<p class="poetry">I also thought to myself, &#8220;It is<n id="1" /> for the sake of people,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">so God can clearly<n id="3" /> show<n id="4" /> them that they are like animals.p>

<p class="poetry">For he does not think<n id="1" /> much about the fleeting<n id="2" /> days of his lifep> <p class="poetry">because God keeps him preoccupied<n id="3" /> with the joy he derives from his activity.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright,p> <p class="poetry">but they have sought many evil schemes.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Go, eat your food<n id="1" /> with joy,p> <p class="poetry">and drink your wine with a happy heart,p> <p class="poetry">because God has already approved your works.p>

<p class="poetry">Having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion:<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Fear God and keep his commandments,p> <p class="poetry">because this is the whole duty<n id="2" /> of man.p>

<p class="poetry">For God will evaluate every deed,<n id="1" />p> <p class="bodytext">including every secret thing, whether good or evil.p>

Then those living in the towns of Judah and in Jerusalem will<n id="1" /> go and cry out for help to the gods to whom they have been sacrificing. However, those gods will by no means<n id="2" /> be able to save them when disaster strikes them.

Now as for these four young men, God endowed them with knowledge and skill in all sorts of literature and wisdom &#8211; and Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.p>

<p class="bodytext">The Nephilim<n id="1" /> were on the earth in those days (and also after this)<n id="2" /> when the sons of God were having sexual relations with<n id="3" /> the daughters of humankind, who gave birth to their children.<n id="4" /> They were the mighty heroes<n id="5" /> of old, the famous men.<n id="6" />p>

<p class="bodytext">Then in the dream God replied to him, &#8220;Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience.<n id="1" /> That is why I have kept you<n id="2" /> from sinning against me and why<n id="3" /> I did not allow you to touch her.

<p class="bodytext">Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey.<n id="1" /> He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out<n id="2" /> for the place God had spoken to him about.p>

<p class="bodytext">When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there<n id="1" /> and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up<n id="2" /> his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood.

<p class="bodytext">Judah replied, &#8220;What can we say<n id="1" /> to my lord? What can we speak? How can we clear ourselves?<n id="2" /> God has exposed the sin of your servants!<n id="3" /> We are now my lord&#8217;s slaves, we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.&#8221;p>

<t /><n id="1" /><p class="bodytext">During<n id="2" /> that long period of time<n id="3" /> the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites<n id="4" /> groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cry<n id="5" /> because of their slave labor went up to God.

<p class="bodytext">Now Moses<n id="1" /> was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert<n id="2" /> and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb.<n id="3" />

He replied,<n id="1" /> &#8220;Surely I will be with you,<n id="2" /> and this will be the sign<n id="3" /> to you that I have sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, you and they will serve<n id="4" /> God on this mountain.&#8221;p>

<p class="bodytext">Moses said<n id="1" /> to God, &#8220;If<n id="2" /> I go to the Israelites and tell them, &#8216;The God of your fathers has sent me to you,&#8217; and they ask me, &#8216;What is his name?&#8217;<n id="3" /> &#8211; what should I say<n id="4" /> to them?&#8221;p>

So Moses said to Joshua, &#8220;Choose some of our<n id="1" /> men and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.&#8221;p>

Then Jethro, Moses&#8217; father-in-law, brought<n id="1" /> a burnt offering and sacrifices for God,<n id="2" /> and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat food<n id="3" /> with the father-in-law of Moses before God.p>

Moses said to the people, &#8220;Do not fear, for God has come to test you,<n id="1" /> that the fear of him<n id="2" /> may be before you so that you do not<n id="3" /> sin.&#8221;