Daniel 3 Cross References - ISV

¹ Dedicating the Image to NebuchadnezzarSome time later, king Nebuchadnezzar built a golden statue, making it 60 cubits high and six cubits wide. He set it up in the Dura Valley within the province of Babylon. ² Then King Nebuchadnezzar summoned the regional authorities, governors, deputy governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all of the other administrators of the provinces, ordering them to come to the dedication of the statue that he had erected.
³ So the regional authorities, governors, deputy governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all of the other administrators of the provinces assembled to dedicate the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected. They took their places in front of the statue that he had erected. ⁴ Then a herald proclaimed aloud: “People of all nations, and languages are commanded: ⁵ Whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various instruments, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that was set up by King Nebuchadnezzar. ⁶ Anyone who does not fall down and worship is immediately to be thrown into the blazing fire furnace.”
⁷ Therefore, when all of the people “heard the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various other instruments,” all the “people, nations, and languages” began to fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
⁸ Daniel’s Friends are AccusedJust then, certain influential Chaldeans took this opportunity to come forward and denounce the Jews. ⁹ They told King Nebuchadnezzar, “Your majesty, live forever. ¹⁰ You, your majesty, issued this decree: ‘Every man who hears the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various other instruments is to fall down and worship the golden statue. ¹¹ Whoever does not fall down and worship is to be thrown into a blazing fire furnace.’
¹² “Certain influential Jewish men whom you appointed to manage the city of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—have neither paid attention to you, your majesty, nor served your gods. And they won’t worship the golden statue that you set up.”
¹³ The Threat of the Fire FurnaceNebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and furiously ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar asked them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t worship my gods and that you don’t worship the golden statue that has been set up? ¹⁵ Now, if you are ready at this very moment to obey ‘the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp,’ and worship the image that I have made… If you do not so worship, you will immediately have cast yourselves into the middle of the blazing fire, and what god is there who can deliver you from my power?”
¹⁶ Daniel’s Friends Answer King NebuchadnezzarShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “It’s not necessary for us to respond in this matter. ¹⁷ Your majesty, if it be his will, our God whom we serve can deliver us from the blazing fire furnace, and he will deliver us from you. ¹⁸ But if not, rest assured, your majesty, that we won’t serve your gods, and we won’t worship the golden statue that you have set up.”
¹⁹ The King Orders an ExecutionOut of control with rage, Nebuchadnezzar’s facial expression changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and he ordered that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. ²⁰ Then he issued orders to his elite guard to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego with ropes and throw them into the blazing fire furnace. ²¹ So the elite guard tied them up fully clothed, still wearing their robes, tunics, and turbans, and threw them into the blazing fire furnace, ²² because the king’s command was so drastic. Since the furnace was blazing hot, its flames killed those who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the blazing fire. ²³ Bound firmly with ropes, these three men Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell into the blazing fire furnace.
²⁴ The Fourth Man in the FurnaceAstonished, King Nebuchadnezzar stood up in terror, and asked his advisers, “Didn’t we throw three men into the fire, bound firmly with ropes?”
In reply they told the king, “Yes, your majesty.”
²⁵ “Look!” he told them, “I see four men walking untied and unharmed in the middle of the fire, and the appearance of the fourth resembles a divine being.”
²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the opening of the blazing fire furnace. He shouted out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire. ²⁷ The regional authorities, viceroys, governors, and royal advisors gazed at those men and saw that the fire had no effect on their bodies—not a hair on their head was singed, their clothes were not burned, and they did not smell of fire.
²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar spoke up and announced: “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! He sent his angel to deliver his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and were willing to risk their lives in order not to serve or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ So I decree that people from any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego will be destroyed and their house reduced to rubble, because there is no other god who can save like this.”
³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego within the province of Babylon.

²³ You are not to make gods of silver alongside me, nor are you to make for yourselves gods of gold.

² Aaron told them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.”
³ All the people tore off the gold rings that were in their ears and brought them to him. ⁴ He took them from them and, using a tool, fashioned them into a molten calf. The people said, “This, Israel, is your god who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”

³¹ Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Please, LORD, this people committed a great sin by making a god of gold for themselves.

²⁵ Burn the images of their gods in the fire. Desire neither the silver nor the gold that adorns them, nor take them for yourselves, so you won’t be ensnared by them, because the gold and silver is detestable to the LORD your God.

²⁶ The weight of the rings that he had asked for was 1,700 gold coins, not counting the crescent-shaped necklaces, pendants, and purple garments worn by the Midian kings, and also not counting the bands adorning the necks of their camels.
²⁷ Gideon crafted the booty into an ephod and enshrined it in his home town of Ophrah. Then all of Israel committed spiritual adultery with it there, and it became a snare for Gideon and his household.

²⁸ So the king sought some advice and then built two golden calves and announced, “It’s too difficult for you to travel to Jerusalem. So here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”

¹⁷ Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have devastated nations and their territories, ¹⁸ throwing their gods into the fire, since they weren’t gods but rather were the product of men’s handiwork—wood and stone. And so they destroyed them.

¹ The Wealth of King AhasuerusThis is a record of what happened during the reign of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who ruled over 127 provinces from India to Cush.

⁴ Their idols are silver and gold, crafted by human hands. ⁵ They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see. ⁶ They have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell. ⁷ They have hands, but cannot touch; feet, but cannot walk; they cannot even groan with their throats. ⁸ Those who craft them will become like them, as will all those who trust in them.

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold, worked by the hands of human beings.

²⁰ At that time, mankind will throw their silver and gold idols that their fingers have made as objects of worship to the moles and to the bats.

²² Then you will defile your carved idols that are overlaid with silver and your images plated with gold. You’ll throw them away like disgusting objects and say to them, “Away with you!”

¹⁹ To an idol? A craftsman makes the image, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts silver chains. ²⁰ To the impoverished person? He prepares an offering— wood that won’t rot— Or to the one who chooses a skilled craftsman and seeks to erect an idol that won’t topple?”
²¹ The Majesty of the LORD“You know, don’t you? You have heard, haven’t you? Hasn’t it been told you from the beginning? Haven’t you understood from the foundations of the earth? ²² He’s the one who sits above the disk of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He’s the one who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in, ²³ who brings princes to nothing, and makes void the rulers of the earth. ²⁴ No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner have their stems taken root in the earth, than he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest sweeps them away like stubble. ²⁵ “To whom, then, will you compare me, and to whom should I be equal?” asks the Holy One. ²⁶ “Lift your eyes up to heaven and see who created all these— the one who leads out their vast array of stars by number, calling them all by name— because of his great might and his powerful strength— and not one is missing.”
²⁷ The LORD Watches Israel“Jacob, why do you say— and Israel, why do you complain— ‘My predicament is hidden from the LORD, and my cause is ignored by my God.’? ²⁸ Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The LORD is the eternal God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not grow tired or weary; and his understanding cannot be fathomed. ²⁹ He’s the one who gives might to the faint, renewing strength for the powerless. ³⁰ Even boys grow tired and weary, and young men collapse and fall, ³¹ but those who keep waiting for the LORD will renew their strength. Then they’ll soar on wings like eagles; they’ll run and not grow weary; they’ll walk and not grow tired.”

⁶ Those who pour out gold in a purse, weigh silver in a balance, hire a goldsmith in order to make a god, and then they bow down and even worship it.

⁹ Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. The idols are the work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothing is violet and purple. The idols are all the work of skilled craftsmen.

²⁰ Can a person make a god for himself? They are not gods!

³¹ “Your majesty, while you were watching, you observed an enormous statue. This magnificent statue stood before you with extraordinary brilliance. Its appearance was terrifying. ³² That statue had a head made of pure gold, with its chest and arms made of silver, its abdomen and thighs made of bronze,

⁴⁸ Then the king promoted Daniel to a high position and lavished many great gifts on him, including making him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over the advisors of Babylon.

³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego within the province of Babylon.

²³ “You’ve exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven.
“You’ve had the vessels from his Temple brought into your presence.
“And you, your officials, and your wives and mistresses drank wine from them.
“You praised gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which can’t see, hear, or demonstrate knowledge.
“But you didn’t honor God, who holds in his power your very life and all your ways.

⁴ They set kings in place, but not by me. They established princes, whom I did not recognize. They crafted idols for themselves from their silver and gold; as a result, they will be destroyed.

¹⁹ “Woe to the one who says to a tree, ‘Wake up!’ or ‘Arise!’ to a speechless stone. Idols like this can’t teach, can they? Look, even though it is overlaid with gold and silver, there’s no breath in it at all.”

²⁹ So if we are God’s children, we shouldn’t think that the divine being is like gold, silver, or stone, or is an image carved by humans using their own imagination and skill.

²⁶ You also see and hear that, not only in Ephesus, but almost all over Asia, this man Paul has won over and taken away a large crowd by telling them that gods made by human hands are not gods at all.

²⁰ The rest of the people who survived these plagues did not repent from their evil actions or stop worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk.

⁴ He took them from them and, using a tool, fashioned them into a molten calf. The people said, “This, Israel, is your god who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
⁵ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it, and then he proclaimed, “Tomorrow is to be a festival to the LORD.” ⁶ They got up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. Then the people sat down to eat and drink, and then they got up to play.

² who also invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods. So the people ate what they had sacrificed and then worshipped their gods.

²³ Some time later, the Philistine officials got together to present a magnificent sacrifice to their god Dagon, and to throw a party, because they were claiming, “Our god has given Samson into our control!”

³² Jeroboam invented a festival for the fifteenth day of the eighth month similar to the festival that takes place in Judah. He approached the altar that he had set up in Bethel and sacrificed to the calves that he had made, having stationed in Bethel the priests that he had appointed.

¹² When a ruler is listening to lies, all of his officials tend to become wicked.

²⁷ The regional authorities, viceroys, governors, and royal advisors gazed at those men and saw that the fire had no effect on their bodies—not a hair on their head was singed, their clothes were not burned, and they did not smell of fire.

¹ Daniel’s Service to DariusIt pleased Darius to appoint 120 regional authorities over the kingdom throughout the realm, ² along with three chief administrators from them, one of which was Daniel. The regional authorities reported to these three administrators, so that the king would experience no losses. ³ Daniel distinguished himself among all the administrators and regional authorities, because he was of an extraordinary spirit. Therefore the king planned to appoint him over the whole kingdom.
⁴ A Plot to Destroy DanielBecause of this, the administrators and regional authorities tried to bring allegations of dereliction of duty in government affairs against Daniel, but they were unable to find any charges of corruption. Daniel was trustworthy, and no evidence of negligence or corruption could be found against him.

⁶ Then these administrators and regional authorities went as a group to the king and said this, “Your majesty, live forever! ⁷ All of the royal administrators, prefects, regional authorities, scribes, and governors have concluded that the king should establish and enforce an edict that anyone who prays to any god or man for the next 30 days (except to you, your majesty) is to be thrown into the lions’ pit.

² The kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and those living on earth became drunk with the wine of her immorality.”

¹ A Psalm of Asaph
Asking God for Justice God takes his stand in the divine assembly; among the divine beings he renders judgment: ² “How long will you judge partially by showing favor on the wicked? Interlude ³ “Defend the poor and the fatherless. Vindicate the afflicted and the poor. ⁴ Rescue the poor and the needy, delivering them from the power of the wicked. ⁵ They neither know nor understand; they walk about in the dark while all the foundations of the earth are shaken. ⁶ “Indeed I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High. ⁷ However, as all human beings do, you will die, and like other rulers, you will fall.’ ⁸ Arise, God, to judge the earth, for all nations belong to you.

³⁴ But when they found out that he was a Jew, they all started to shout in unison for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
³⁵ When the city recorder had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who in the world doesn’t know that this city of Ephesus is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of the statue that fell down from heaven?

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. Instead, their thoughts turned to worthless things, and their senseless hearts were darkened. ²² Though claiming to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images that looked like mortal human beings, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.
²⁴ For this reason, God delivered them to sexual impurity as they followed the lusts of their hearts and dishonored their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged God’s truth for a lie and worshipped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
²⁶ For this reason, God delivered them to degrading passions as their females exchanged their natural sexual function for one that is unnatural. ²⁷ In the same way, their males also abandoned their natural sexual function toward females and burned with lust toward one another. Males committed indecent acts with males, and received within themselves the appropriate penalty for their perversion.
²⁸ Furthermore, because they did not think it worthwhile to keep knowing God fully, God delivered them to degraded minds to perform acts that should not be done.

¹¹ No one understands. No one searches for God.

²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, the Messiah is God’s power and God’s wisdom. ²⁵ For God’s nonsense is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
²⁶ Brothers, think about your own calling. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

¹³ It performs spectacular signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people. ¹⁴ It deceives those living on earth with the signs that it is allowed to do on behalf of the first beast, telling them to make an image for the beast who was wounded by a sword and yet lived. ¹⁵ The second beast was allowed to impart life to the image of the first beast so that the image of the beast could talk and order the execution of those who would not worship the image of the beast. ¹⁶ The second beast forces all people—important and unimportant, rich and poor, free and slaves—to be marked on their right hands or on their foreheads,

¹³ They have one purpose: to give their power and authority to the beast.

¹⁷ for God has placed within them a desire to carry out his purpose by uniting to give their kingdom to the beast until God’s words are fulfilled.

⁹ The king’s scribes were summoned at that time, on the twenty-third day of the third month, which is the month Sivan, and everything that Mordecai commanded the Jewish people, the regional authorities, the governors, and the provincial officials of the 127 provinces from India to Cush was written down for each province according to its script, for each people according to their language, and for the Jewish people according to their script and language.

¹³ Folly’s EntrapmentThe foolish woman is loud, undisciplined, and without knowledge. ¹⁴ She sits at the entrance of her house, on a seat high above the city. ¹⁵ She calls out to those passing by on the road, who are minding their own business,

⁹ Here is Your God“Climb up a high mountain, you messenger of good news to Zion! Lift up your voice with strength, you messenger to Jerusalem! Lift it up! Don’t be afraid! Say to the towns of Judah, ‘Here is your God!’

¹ False and True Worship “Shout aloud! Don’t hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Declare to my people their rebellions, and to the house of Jacob their sins.

¹ Nebuchadnezzar’s Testimonial AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM NEBUCHADNEZZAR THE KING
To the people of all nations and languages who live on earth.
Peace and prosperity to you!

¹⁴ He called out aloud:‘Cut down the tree and cut off its branches. Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit. Let the animals get out from under it, and let the birds leave its branches.

²⁵ Darius Exonerates DanielAfterward, King Darius wrote to all peoples, nations, and languages who lived throughout his realm:
“May great prosperity be yours!

¹¹ Ephraim is crushed, broken by judgment, because he willingly pursued idols.

¹⁶ You keep Omri’s statutes and observe the customs of the house of Ahab. Because you live according to their advice, I’ll make you desolate and turn your inhabitants into an object of scorn. Therefore you will bear the shame of my people.”

⁷ Therefore, when all of the people “heard the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various other instruments,” all the “people, nations, and languages” began to fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

¹⁰ You, your majesty, issued this decree: ‘Every man who hears the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various other instruments is to fall down and worship the golden statue.

¹⁵ Now, if you are ready at this very moment to obey ‘the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp,’ and worship the image that I have made… If you do not so worship, you will immediately have cast yourselves into the middle of the blazing fire, and what god is there who can deliver you from my power?”

²⁸ He looked off toward Sodom, Gomorrah, and the entire plain, and he saw smoke rising from the land like smoke from a furnace.

⁵ You are not to bow down to them in worship or serve them, because I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the iniquity of the parents to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me,

¹⁷ And the rest of it he makes into a god. To blocks of wood he bows down, worships, prays, and says, “Save me, since you are my god.”

²² What happens to them will be the basis for a curse for all the Judean exiles who are in Babylon. People will say, “May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the LORD roasted in the fire,

¹⁸ “Son of Man, Israel has become like dross to me. All of them are like remnants of bronze, tin, iron, and lead in a furnace—the dross left over from smelting silver. ¹⁹ Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says, ‘Because all of you have become dross, watch out! I’m going to gather all of you at the center of Jerusalem, ²⁰ just like a smelter gathers all the silver, bronze, lead, and tin to the center of a furnace and injects fire in order to melt it, I’m going to gather you in my anger and rage, make you settle down—and then I’m going to melt you down. ²¹ Indeed, I’m going to gather you together and exhale the fire of my fury, and then you’ll be melted from the inside out ²² like melting silver at the center of a furnace. When you’ve been melted from the center out, then you’ll know that I am the LORD. I’ll pour out my anger on you.’”

⁵ In reply the king told the Chaldeans, “Here is what I have commanded: If you don’t tell me both the dream and its meaning, you’ll be destroyed and your houses will be reduced to rubble.

¹² At this point, the king flew into a rage and issued an order to destroy all the advisors of Babylon. ¹³ When the order went out to kill the advisors, they searched for Daniel and his friends to kill them, too.

¹¹ Whoever does not fall down and worship is to be thrown into a blazing fire furnace.’

²¹ So the elite guard tied them up fully clothed, still wearing their robes, tunics, and turbans, and threw them into the blazing fire furnace,

⁷ All of the royal administrators, prefects, regional authorities, scribes, and governors have concluded that the king should establish and enforce an edict that anyone who prays to any god or man for the next 30 days (except to you, your majesty) is to be thrown into the lions’ pit.

⁹ He told Jesus, “I will give you all these things if you will bow down and worship me!”

⁴² and they will throw them into a blazing furnace. In that place there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

⁵⁰ and will throw them into a blazing furnace. In that place there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

²⁷ So without delay the king sent a soldier and ordered him to bring John’s head. The soldier went and beheaded him in prison.

² It opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and smoke came out of the shaft like the smoke from a large furnace. The sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft.

¹⁵ The second beast was allowed to impart life to the image of the first beast so that the image of the beast could talk and order the execution of those who would not worship the image of the beast. ¹⁶ The second beast forces all people—important and unimportant, rich and poor, free and slaves—to be marked on their right hands or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ so that no one may buy or sell unless he has the mark, which is the beast’s name or the number of its name.

¹¹ The smoke from their torture goes up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

⁷ Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, making the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine, therefore the nations have gone mad.

¹⁶ In past generations he allowed all the nations to go their own ways,

¹⁹ We know that we are from God and that the whole world lies under the control of the evil one.

⁹ The huge dragon was hurled down. That ancient serpent, called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was hurled down to the earth, along with its angels.

³ One of the beast’s heads looked like it had sustained a mortal wound, but its fatal wound was healed. Rapt with amazement, the whole world followed the beast.

⁸ All those who had become settled down and at home, living on the earth, will worship it, everyone whose name had not been written in the Book of Life belonging to the lamb that had been slaughtered since the foundation of the world.

¹⁴ It deceives those living on earth with the signs that it is allowed to do on behalf of the first beast, telling them to make an image for the beast who was wounded by a sword and yet lived.

⁸ The beast that you saw existed once, but is no longer, and is going to crawl out of the bottomless pit and then proceed to its destruction. Those living on earth, whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, will be surprised when they see the beast because it was, is no longer, and will come again.

²⁰ The beast was captured, along with the false prophet who had performed signs on its behalf. By these signs the false prophet had deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped its image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

¹² May the king be advised that the Jews who came from you to us have reached Jerusalem and are rebuilding a rebellious and wicked city, having completed its walls and repaired its foundations. ¹³ May the king be further advised that if this city is rebuilt and its walls erected, its citizens will refuse to pay tributes, taxes, and tariffs, thereby restricting royal revenues. ¹⁴ Now, because we are royal employees and are committed to preserving the reputation of the king, we have written to the king and have declared its contents to be true, ¹⁵ urging that a search may be made in the official registers of your predecessors. You will discover in the registers that this city is a rebellious city, that it is damaging to both kings and provinces, that it has been moved to sedition from time immemorial, and that because of this it was destroyed. ¹⁶ We certify to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls completed, you will lose your land holdings in the province beyond the Euphrates River.

⁶ Because they had told him who the people of Mordecai were, Haman found it unacceptable to kill only Mordecai. So Haman sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jewish people, who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

⁸ Then Haman told King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and divided among the people throughout the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different than all the other people, they don’t obey the king’s laws, and it’s not in the king’s best interest to leave them alone. ⁹ If the king approves, let it be decreed that they’re to be destroyed, and I’ll measure out 10,000 silver talents and bring it to the king’s treasury for those who will do the work.”

¹⁰ The Chaldeans answered the king directly, “There’s not a single man on earth who can do what the king has commanded. No king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such a thing from any diviner, enchanter, or Chaldean.

¹² So they approached the king and asked, “Didn’t you sign an edict that for the next 30 days if anyone prays to any god or man, except to you, your majesty, he would be thrown into the lions’ pit?”
The king responded, “The decree has been established, in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians that can’t be repealed.”
¹³ Then they told the king, “Daniel, who is one of the Judean exiles, pays no attention to you, your majesty, or to the written decree, since he is still praying three times a day.”

²⁰ They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are stirring up a lot of trouble in our city. They are Jews ²¹ and are advocating customs that we’re not allowed to accept or practice as Romans.”
²² The crowd joined in the attack against them. Then the magistrates had Paul and Silas stripped of their clothes and ordered them beaten with rods.

⁶ When they didn’t find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials and shouted, “These fellows who have turned the world upside down have come here, too, ⁷ and Jason has welcomed them as his guests. All of them oppose the emperor’s decrees by saying that there is another king—Jesus!”
⁸ The crowd and the city officials were upset when they heard this,

²² However, we’d like to hear from you what you believe, because people are talking against this sect everywhere.”

³ For you spent enough time in the past doing what the gentiles like to do, living in sensuality, sinful desires, drunkenness, wild celebrations, drinking parties, and detestable idolatry. ⁴ They insult you now because they are surprised that you are no longer joining them in the same excesses of wild living.

⁴ The Chaldeans responded to the king in Aramaic: “May the king live forever. Tell the dream to your servants, and we’ll reveal its meaning.”

⁴ Then a herald proclaimed aloud: “People of all nations, and languages are commanded: ⁵ Whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various instruments, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that was set up by King Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁰ Hearing the voices of the king and his officials, the queen entered the banquet hall. “Your majesty, live forever,” the queen said. “Don’t be frightened by your thoughts or allow your facial expression to show it.

⁶ Then these administrators and regional authorities went as a group to the king and said this, “Your majesty, live forever!

²¹ Daniel replied to the king, “May your majesty live forever!

⁷ Pay everyone whatever you owe them—taxes to whom taxes are due, tolls to whom tolls are due, fear to whom fear is due, honor to whom honor is due.

¹⁶ “When you help the Hebrew women give birth,” he said, “watch them as they deliver. If it’s a son, kill him; but if it’s a daughter, let her live.”

²² Meanwhile, Pharaoh continued commanding all of his people, “You’re to throw every Hebrew son who is born into the Nile River, but you’re to allow every Hebrew daughter to live.”

²⁰ The Song of MiriamThen Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand and went out with all the women behind her with tambourines and dancing. ²¹ Miriam sang to them, “Sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted! The horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.”

¹⁸ Moses said, “It is not the sound of a victory shout, and it’s not the sound of a shout of defeat, but it’s the sound of singing that I hear.”
¹⁹ As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he became angry. He threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the base of the mountain.

¹⁶ Music Ministry AppointmentsDavid also told the leaders of the descendants of Levi to appoint their relatives as singers, to play musical instruments such as harps, lyres, and cymbals, and to keep sounding aloud with joyful voices.

²⁸ All of Israel were bringing up the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD, accompanied by shouting, sounding of horns, trumpets, and cymbals, along with loud music on harps and lyres.

⁵ Their director Asaph played cymbals, and next to him was Zechariah, followed by Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, who played harps and lyres. ⁶ The priests Benaiah and Jahaziel played the trumpets continually in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant of God.

¹ The MusiciansAlong with officers in his army, David consecrated to assist in service to the descendants of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun those who prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals.
The list of those who participated in this service included: ² from the descendants of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah, sons of Asaph mentored by Asaph himself, who prophesied under the supervision of the king; ³ from Jeduthun, these six of his descendants: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, mentored by their father Jeduthun, who played a lyre and prophesied, giving thanks and praise to the LORD; ⁴ from Heman, these descendants: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. ⁵ All of these were descendants of Heman the king’s seer, according to God’s promise to exalt him, since God had given Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. ⁶ They were all under their father’s supervision regarding music in the Temple of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the service of the Temple of God.
Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under command of the king.

²⁵ Hezekiah stationed descendants of Levi in the LORD’s Temple to play cymbals and stringed instruments, just as David, Gad the seer, and Nathan the prophet had directed, because the command to do so was from the LORD through those prophets.

¹² The king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and all that Haman commanded was written to the regional authorities of the king, to the governors who were over each province, and to the officials of each people. This order was translated in the name of King Ahasuerus into the language of each province and bore the seal of the king’s signet ring. ¹³ Letters were sent by couriers to all of the king’s provinces to annihilate, to kill, and to destroy all the Jewish people, both young and old, women and children, and to confiscate their goods on a single day—the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of Adar. ¹⁴ A copy of the letter was to be issued as an edict in every province and published to all the people, telling them to be ready for that day.

¹ For the Director: On the Gittith. By Asaph.
Celebrating and Remembering God Sing joyfully to God, our strength. Raise a shout to the God of Jacob. ² Sing a song and play the tambourine, the pleasant-sounding lyre along with the harp. ³ Blow the ram’s horn when there is a New Moon, when there is a full moon, on our festival day,

¹ A Psalm. A song for the Sabbath Day
Praise and Thanksgiving to God It is good to give thanks to the LORD and to sing praise to your name, Most High; ² to proclaim your gracious love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, ³ accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument and a lyre, and the contemplative sound of a harp.

²⁰ Will destructive national leaders, who plan wicked things through misuse of the Law, be allied with you?

³ May they praise his name with dancing, chanting songs to him with tambourines and lyres. ⁴ For the LORD is pleased with his people; he beautifies the afflicted with salvation.

³ Praise him with trumpet sounding. Praise him with stringed instrument and harp. ⁴ Praise him with tambourine and dancing. Praise him with stringed and wind instruments. ⁵ Praise him with loud cymbals. Praise him with reverberating cymbals. ⁶ Let everyone who breathes praise the LORD. Hallelujah!

¹⁶ From Dust to DustI also examined on earth: where the halls of justice were supposed to be, there was lawlessness; and where the righteous were supposed to be, there was lawlessness.

¹ Judgment on Unjust Lawmakers “How terrible it will be for the one who enacts unjust decrees, for those who write oppressive laws that they have prescribed

⁴ Then a herald proclaimed aloud: “People of all nations, and languages are commanded: ⁵ Whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various instruments, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that was set up by King Nebuchadnezzar. ⁶ Anyone who does not fall down and worship is immediately to be thrown into the blazing fire furnace.”
⁷ Therefore, when all of the people “heard the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various other instruments,” all the “people, nations, and languages” began to fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

¹² So they approached the king and asked, “Didn’t you sign an edict that for the next 30 days if anyone prays to any god or man, except to you, your majesty, he would be thrown into the lions’ pit?”
The king responded, “The decree has been established, in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians that can’t be repealed.”

⁵ chanting to the sound of stringed instruments as if they were David, composing songs to themselves as if they were musicians,

⁵⁷ Now the high priests and the Pharisees had given orders that whoever knew where he was should tell them so that they could arrest him.

⁷ As the women sang and played, they said, “Saul has struck down his thousands but David his ten thousands.”
⁸ Saul was very angry and he did not like what the women sang. He told himself, “They have attributed tens of thousands to David, but to me they have attributed thousands. What else can he have but the kingdom?” ⁹ From then on Saul kept his eye on David.
¹⁰ The next day, while David was playing the lyre as he had before, the evil spirit from the LORD attacked Saul, and he began to rave inside the house with a spear in his hand. ¹¹ Saul hurled it, thinking, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David escaped from him twice.

⁸ Then Haman told King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and divided among the people throughout the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different than all the other people, they don’t obey the king’s laws, and it’s not in the king’s best interest to leave them alone.

⁴ Wrath can be fierce and anger overwhelms but who can stand up to jealousy?

⁴ Then I examined all sorts of work, including all kinds of excellent achievements that create envy in others. This also is pointless and chasing after the wind.

⁴⁹ Moreover, Daniel requested that the king appoint Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained in the royal court.

¹³ Then they told the king, “Daniel, who is one of the Judean exiles, pays no attention to you, your majesty, or to the written decree, since he is still praying three times a day.”

²⁸ He said, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in his name, didn’t we? Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to bring this man’s blood on us!”

⁷ and Jason has welcomed them as his guests. All of them oppose the emperor’s decrees by saying that there is another king—Jesus!”

⁵ but he did not look favorably upon Cain and his offering.
When Cain became very upset and depressed,

³⁰ Saul’s Anger toward JonathanSaul flew into a rage and told Jonathan, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you have chosen Jesse’s son to your shame and to the shame of your mother who bore you? ³¹ As long as Jesse’s son lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established! Now send someone and bring David to me. He’s a dead man!”
³² Jonathan asked his father Saul, “Why should he be killed? What did he do?” ³³ Then Saul threw the spear that was beside him to strike Jonathan down. So Jonathan realized that his father was determined to kill David.

⁵ When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel and bow down to him, he flew into a rage. ⁶ Because they had told him who the people of Mordecai were, Haman found it unacceptable to kill only Mordecai. So Haman sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jewish people, who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

¹² It’s better to meet a mother bear who has lost her cubs than a fool in his stupidity.

³ Rocks are heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool’s provocation outweighs them both.

²² An angry man stirs up arguments, and a hot-tempered man causes many transgressions.

¹² At this point, the king flew into a rage and issued an order to destroy all the advisors of Babylon.

¹⁹ The King Orders an ExecutionOut of control with rage, Nebuchadnezzar’s facial expression changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and he ordered that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual.

¹⁸ You will be brought before governors and kings because of me, to testify to them and to unbelievers.

⁹ Future Persecution and Evangelism
“As for yourselves, be on your guard! People will hand you over to local councils, and you will be beaten in their synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings to testify to them because of me.

¹¹ The others were furious and began to discuss with each other what they could do to Jesus.

¹² Future Persecutions
“But before all these things take place, people will arrest you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake.

²⁵ Then someone came and told them, “Look! The men you put in prison are standing in the Temple and teaching the people!” ²⁶ So the commander of the Temple guards went with his men to bring them back without force, because they were afraid of being stoned to death by the people. ²⁷ When they brought them back, they made them stand before the Council, and the high priest began to question them.

²⁴ Some days later, Felix arrived with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him talk about faith in Jesus the Messiah.

¹³ If he didn’t lie in wait, but God let him fall into his reach, then I’ll appoint for you a place to which he may flee. ¹⁴ If a man acts deliberately against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you are to take him to die even if he’s at my altar.

¹ God is Unique and Eternal “Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low. Their idols are on beasts, on livestock. Your loads are more burdensome than their reports.

² “Declare and proclaim among the nations. Lift up a banner and proclaim. Don’t conceal anything. Say, ‘Babylon will be captured. Bel will be disgraced, and Marduk will be destroyed. Her idols will be disgraced, and her filthy images will be destroyed.’

¹ Dedicating the Image to NebuchadnezzarSome time later, king Nebuchadnezzar built a golden statue, making it 60 cubits high and six cubits wide. He set it up in the Dura Valley within the province of Babylon.

⁸ Eventually, Daniel appeared before me. (He is called Belteshazzar, in accordance with the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is within him.) I told him my dream:

² Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD that I should listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know about the LORD, nor will I let Israel go!”

³² Now, if you will, forgive their sin—but if not, blot me out of your book which you have written.”

³⁵ Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered their land from my control, so that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from me?’”

¹⁵ Now therefore, don’t let Hezekiah lie to you or mislead you like this. Don’t believe him, because no god of any nation has been able to deliver his people from my control or from the control of my predecessors. So how much less will your God deliver you from me?’”
¹⁶ King Sennacherib’s spokesmen said even worse things against the LORD God and against his servant Hezekiah.
¹⁷ Sennacherib also wrote letters like this that insulted and slandered the LORD God of Israel: “Just as the gods of the nations in other lands haven’t delivered their people from my control, so also the god of Hezekiah won’t deliver his people from me!”

¹⁸ Be careful not to let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, “The LORD will save us.” Has any god of any nation ever delivered his country from the king of Assyria? ¹⁹ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sephar-vaim? Have they saved Samaria from me? ²⁰ Who among all the gods of these countries has delivered their land from me? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from me?’”

²³ Whom have you insulted and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!

⁵ Whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various instruments, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that was set up by King Nebuchadnezzar. ⁶ Anyone who does not fall down and worship is immediately to be thrown into the blazing fire furnace.”

¹⁷ Your majesty, if it be his will, our God whom we serve can deliver us from the blazing fire furnace, and he will deliver us from you.

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar spoke up and announced: “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! He sent his angel to deliver his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and were willing to risk their lives in order not to serve or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ So I decree that people from any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego will be destroyed and their house reduced to rubble, because there is no other god who can save like this.”

¹⁶ Daniel in the Lions’ PitAt this point, the king ordered Daniel brought in and thrown into the lions’ pit. The king spoke to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve constantly, will deliver you himself.”

²⁰ As he approached where Daniel was in the pit, he cried out to him in a voice filled with anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve constantly, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

¹⁹ When they hand you over, don’t worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say, because in that hour what you are to say will be given to you.

⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him, if he wants to do so now. After all, he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

¹¹ When they take you away and hand you over for trial, don’t worry ahead of time about what you will say. Instead, say whatever is given to you at that time, because it won’t be you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

⁷ So if you will worship me, all this will be yours.”
⁸ But Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

¹¹ When people bring you before synagogue leaders, rulers, or authorities, don’t worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say,

⁹ Maybe next year it will bear fruit. If not, then cut it down.’”

¹⁴ So purpose in your hearts not to prepare your defense ahead of time, ¹⁵ because I will give you the ability to speak, along with wisdom, that none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.

⁸ Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, told them, “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being questioned today for a good deed done for someone who was sick or to learn how this man was healed, ¹⁰ you and all the people of Israel must understand that this man stands healthy before you because of the name of Jesus from Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead. ¹¹ He is ‘the stone that was rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone.’
¹² There is no salvation by anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.”

¹⁹ But Peter and John answered them, “You must decide whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God,

²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men!

¹⁵ Then everyone who was seated in the Council glared at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

¹⁰ When the governor motioned for Paul to speak, he replied: “Since I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I am pleased to present my defense. ¹¹ You can verify for yourself that I went up to worship in Jerusalem no more than twelve days ago. ¹² They never found me debating with anyone in the Temple or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or throughout the city, ¹³ and they cannot prove to you the charges they are now bringing against me.

⁷ The chief officer assigned the name “Belteshazzar” to Daniel, the name “Shadrach” to Hananiah, the name “Meshach” to Mishael, and the name “Abednego” to Azariah.

¹² “Certain influential Jewish men whom you appointed to manage the city of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—have neither paid attention to you, your majesty, nor served your gods. And they won’t worship the golden statue that you set up.”

¹ God Appears to AbramWhen Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and announced, “I am God Almighty. Live in constant awareness that I’m always with you, and be blameless.

¹⁴ Is anything impossible for the LORD? At the time set for it, I will return to you—about a year from now—and Sarah will have a son.”

³⁷ David continued, “The LORD who delivered me from the power of the lion and the power of the bear will also deliver me from the power of this Philistine.”
Saul told David, “Go! And may the LORD be with you.”

⁴⁶ This very day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I’ll strike you down and remove your head from you. And this very day I’ll give the dead bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and to the animals of the earth, so that all the earth will know that there is a God in Israel,

¹⁹ “He will deliver you through six calamities; and calamity won’t touch you throughout the seventh.

²⁹ “If he remains silent, who will condemn him? If he conceals his face, who can see him? He watches over both nation and individual alike,

¹⁰ He rode upon a cherub and flew; he soared upon the wings of the wind. ¹¹ He made darkness his hiding place, his canopy surrounding him was dark waters and thick clouds.

¹ Davidic
Confidence in the LORD The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom will I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom will I be afraid? ² When those who practice evil, my enemies, and my oppressors come near me to devour my flesh, they stumble and fall.

¹ To the Director: According to Jeduthun’s style. A Davidic Psalm.
A Psalm of Trust in God My soul rests quietly only when it looks to God; from him comes my deliverance. ² He alone is my rock, my deliverance, and my high tower; nothing will shake me. ³ How long will you rage against someone? Would you attack him as if he were a leaning wall or a tottering fence? ⁴ They plan to cast him down from his exalted position. They delight in lies; their mouth utters blessings, while their heart is cursing. Interlude ⁵ My soul, be quiet before God, for from him comes my hope. ⁶ He alone is my rock, my deliverance, and my high tower; nothing will shake me.

²⁰ Like a dream when one awakens, Lord, you will despise their image when you arise.

³ when our God is in the heavens and he does whatever he desires?

⁵ The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade at your right side. ⁶ The sun will not ravage you by day, nor the moon by night. ⁷ The LORD will guard you from all evil, preserving your life.

² “Look! God—yes God—is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid. For the LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

³ You will keep perfectly peaceful the one whose mind remains focused on you, because he remains in you. ⁴ “Trust in the LORD forever, for in the LORD GOD you have an everlasting rock.

¹⁴ “In righteousness you’ll be established; you will be far from tyranny, for you won’t be afraid, and from terror, for it won’t come near you.

⁸ Don’t be afraid of them, because I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.

³⁵ All who live on the earth are nothing compared to him. He does what he wishes with the heavenly armies and with those who live on earth. No one can hold back his power or say to him, ‘What did you do?’

²⁰ As he approached where Daniel was in the pit, he cried out to him in a voice filled with anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve constantly, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
²¹ Daniel replied to the king, “May your majesty live forever! ²² My God sent his angel and sealed the mouths of the lions. They have not harmed me, proving that I’m innocent before him. Also against you, your majesty, I’ve committed no offense.”

²⁷ He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth. He has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”

³⁷ Nothing is impossible with respect to any of God’s promises.”

²⁴ But I don’t place any value on my life, if only I can finish my race and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.

¹³ At this Paul replied, “What do you mean by crying and breaking my heart? I’m ready not only to be tied up in Jerusalem but even to die for the name of the Lord Jesus!”

²⁰ For a number of days neither the sun nor the stars were to be seen, and the storm continued to rage until at last all hope of our being saved vanished.
²¹ After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood among his shipmates and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have sailed from Crete. You would have avoided this hardship and damage. ²² But now I urge you to have courage, because there will be no loss of life among you, but only loss of the ship. ²³ For just last night an angel of God, to whom I belong and whom I serve, stood by me ²⁴ and said, ‘Stop being afraid, Paul! You must stand before the emperor. Indeed, God has given to you the lives of everyone who is sailing with you.’ ²⁵ So take courage, men, because I trust God that it will turn out just as he told me.

³¹ Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s LoveWhat, then, can we say about all of this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

²⁵ Therefore, because he always lives to intercede for them, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him.

³ You are to have no other gods besides me.ב ⁴ “You are not to make for yourselves an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above, or on earth below, or in the water under the earth. ⁵ You are not to bow down to them in worship or serve them, because I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the iniquity of the parents to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me,

⁴ “You are not to turn to their idols or cast gods out of melted metal for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.

¹⁵ If you think it’s the wrong thing for you to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves today whom you will serve—the gods whom your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose territories you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

¹⁵ Even though he kills me, I’ll continue to hope in him. At least I’ll be able to argue my case to his face!

¹ Contrasting Good and Evil The wicked flee, though no one pursues, but the righteous are bold like a lion.

¹² “I—yes, I—am the one who comforts you. Who are you, that you are so afraid of humans who will die, descendants of mere men, who have been made like grass? ¹³ As a result, you have forgotten the LORD who made you, who stretched out the heavens and laid the earth’s foundations, and you live in constant fear every day because of the oppressor’s fury, since he’s ready to destroy. Now where is the oppressor’s fury?

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar spoke up and announced: “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! He sent his angel to deliver his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and were willing to risk their lives in order not to serve or worship any god except their own God.

²⁸ Stop being afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.

³² Acknowledging the Messiah
“Therefore, everyone who acknowledges me before people I, too, will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever denies me before people I, too, will deny before my Father in heaven.”

³⁹ The one who finds his life will lose it, and the one who loses his life because of me will find it.”

² He replied to them, “You say, ‘Red sky at night, what a delight!

³ Therefore, what you have said in darkness will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in private rooms will be shouted from the housetops.”
⁴ Fear God
“But I tell you, my friends, never be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can’t do anything more. ⁵ I’ll show you the one you should be afraid of. Be afraid of the one who has the authority to throw you into hell after killing you. Yes, I tell you, be afraid of him!
⁶ “Five sparrows are sold for two pennies, aren’t they? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. ⁷ Why, even all the hairs on your head have been counted! Stop being afraid. You are worth more than a bunch of sparrows.”
⁸ Acknowledging the Messiah
“But I tell you, the Son of Man will acknowledge before God’s angels everyone who acknowledges me before people. ⁹ But whoever denies me before people will be denied before God’s angels.

¹⁰ you and all the people of Israel must understand that this man stands healthy before you because of the name of Jesus from Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead. ¹¹ He is ‘the stone that was rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone.’
¹² There is no salvation by anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.”
¹³ Now when the Jewish leaders saw the boldness of Peter and John and found out that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and realized that they had been with Jesus.

²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men! ³⁰ The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. ³¹ God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. ³² We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him.”

¹⁰ Don’t be afraid of what you are going to suffer. Look! The devil is going to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested. For ten days you will undergo suffering. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the victor’s crown of life.
¹¹ ‘Let everyone listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will never be hurt by the second death.’”

¹¹ Our brothers conquered him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to their lives even in the face of death.

⁵ but he did not look favorably upon Cain and his offering.
When Cain became very upset and depressed, ⁶ the LORD asked Cain, “Why are you so upset? Why are you depressed?

² Jacob also noticed that the way Laban had been looking at him wasn’t as nice as it had been just two days earlier.

⁹ “The enemy said, ‘I’ll pursue them, I’ll overtake them, I’ll divide the spoil. I’ll satisfy my anger on them, I’ll draw my sword, and my hand will bring them to ruin.’ ¹⁰ “You blew with your breath, and the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty water.

¹⁸ “If, despite all of this, you still don’t listen to me, then I’ll punish you seven times more on account of your sins.

²¹ “If you live life contrary to me and remain unwilling to listen to me, then I’ll add to your wounds seven times more on account of your sins.

²⁴ then I’ll certainly oppose you. I’ll take vengeance against you seven fold on account of your sins.

²⁸ I’ll oppose you with vicious rage. Indeed, I myself will punish you seven fold on account of your sins.

³³ Then he laid the wood in order, cut the bull into pieces, and laid them on top of the wood.
“Fill four pitchers with water,” he ordered. “Then pour them out on the burnt offering and the wood.”
³⁴ “Do it a second time,” he ordered. So they did it a second time.
“Do it a third time,” he said. So they did it a third time. ³⁵ The water ran down around the altar and completely filled the trench.

¹⁰ Beh-hadad sent this message back: “May the gods do so to me, and more than that also, if the dust that remains of Samaria is enough to fill up a few handfuls for all of the armies at my disposal.”
¹¹ But the king of Israel replied, “Tell him, ‘The one who is starting to strap on his battle armor should never brag like the one who is taking it off.’”

²⁷ ‘But when you sit down, when you go out, and when you come in, I’m aware of it! ²⁸ Because of your rage against me, your complacency has reached my ears. I’ll put my hook into your nostrils and my bit into your mouth. Then I’ll turn you back on the road by which you came.’

⁷ The king got up from the banquet in anger and went out to the palace garden, while Haman stood there begging Queen Esther to spare his life, because he realized that the king intended to harm him.

¹⁰ Even human anger praises you; you will wear the survivors of your wrath as an ornament.

¹⁴ The king’s wrath results in a death sentence, but whoever is wise will appease him.

²⁴ The names “Proud,” “Arrogant,” and “Mocker” fit whoever acts with presumptuous conceit.

³ Rocks are heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool’s provocation outweighs them both. ⁴ Wrath can be fierce and anger overwhelms but who can stand up to jealousy?

²³ But I will put it into the hands of those who tormented and oppressed you, those who said to you, ‘Lie down, so we can step over you,’ so that you had to make your back like the ground, and like a street for them to walk over.”

¹³ The Threat of the Fire FurnaceNebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and furiously ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him.

⁶ While the king watched the back of the hand as it was writing, his facial expression changed. Utterly frightened, he lost control of his own bowels and his knees knocked together.

²⁴ Then the king gave orders to bring those men who had tried to have Daniel devoured, and they threw them, their children, and their wives into the lions’ pit. They had not reached the floor of the pit before the lions had overtaken them and crushed all their bones.

⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said while he was still alive, ‘I will be raised after three days.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore, order the tomb to be secured until the third day, or his disciples may go and steal him and then tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead.’ Then the last deception would be worse than the first one.”
⁶⁵ Pilate told them, “You have a military guard. Go and make the tomb as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶ So they went and secured the tomb by putting a seal on the stone in the presence of the guards.

⁴ Fear God
“But I tell you, my friends, never be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can’t do anything more. ⁵ I’ll show you the one you should be afraid of. Be afraid of the one who has the authority to throw you into hell after killing you. Yes, I tell you, be afraid of him!

³³ When the Council heard this, they became furious and wanted to kill them.

⁵⁴ Stephen is Stoned to DeathWhile they were listening to these things, they became more and more furious and began to grind their teeth at him.

⁴ When he arrested Peter, Herod put him in prison and turned him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, planning to bring him out to the people after Passover season. ⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer to God for him was being offered by the assembly.

²³ After giving them a severe beating, they threw them in jail and ordered the jailer to keep them under tight security.

²⁵ Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

³³ The Egyptian officials urged the people to send them out of the land quickly, because they were saying, “We’ll all be dead!”

⁸ The righteous person is delivered from trouble; it comes upon the wicked instead.

¹⁸ The wicked are ransom for the righteous, and the unfaithful for the upright.

¹⁵ He asked him, “Why such a harsh decree from the king?” Then Arioch informed Daniel,

² ‘Look, I am making Jerusalem an unstable cup toward all of its surrounding armies when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. ³ It will come about at that time that I will make Jerusalem a heavy weight; so everyone who burdens themselves with it will be crushed, even though all of the nations of the earth gather themselves against it.

⁵ Then he flung the pieces of silver into the sanctuary, went outside, ran away, and hanged himself.

¹⁹ Herod searched for him but didn’t find him, so he questioned the guards and ordered them to be executed. Then he left Judea, went down to Caesarea, and stayed there for a while.

¹⁹ A righteous person will have many troubles, but the LORD will deliver him from them all.

¹¹ You have led us into a trap and set burdens on our backs. ¹² You caused men to ride over us. You brought us through fire and water, but you led us to abundance.

¹ A Davidic Song of Ascents
God is for Us If the LORD had not been on our side— let Israel now say— ² if the LORD had not been on our side, when men came against us, ³ then they would have devoured us alive, when their anger burned against us. ⁴ Then the flood waters would have overwhelmed us, the torrent would have flooded over us; ⁵ the swollen waters would have swept us away.

⁶ So they threw Jeremiah into a cistern that belonged to the king’s son Malchijah and was located in the courtyard of the guard. When they let Jeremiah down with ropes, because there was no water in the cistern—only mud—Jeremiah sank into the mud.

⁵² My enemies hunted me like a bird, viciously and without justification. ⁵³ They dumped me alive into a pit, sealing me in with stone. ⁵⁴ Water closed over my head, and I said, “I’m a dead man.”

¹⁶ Daniel in the Lions’ PitAt this point, the king ordered Daniel brought in and thrown into the lions’ pit. The king spoke to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve constantly, will deliver you himself.” ¹⁷ A stone was brought and placed over the opening to the pit, and the king affixed a seal to it with his personal signet ring and with the signet rings of his officials so that no one would interfere with Daniel’s situation.

⁸ How God Rescued PaulFor we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about the suffering we experienced in Asia. We were so crushed beyond our ability to endure that we even despaired of living. ⁹ In fact, we felt that we had received a death sentence so we would not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has rescued us from a terrible death, and he will continue to rescue us. Yes, he is the one on whom we have set our hope, and he will rescue us again,

¹⁷ This light, temporary nature of our suffering is producing for us an everlasting weight of glory, far beyond any comparison,

¹² Suffering as a ChristianDear friends, do not be surprised by the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ Instead, because you are participating in the sufferings of the Messiah, keep on rejoicing, so that you may be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed.

⁵⁵ When Saul saw David going out to meet the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of the army, “Whose son is this young man, Abner?”
Abner said, “As surely as you live, your majesty, I don’t know.”

² Then King Nebuchadnezzar summoned the regional authorities, governors, deputy governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all of the other administrators of the provinces, ordering them to come to the dedication of the statue that he had erected.
³ So the regional authorities, governors, deputy governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all of the other administrators of the provinces assembled to dedicate the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected. They took their places in front of the statue that he had erected.

⁹ They told King Nebuchadnezzar, “Your majesty, live forever. ¹⁰ You, your majesty, issued this decree: ‘Every man who hears the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various other instruments is to fall down and worship the golden statue.

²² it’s you, your majesty! You’ve become great and strong, your greatness has grown to the heavens, and your dominion reaches to the distant parts of the earth.

²⁷ Therefore, your majesty, may my advice be acceptable to you: Stop your sinning, do what’s right, and put a stop to your wickedness by showing kindness to the oppressed. Perhaps your tranquility will continue.”

¹⁸ Your majesty, the Most High God gave your grandfather Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty, as well as greatness, glory, and splendor.

²² My God sent his angel and sealed the mouths of the lions. They have not harmed me, proving that I’m innocent before him. Also against you, your majesty, I’ve committed no offense.”

²³ “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” ²⁴ When the commander of the Temple guards and the high priests heard these words, they were utterly at a loss as to what could have happened to them.
²⁵ Then someone came and told them, “Look! The men you put in prison are standing in the Temple and teaching the people!”

⁶ Now get up, go into the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

¹³ When he knocked at the outer gate, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it.

¹³ On the road at noon, O King, I saw a light from heaven that was brighter than the sun. It flashed around me and those who were traveling with me.

²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you believe them!”

⁶ Satan’s First Attack on JobOne day, divine beings presented themselves to the LORD, and Satan accompanied them.

⁷ while the morning stars sang together and all the divine beings shouted joyfully?

⁷ The angel of the LORD surrounds those who fear him, and he delivers them.

³ He will surely deliver you from the hunter’s snare and from the destructive plague. ⁴ With his feathers he will cover you, under his wings you will find safety. His truth is your shield and armor. ⁵ You need not fear terror that stalks in the night, the arrow that flies in the day, ⁶ plague that strikes in the darkness, or calamity that destroys at noon. ⁷ If a thousand fall at your side or ten thousand at your right hand, it will not overcome you. ⁸ Only observe it with your eyes, and you will see how the wicked are paid back. ⁹ “LORD, you are my refuge!” Because you chose the Most High as your dwelling place,

⁴ Who has ascended to heaven, and then descended? Who has collected the wind in his hands? Who has wrapped up waters in a garment? Who has established all the farthest points of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know!

² When you pass through the waters, I’ll be with you; and through the rivers, they won’t sweep over you. when you walk through fire you won’t be scorched, and the flame won’t set you ablaze.

¹⁸ But if not, rest assured, your majesty, that we won’t serve your gods, and we won’t worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

¹⁸ and they will pick up snakes with their hands.Even if they drink any deadly poison it will not hurt them; and they’ll place their hands on the sick, and they’ll recover.”

³⁵ The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will surround you. Therefore, the child will be holy and will be called the Son of God.

⁷ The Jewish leaders answered Pilate, “We have a law, and according to that Law he must die because he made himself out to be the Son of God.”
⁸ When Pilate heard this, he became even more afraid.

⁵ But he shook the snake into the fire and wasn’t harmed.

⁴ and was declared by the resurrection from the dead to be the powerful Son of God according to the spirit of holiness—Jesus the Messiah, our Lord.

¹³ Who will harm you if you are devoted to doing what is good?

¹⁸ King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine, since he was serving as the priest of God Most High.

¹⁷ The priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan River, while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan River.

¹⁰ Crossing the Jordan RiverThe priests who were carrying the ark stood in the middle of the Jordan River until everything had been done in accordance with what the LORD had commanded Joshua to speak to the people and with everything that Moses had commanded Joshua. So the people hurried and crossed over.

¹⁶ “Command the priests who carry the Ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan River.”
¹⁷ So Joshua ordered the priests, “Come up from the Jordan River.”
¹⁸ As soon as the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD had come up from the middle of the Jordan River, and the soles of the priests’ feet came up to dry ground, the water of the Jordan River returned to normal, covering its banks as it had done so before.

¹¹ In answer they responded, “We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and are rebuilding the Temple that was built many years ago by a great king of Israel.

¹⁶ therefore this is what the LORD God says: “Look! I am laying a foundation stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation: Whoever believes firmly will not act hastily.

¹² For you won’t go out in haste, nor will you go in flight; for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. He is called the God of all the earth.”

⁴⁷ The king told Daniel, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and the Revealer of Secrets, because you were able to reveal this mystery.”

² It gives me great pleasure to tell about the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.

¹⁷ She would follow Paul and us and shout, “These men are servants of the Most High God and are proclaiming to you a way of salvation!”

³⁷ But Paul told the guards, “The magistrates have had us beaten publicly without a trial and have thrown us into jail, even though we are Roman citizens. Now are they going to throw us out secretly? Certainly not! Have them come and escort us out.”

²³ For just last night an angel of God, to whom I belong and whom I serve, stood by me

¹⁰ Am I now trying to win the approval of people or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be the Messiah’s servant.

⁵ A voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all who serve and fear him, from the least important to the most important.”

⁴⁶ This very day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I’ll strike you down and remove your head from you. And this very day I’ll give the dead bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and to the animals of the earth, so that all the earth will know that there is a God in Israel, ⁴⁷ and this whole congregation will know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or spear. Indeed, the battle is the LORD’s and he will give you into our hands.”

¹⁹ Now, LORD our God, I’m praying that you will deliver us from his control, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, LORD, are God!”

¹⁸ Then they will know that you alone— whose name is LORD— are the Most High over all the earth.

⁷ Ascribe to the LORD, you families of peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! ⁸ Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name, bring an offering and enter his courts! ⁹ Worship the LORD in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth.

¹¹ “LORD, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it. And let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame— yes, let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them!

³⁰ Indeed, even the hairs on your head have all been counted!

¹⁷ You will be hated continuously by everyone because of my name. ¹⁸ And yet not a hair on your head will be lost.

⁶ When that sound came, a crowd quickly gathered, startled because each one heard the disciples speaking in his own language. ⁷ Stunned and amazed, they asked, “All of these people who are speaking are Galileans, aren’t they? ⁸ So how is it that each one of us hears them speaking in his own native language: ⁹ Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the district of Libya near Cyrene, Jewish and proselyte visitors from Rome, ¹¹ Cretans, and Arabs, listening to them talk in our own languages about the great deeds of God?”
¹² All of them continued to be stunned and puzzled, and they kept asking one another, “What can this mean?”

²⁶ Indeed, the king knows about these things, and I can speak to him freely. For I’m certain that none of these things has escaped his notice, since this wasn’t done in a corner.

³⁴ So I urge you to eat something, for it will help you survive, since none of you will lose so much as a hair from his head.”

³⁴ put out raging fires, escaped death by the sword, found strength in weakness, became powerful in battle, and routed foreign armies.

²⁶ He also said, “Blessed be the LORD God of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave.

¹⁵ As dawn was breaking, the angels pressured Lot. “Get going!” they told him. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be engulfed by the devastation that’s coming to this city.”
¹⁶ But Lot kept lingering in the city, so the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters (because of the LORD’s compassion for him!), brought them out of the city, and left them outside.

²⁰ When they received assistance against them, the Hagrites and all of their allies were handed over to their control, because they cried out to God during the battle. He honored their entreaty, because they had placed their trust in him.

²⁰ Jehoshaphat’s Instructions the Next MorningThe army got up early the next morning and headed out into the wilderness of Tekoa. Jehoshaphat stood up and addressed them. “Listen to me, you inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem,” he said. “Have faith in the LORD your God and you’ll be established! Have faith in his prophets and you’ll succeed!”

²¹ So the LORD sent an angel, who eliminated all of the elite forces, commanders, and officers within the encampment of the king of Assyria. As a result, he retreated to his own country, deeply ashamed and humiliated. When he visited the temple of his god, some of his sons killed him right there with swords.

³ Therefore, who among the LORD’s people trusts in his God? Whoever among this group wishes to do so may travel to Jerusalem of Judah to rebuild the Temple of the LORD God of Israel, the God of Jerusalem.

¹¹ I hereby also decree that whoever shall alter the wording of this edict, let his residence be torn down for timber to build a gallows, hang him on it, and turn his home into an outhouse.

²³ Whatever is commanded by the God of Heaven is to be done with all due diligence for the Temple of the God of Heaven, or wrath will come against the king’s realm and his sons. ²⁴ Furthermore, we decree that with respect to any of the priests, descendants of Levi, singers, gatekeepers, Temple Servants, or other servants of this Temple of God, it is not to be lawful to impose any tribute, tax, or toll on them. ²⁵ And you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom given to you by your God, are to appoint magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the people beyond the Euphrates River. All of them are to know the laws of your God, and you are to instruct those who do not know them. ²⁶ Whoever refuses to practice the law of your God and the law of the king is to see judgment executed quickly, whether to death, banishment, confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.
²⁷ Ezra’s Response to the LetterBlessed be the LORD God of our ancestors, who placed this decree into the king’s heart to beautify the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem ²⁸ and who showed gracious love to me before the king, before his advisors, and before all of the king’s mighty officials.
And I was strengthened because the hand of the LORD my God was upon me. So I gathered together the leaders of Israel to go with me.

⁴ Our ancestors trusted in you; they trusted and you delivered them. ⁵ They cried out to you and escaped; they trusted in you and were not put to shame.

¹⁸ Indeed, the LORD watches those who fear him; those who trust in his gracious love

²¹ Indeed, our heart will rejoice in him, because we have placed our trust in his holy name.

⁷ The angel of the LORD surrounds those who fear him, and he delivers them. ⁸ Taste and see that the LORD is good! How blessed is the person who trusts in him!

²² The LORD redeems the lives of his servants; and none of those who trust in him will be held guilty.

⁸ People, in every situation put your trust in God; pour out your heart before him; for God is a refuge for us. Interlude

¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD grants grace and favor; the LORD will not withhold any good thing from those who walk blamelessly. ¹² LORD of Heavenly Armies, how happy are those who trust in you.

²⁰ Bless the LORD, you angels who belong to him, you mighty warriors who carry out his commands, who are obedient to the sound of his words.

⁵ Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, ⁶ maker of heaven and earth, the seas and everything in them, forever the guardian of truth,

¹¹ But the LORD is pleased with those who fear him, with those who depend on his gracious love.

³⁶ Sennacherib is DefeatedAfter this, the angel of the LORD went out and put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. When Hezekiah’s army awakened in the morning—there were all the dead bodies!

⁷ Blessed is the person who trusts in the LORD, making the LORD his trust. ⁸ He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by a stream. He won’t fear when the heat comes, and his leaves will be green. In a year of drought he won’t be concerned, nor will he stop producing fruit.”

¹⁵ Now, if you are ready at this very moment to obey ‘the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp,’ and worship the image that I have made… If you do not so worship, you will immediately have cast yourselves into the middle of the blazing fire, and what god is there who can deliver you from my power?”
¹⁶ Daniel’s Friends Answer King NebuchadnezzarShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “It’s not necessary for us to respond in this matter. ¹⁷ Your majesty, if it be his will, our God whom we serve can deliver us from the blazing fire furnace, and he will deliver us from you. ¹⁸ But if not, rest assured, your majesty, that we won’t serve your gods, and we won’t worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

²⁵ “Look!” he told them, “I see four men walking untied and unharmed in the middle of the fire, and the appearance of the fourth resembles a divine being.”

³⁴ The King’s Sanity Returns“When that period of time was over, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven and my sanity returned to me. I blessed the Most High, praising and honoring the one who lives forever: For his sovereignty is eternal, and his kingdom continues from generation to generation.

²² My God sent his angel and sealed the mouths of the lions. They have not harmed me, proving that I’m innocent before him. Also against you, your majesty, I’ve committed no offense.”
²³ The king was ecstatic, so he gave orders for Daniel to be released from the pit. Daniel was taken up from the pit, and no injury was found to have been inflicted on him, because he had believed in his God.

²⁶ “I hereby decree that in every area of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, who endures forever. His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed, and his dominion continues forever.

¹⁰ Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! Because it is written, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

¹⁹ But at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and led them out. The angel told them,

⁷ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on his side, woke him up, and said, “Get up quickly!” His chains fell from his wrists. ⁸ Then the angel told him, “Tuck in your shirt and put on your sandals!” He did this. Then the angel told him, “Put on your coat and follow me!” ⁹ So Peter went out and began to follow him, not realizing that what was being done by the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰ They passed the first guard, then the second, and came to the iron gate that led into the city. It opened by itself for them, and they went outside and proceeded one block when the angel suddenly left him.
¹¹ Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I’m sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod and from everything the Jewish people were expecting!”

¹ Dedicate Your Lives to GodI therefore urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices that are holy and pleasing to God, for this is the reasonable way for you to worship.

⁷ For none of us lives for himself, and no one dies for himself. ⁸ If we live, we live to honor the Lord; and if we die, we die to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

¹² so that we who had already fixed our hope on the Messiah might live for his praise and glory. ¹³ You, too, have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed in the Messiah, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

²⁰ I rejoice because I eagerly expect and hope that I will have nothing to be ashamed of, because through my boldness the Messiah will be exalted through me, now as always, whether I live or die.

¹⁴ All of them are spirits on a divine mission, sent to serve those who are about to inherit salvation, aren’t they?

³⁷ They were stoned to death, sawed in half, and killed with swords. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins. They were needy, oppressed, and mistreated.

²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope might be in God.

³¹ For their rock isn’t like our Rock, as even our enemies admit.

⁸ Deliverance comes from the LORD! May your blessing be on your people. Interlude

²⁶ “I hereby decree that in every area of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, who endures forever. His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed, and his dominion continues forever. ²⁷ He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth. He has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”

³⁰ “Therefore, the LORD God of Israel has declared, ‘I did, in fact, say that your family and your ancestor’s family would walk before me forever,’ but now the LORD declares, ‘Far be it from me! The one who honors me I’ll honor, and the one who despises me is to be treated with contempt.

³ He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither. He will prosper in everything he does.

¹⁴ The LORD SpeaksBecause he has focused his love on me, I will deliver him. I will protect him because he knows my name.

²⁶ If anyone serves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there my servant will also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”