We inquired of those elders, asking them, ‘Who gave you the authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?’

<p class="poetry">Even when I must walk through the darkest valley,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">I fear<n id="2" /> no danger,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">for you are with me;p> <p class="poetry">your rod and your staff reassure me.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">May I hear about your loyal love in the morning,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">for I trust in you.p> <p class="poetry">Show me the way I should go,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">because I long for you.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Until the dawn arrives<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and the shadows flee,p> <p class="poetry">I will go up to the mountain of myrrh,p> <p class="poetry">and to the hill of frankincense.p>

<p class="poetry">Do not chase after other gods until your shoes wear outp> <p class="poetry">and your throats become dry.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">But you say, &#8216;It is useless for you to try and stop mep> <p class="poetry">because I love those foreign gods<n id="2" /> and want to pursue them!&#8217;p>

<p class="bodytext">Then Nebuchadnezzar in a fit of rage<n id="1" /> demanded that they bring<n id="2" /> Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego before him. So they brought them<n id="3" /> before the king.

So those men were tied up while still wearing their cloaks, trousers, turbans, and other clothes,<n id="1" /> and were thrown into the furnace<n id="2" /> of blazing fire.

But those three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell into the furnace<n id="1" /> of blazing fire while still securely bound.<n id="2" />p>

So these men concluded,<n id="1" /> &#8220;We won&#8217;t find any pretext against this man Daniel unless it is<n id="2" /> in connection with the law of his God.&#8221;p>

When such a person<n id="1" /> hears the words of this oath he secretly<n id="2" /> blesses himself<n id="3" /> and says, &#8220;I will have peace though I continue to walk with a stubborn spirit.&#8221;<n id="4" /> This will destroy<n id="5" /> the watered ground with the parched.<n id="6" />

She said, &#8220;I will indeed go with you. But you will not gain fame<n id="1" /> on the expedition you are undertaking,<n id="2" /> for the <sc>Lordsc> will turn Sisera over to a woman.&#8221;<n id="3" /> Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.

But Ruth replied,p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Stop urging me to abandon you!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">For wherever you go, I will go.p> <p class="poetry">Wherever you live, I will live.p> <p class="poetry">Your people will become my people,p> <p class="poetry">and your God will become my God.p>

But when I leave you, the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s spirit will carry you away so I can&#8217;t find you.<n id="1" /> If I go tell Ahab I&#8217;ve seen you, he won&#8217;t be able to find you and he will kill me.<n id="2" /> That would not be fair,<n id="3" /> because your servant has been a loyal follower of<n id="4" /> the <sc>Lordsc> from my youth.

But since the king&#8217;s command was so urgent, and the furnace was so excessively hot, the men who escorted<n id="1" /> Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were killed<n id="2" /> by the leaping flames.<n id="3" />

Once the satraps, prefects, governors, and ministers of the king had gathered around, they saw that those men were physically<n id="1" /> unharmed by the fire.<n id="2" /> The hair of their heads was not singed, nor were their trousers damaged. Not even the smell of fire was to be found on them!p>

Then those men came by collusion to the king and<n id="1" /> said to him,<n id="2" /> &#8220;Recall,<n id="3" /> O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or decree that the king issues can be changed.&#8221;

The king gave another order,<n id="1" /> and those men who had maliciously accused<n id="2" /> Daniel were brought and thrown<n id="3" /> into the lions&#8217; den &#8211; they, their children, and their wives.<n id="4" /> They did not even reach the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.p>

But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon &#8211; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego &#8211; and these men<n id="1" /> have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don&#8217;t serve your gods and they don&#8217;t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.&#8221;p>