“Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, nor does he grasp the hand of the evildoers.

Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!

They encourage one another to carry out their evil deed. They plan how to hide snares, and boast, “Who will see them?”

Like one who grabs a wild dog by the ears, so is the person passing by who becomes furious over a quarrel not his own.

unless they became my subjects and made peace with me; let them make peace with me.

For I am the Lord your God, the one who takes hold of your right hand, who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, I am helping you.’

“I, the Lord, officially commission you; I take hold of your hand. I protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people, and a light to the nations,

There was no one to lead her among all the children she bore; there was no one to take her by the hand among all the children she raised.

Make your tent larger, stretch your tent curtains farther out! Spare no effort, lengthen your ropes, and pound your stakes deep.

The people cry out, “We have heard reports about them! We have become helpless with fear! Anguish grips us, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby!

Why, then, do these people of Jerusalem continually turn away from me in apostasy? They hold fast to their deception. They refuse to turn back to me.

Lord, you coerced me into being a prophet, and I allowed you to do it. You overcame my resistance and prevailed over me. Now I have become a constant laughingstock. Everyone ridicules me.

The people of Damascus will lose heart and turn to flee. Panic will grip them. Pain and anguish will seize them like a woman in labor.

The king of Babylon will become paralyzed with fear when he hears news of their coming. Anguish will grip him, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.

By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city was so severe the residents had no food.

A wind lifted me up and carried me away. I went bitterly, my spirit full of fury, and the hand of the Lord rested powerfully on me.

And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood to strengthen him and to provide protection for him.)

Then with smooth words he will defile those who have rejected the covenant. But the people who are loyal to their God will act valiantly.

“You have criticized me sharply,” says the Lord, “but you ask, ‘How have we criticized you?’

David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing upset you. There is no way to anticipate whom the sword will cut down. Press the battle against the city and conquer it.’ Encourage him with these words.”