of our covenant has been plundered, our holy things have been polluted, and the name by which we are called has been almost profaned; our children^[a] have suffered abuse, our priests have been burned to death, our Levites have gone into exile, our virgins have been defiled, and our wives have been ravished; our righteous men^[b] have been carried off, our little ones have been cast out, our young men have been enslaved and our strong men made powerless.^(A)