Now the city was spread out and large, and there were not a lot of people in it. At that time houses had not been rebuilt.

Then the servants of the king who were at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you violating the king’s commandment?”

He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head.

I have been dependent on you since birth; from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God.

The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and trembled. Yes, the depths of the sea shook with fear.

As far as the eastern horizon is from the west, so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions from us.

for the Lord will be the source of your confidence, and he will guard your foot from being caught in a trap.

He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold. He uses hammer and nails to fasten it together so that it will not fall over.

Each of you should merely ask the prophet, ‘What answer did the Lord give you? Or what did the Lord say?’

But if you refuse to surrender, the Lord has shown me a vision of what will happen. Here is what I saw:

Then Nebuchadnezzar in a fit of rage demanded that they bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego before him. So they brought them before the king.

The grains of seed have shriveled beneath their shovels. Storehouses have been decimated and granaries have been torn down, for the grain has dried up.

They do not jostle one another; each of them marches straight ahead. They burst through the city defenses and do not break ranks.

Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you are here to do.” Then they came and took hold of Jesus and arrested him.

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back in its place! For all who take hold of the sword will die by the sword.

saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood!” But they said, “What is that to us? You take care of it yourself!”

So they kept on repeating, “What is the meaning of what he says, ‘In a little while’? We do not understand what he is talking about.”

If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

“‘If a resident foreigner who is with you prospers and your brother becomes impoverished with regard to him so that he sells himself to a resident foreigner who is with you or to a member of a foreigner’s family,

Now look, God is with us as our leader. His priests are ready to blow the trumpets to signal the attack against you. You Israelites, don’t fight against the Lord God of your ancestors, for you will not win!”