Daniel 3 Cross References - MSB

¹ King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. ² Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue he had set up. ³ So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it. ⁴ Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “O people of every nation and language, this is what you are commanded: ⁵ As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. ⁶ And whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.” ⁷ Therefore, as soon as all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and all kinds of music, the people of every nation and language would fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁸ At this time some astrologers came forward and maliciously accused the Jews, ⁹ saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, may you live forever! ¹⁰ You, O king, have issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the golden statue, ¹¹ and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace. ¹² But there are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored you, O king, and have refused to serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.” ¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar, furious with rage, summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, ¹⁴ and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden statue I have set up? ¹⁵ Now, if you are ready, as soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the statue I have made. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?” ¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.” ¹⁹ At this, Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than usual, ²⁰ and he commanded some mighty men of valor in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing fiery furnace. ²¹ So they were tied up, wearing robes, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, and they were thrown into the blazing fiery furnace. ²² The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the fiery flames killed the men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. ²³ And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, firmly bound, fell into the blazing fiery furnace. ²⁴ Suddenly King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and asked his advisers, “Did we not throw three men, firmly bound, into the fire?” “Certainly, O king,” they replied. ²⁵ “Look!” he exclaimed. “I see four men, unbound and unharmed, walking around in the fire—and the fourth looks like a son of the gods!” ²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the blazing fiery furnace and called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire, ²⁷ and when the satraps, prefects, governors, and royal advisers had gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men. Not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them. ²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be cut into pieces and their houses reduced to rubble. For there is no other god who can deliver in this way.” ³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

²³ You are not to make any gods alongside Me; you are not to make for yourselves gods of silver or gold.

² So Aaron told them, “Take off the gold earrings that are on your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.” ³ Then all the people took off their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”

³¹ So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made gods of gold for themselves.

²⁵ You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it is detestable to the LORD your God.

²⁶ The weight of the gold earrings he had requested was 1,700 shekels, in addition to the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple garments of the kings of Midian, and the chains from the necks of their camels. ²⁷ From all this Gideon made an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

²⁸ After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

¹⁷ Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste these nations and their lands. ¹⁸ They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.

¹ This is what happened in the days of Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Cush.

⁴ Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. 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 feel; they have feet, but cannot walk; they cannot even clear their throats. ⁸ Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.

²⁰ In that day men will cast away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and gold—the idols they made to worship.

²² So you will desecrate your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, saying to them, “Be gone!”

¹⁹ To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains? ²⁰ To one bereft of an offering who chooses wood that will not rot, who seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple? ²¹ Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth? ²² He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. ²³ He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless. ²⁴ No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground, than He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble. ²⁵ “To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One. ²⁶ Lift up your eyes on high: Who created all these? He leads forth the starry host by number; He calls each one by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. ²⁷ Why do you say, O Jacob, and why do you assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my claim is ignored by my God”? ²⁸ Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out. ²⁹ He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak. ³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. ³¹ But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

⁶ They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship.

⁹ Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz—the work of a craftsman from the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothes are blue and purple, all fashioned by skilled workers.

²⁰ Can man make gods for himself? Such are not gods!”

³¹ As you, O king, were watching, a great statue appeared. A great and dazzling statue stood before you, and its form was awesome. ³² The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze,

⁴⁸ Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.

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

²³ Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.

⁴ They set up kings, but not by Me. They make princes, but without My approval. With their silver and gold they make themselves idols, to their own destruction.

¹⁹ Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.”

²⁹ Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.

²⁶ And you can see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in nearly the whole province of Asia, Paul has persuaded a great number of people to turn away. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.

²⁰ Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk.

⁴ He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” ⁵ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before the calf and proclaimed: “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” ⁶ So the next day they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to indulge in revelry.

² who also invited them to the sacrifices for their gods. And the people ate and bowed down to these gods.

²³ Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced and said, “Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hands.”

³² And Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had set up, and he installed priests in Bethel for the high places he had set up.

¹² If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials will be wicked.

²⁷ and when the satraps, prefects, governors, and royal advisers had gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men. Not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.

¹ Now it pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, ² and over them three administrators, including Daniel, to whom these satraps were accountable so that the king would not suffer loss. ³ Soon, by his extraordinary spirit, Daniel distinguished himself among the administrators and satraps. So the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. ⁴ Thus the administrators and satraps sought a charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom, but they could find no charge or corruption, because he was trustworthy, and no negligence or corruption was found in him.

⁶ So the administrators and satraps went together to the king and said, “O King Darius, may you live forever! ⁷ All the royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors have agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce a decree that for thirty days anyone who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions.

² The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”

¹ A Psalm of Asaph. God presides in the divine assembly; He renders judgment among the gods: ² “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah ³ Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; uphold the rights of the afflicted and oppressed. ⁴ Rescue the weak and needy; save them from the hand of the wicked. ⁵ They do not know or understand; they wander in the darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. ⁶ I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’ ⁷ But like mortals you will die, and like rulers you will fall.” ⁸ Arise, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are Your inheritance.

³⁴ But when they realized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ³⁵ Finally the city clerk quieted the crowd and declared, “Men of Ephesus, doesn’t everyone know that the city of Ephesus is guardian of the temple of the great goddess Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. ²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. ²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen. ²⁶ For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. ²⁸ Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

¹¹ There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.

²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. ²⁶ Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.

¹³ And the second beast performed great signs to cause even fire from heaven to come down upon the earth in the presence of the people. ¹⁴ Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived my own people who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived. ¹⁵ The second beast was permitted to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship it to be killed. ¹⁶ And the second beast required all people small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,

¹³ These kings have one purpose: to yield their power and authority to the beast.

¹⁷ For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose by uniting to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.

⁹ At once the royal scribes were summoned, and on the twenty-third day of the third month (the month of Sivan), they recorded all of Mordecai’s orders to the Jews and to the satraps, governors, and princes of the 127 provinces from India to Cush—writing to each province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.

¹³ The woman named Folly is loud; she is naive and knows nothing. ¹⁴ She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the heights of the city, ¹⁵ calling out to those who pass by, who make their paths straight.

⁹ Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”

¹ “Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins.

¹ King Nebuchadnezzar, To the people of every nation and language who dwell in all the earth: May your prosperity be multiplied.

¹⁴ He called out in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and chop off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it, and the birds from its branches.

²⁵ Then King Darius wrote to the people of every nation and language throughout the land: “May your prosperity abound.

¹¹ Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, for he is determined to follow worthless idols.

¹⁶ You have kept the statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house; you have followed their counsel. Therefore I will make you a desolation, and your inhabitants an object of contempt; you will bear the scorn of the nations.”

⁷ Therefore, as soon as all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and all kinds of music, the people of every nation and language would fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

¹⁰ You, O king, have issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the golden statue,

¹⁵ Now, if you are ready, as soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the statue I have made. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?”

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

⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

¹⁷ From the rest he makes a god, his graven image. He bows down to it and worships; he prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”

²² Because of them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!’

¹⁸ “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace; they are but the dross of silver. ¹⁹ Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because all of you have become dross, behold, I will gather you into Jerusalem. ²⁰ Just as one gathers silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into the furnace to melt with a fiery blast, so I will gather you in My anger and wrath, leave you there, and melt you. ²¹ Yes, I will gather you together and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted within the city. ²² As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted within the city. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out My wrath upon you.’”

⁵ The king replied to the astrologers, “My word is final: If you do not tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut into pieces and your houses will be reduced to rubble.

¹² This response made the king so furious with anger that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. ¹³ So the decree went out that the wise men were to be executed, and men went to look for Daniel and his friends to execute them.

¹¹ and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.

²¹ So they were tied up, wearing robes, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, and they were thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.

⁷ All the royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors have agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce a decree that for thirty days anyone who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions.

⁹ “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.”

⁴² And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵⁰ and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

²⁷ So without delay, the king commanded that John’s head be brought in. He sent an executioner, who went and beheaded him in the prison.

² The star opened the pit of the Abyss, and smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a burning furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit.

¹⁵ The second beast was permitted to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship it to be killed. ¹⁶ And the second beast required all people small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, ¹⁷ so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of its name.

¹¹ And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

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

¹⁶ In past generations, He let all nations go their own way.

¹⁹ We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.

⁹ And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

³ One of the heads of the beast appeared to be mortally wounded. But the mortal wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast.

⁸ And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain.

¹⁴ Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived my own people who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived.

⁸ The beast that you saw—it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet will be.

²⁰ But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

¹² Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you to us have returned to Jerusalem. And they are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city, restoring its walls, and repairing its foundations. ¹³ Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, they will not pay tribute, duty, or toll, and the royal treasury will suffer. ¹⁴ Now because we are in the service of the palace and it is not fitting for us to allow the king to be dishonored, we have sent to inform the king ¹⁵ that a search should be made of the record books of your fathers. In these books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, inciting sedition from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed. ¹⁶ We advise the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, you will have no dominion west of the Euphrates.

⁶ And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes.

⁸ Then Haman informed King Xerxes, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples of every province of your kingdom. Their laws are different from everyone else’s, and they do not obey the king’s laws. So it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. ⁹ If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will deposit ten thousand talents of silver into the royal treasury to pay those who carry it out.”

¹⁰ The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can do what the king requests! No king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer.

¹² So they approached the king and asked about his royal decree: “Did you not sign a decree that for thirty days any man who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions?” The king replied, “According to the law of the Medes and Persians the order stands, and it cannot be repealed.” ¹³ Then they told the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, shows no regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed. He still makes his petition three times a day.”

²⁰ They brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews and are throwing our city into turmoil ²¹ by promoting customs that are unlawful for us Romans to adopt or practice.” ²² The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered that they be stripped and beaten with rods.

⁶ But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here, ⁷ and Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, named Jesus!” ⁸ On hearing this, the crowd and city officials were greatly disturbed.

²² But we consider your views worth hearing, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this sect.”

³ For we have spent enough of our past lifetime carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry. ⁴ Because of this, they consider it strange of you not to plunge with them into the same flood of reckless indiscretion, and they heap abuse on you.

⁴ Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

⁴ Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “O people of every nation and language, this is what you are commanded: ⁵ As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

¹⁰ Hearing the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banquet hall. “O king, may you live forever!” she said. “Do not let your thoughts terrify you, or your face grow pale.

⁶ So the administrators and satraps went together to the king and said, “O King Darius, may you live forever!

²¹ Then Daniel replied, “O king, may you live forever!

⁷ Therefore pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

¹⁶ “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.”

²² Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”

²⁰ Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing. ²¹ And Miriam sang back to them: “Sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; the horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.”

¹⁸ But Moses replied: “It is neither the cry of victory nor the cry of defeat; I hear the sound of singing!” ¹⁹ As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he burned with anger and threw the tablets out of his hands, shattering them at the base of the mountain.

¹⁶ David also told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their relatives as singers to lift up their voices with joy, accompanied by musical instruments—harps, lyres, and cymbals.

²⁸ So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, with the sounding of rams’ horns and trumpets, and with cymbals and the music of harps and lyres.

⁵ Asaph was the chief, Zechariah was second, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel. They were to play the harps and lyres, while Asaph sounded the cymbals ⁶ and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel blew the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.

¹ Additionally, David and the commanders of the army set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy with the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. The following is the list of the men who performed this service: ² From the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. These sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the direction of the king. ³ From the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah—six in all—under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with the harp, giving thanks and praise to the LORD. ⁴ From the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. ⁵ All these sons of Heman the king’s seer were given him through the promises of God to exalt him, for God had given Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. ⁶ All these were under the direction of their fathers for the music of the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the direction of the king.

²⁵ Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres according to the command of David, of Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet. For the command had come from the LORD through His prophets.

¹² On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded the royal satraps, the governors of each province, and the officials of each people, in the script of each province and the language of every people. It was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the royal signet ring. ¹³ And the letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—and to plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month. ¹⁴ A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued in every province and published to all the people, so that they would be ready on that day.

¹ For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. Of Asaph. Sing for joy to God our strength; make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob. ² Lift up a song, strike the tambourine, play the sweet-sounding harp and lyre. ³ Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and at the full moon on the day of our Feast.

¹ A Psalm. A song for the Sabbath day. It is good to praise the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High, ² to proclaim Your loving devotion in the morning and Your faithfulness at night ³ with the ten-stringed harp and the melody of the lyre.

²⁰ Can a corrupt throne be Your ally—one devising mischief by decree?

³ Let them praise His name with dancing, and make music to Him with tambourine and harp. ⁴ For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the afflicted with salvation.

³ Praise Him with the sound of the horn; praise Him with the harp and lyre. ⁴ Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; praise Him with strings and flute. ⁵ Praise Him with clashing cymbals; praise Him with resounding cymbals. ⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Hallelujah!

¹⁶ Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.

¹ Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees,

⁴ Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “O people of every nation and language, this is what you are commanded: ⁵ As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. ⁶ And whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.” ⁷ Therefore, as soon as all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and all kinds of music, the people of every nation and language would fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

¹² So they approached the king and asked about his royal decree: “Did you not sign a decree that for thirty days any man who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions?” The king replied, “According to the law of the Medes and Persians the order stands, and it cannot be repealed.”

⁵ You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments.

⁵⁷ But the chief priests and Pharisees had given an order that anyone who knew where He was must report it, so that they could arrest Him.

⁷ And as the women danced, they sang out: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” ⁸ And Saul was furious and resented this song. “They have ascribed tens of thousands to David,” he said, “but only thousands to me. What more can he have but the kingdom?” ⁹ And from that day forward Saul kept a jealous eye on David. ¹⁰ The next day a spirit of distress sent from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house while David played the harp as usual. Now Saul was holding a spear, ¹¹ and he hurled it, thinking, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.

⁸ Then Haman informed King Xerxes, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples of every province of your kingdom. Their laws are different from everyone else’s, and they do not obey the king’s laws. So it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.

⁴ Wrath is cruel and anger is like a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?

⁴ I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

⁴⁹ And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.

¹³ Then they told the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, shows no regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed. He still makes his petition three times a day.”

²⁸ “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.”

⁷ and Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, named Jesus!”

⁵ but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.

³⁰ Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the disgrace of the mother who bore you? ³¹ For as long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingship shall be established. Now send for him and bring him to me, for he must surely die!” ³² “Why must he be put to death?” Jonathan replied. “What has he done?” ³³ Then Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan to kill him; so Jonathan knew that his father was determined to kill David.

⁵ When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or pay him homage, he was filled with rage. ⁶ And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes.

¹² It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly.

³ A stone is heavy and sand is a burden, but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both.

²² An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression.

¹² This response made the king so furious with anger that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

¹⁹ At this, Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than usual,

¹⁸ On My account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.

⁹ So be on your guard. For you will be delivered over to the councils and beaten in the synagogues. On My account you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.

¹¹ But the scribes and Pharisees were filled with rage and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

¹² But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. On account of My name they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and they will bring you before kings and governors.

²⁵ Then someone came in and announced, “Look, the men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people!” ²⁶ At that point, the captain went with the officers and brought the apostles—but not by force, for fear the people would stone them. ²⁷ They brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, where the high priest interrogated them.

²⁴ After several days, Felix returned with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him speak about faith in Christ.

¹³ If, however, he did not lie in wait, but God allowed it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. ¹⁴ But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death.

¹ Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.

² “Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced, her idols are broken in pieces.’

¹ King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

⁸ But at last, into my presence came Daniel (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods). And I told him the dream:

² But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”

³² Yet now, if You would only forgive their sin.... But if not, please blot me out of the book that You have written.”

³⁵ Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered his land from my hand? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

¹⁵ So now, do not let Hezekiah deceive you, and do not let him mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand!” ¹⁶ And the servants of Sennacherib spoke further against the LORD God and against His servant Hezekiah. ¹⁷ He also wrote letters mocking the LORD, the God of Israel, and saying against Him: “Just as the gods of the nations did not deliver their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver His people from my hand.”

¹⁸ Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ¹⁹ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? ²⁰ Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered his land from my hand? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

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

⁵ As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. ⁶ And whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.”

¹⁷ If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king.

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be cut into pieces and their houses reduced to rubble. For there is no other god who can deliver in this way.”

¹⁶ So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”

²⁰ When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

¹⁹ But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to say. In that hour you will be given what to say.

⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

¹¹ But when they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand or premeditate what to say. Instead, speak whatever you are given at that time, for it will not be you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

⁷ So if You worship me, it will all be Yours.” ⁸ But Jesus answered, “Get behind Me, Satan! It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

¹¹ When you are brought before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say.

⁹ If it bears fruit, fine. But if not, you can cut it down next year.’”

¹⁴ So make up your mind not to worry beforehand how to defend yourselves. ¹⁵ For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to contradict or resist.

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people of Israel! ⁹ If we are being examined today about a kind service to a man who was lame, to determine how he was healed, ¹⁰ then let this be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ ¹² Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name given to men by which we must be saved.”

¹⁹ But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God.

²⁹ But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.

¹⁵ All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

¹⁰ When the governor motioned for Paul to speak, he began his response: “Knowing that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I gladly make my defense. ¹¹ You can verify for yourself that no more than twelve days ago I went up to worship in Jerusalem. ¹² Yet my accusers did not find me debating with anyone in the temple or riling up a crowd in the synagogues or in the city. ¹³ Nor can they prove any of their charges against me.

⁷ The chief official gave them new names: To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

¹² But there are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored you, O king, and have refused to serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

¹ When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.

¹⁴ Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”

³⁷ David added, “The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” “Go,” said Saul, “and may the LORD be with you.”

⁴⁶ This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. This day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the creatures of the earth. Then the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.

¹⁹ He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven.

²⁹ But when He remains silent, who can condemn Him? When He hides His face, who can see Him? Yet He watches over both man and nation,

¹⁰ He mounted a cherub and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind. ¹¹ He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.

¹ Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread? ² When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh, my enemies and foes stumbled and fell.

¹ For the choirmaster. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. In God alone my soul finds rest; my salvation comes from Him. ² He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress; I will never be shaken. ³ How long will you threaten a man? Will all of you throw him down like a leaning wall or a tottering fence? ⁴ They fully intend to cast him down from his lofty perch; they delight in lies; with their mouths they bless, but inwardly they curse. Selah ⁵ Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him. ⁶ He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress; I will not be shaken.

²⁰ Like one waking from a dream, so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.

³ Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases.

⁵ The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is the shade on your right hand. ⁶ The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. ⁷ The LORD will guard you from all evil; He will preserve your soul.

² Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”

³ You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You. ⁴ Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.

¹⁴ In righteousness you will be established, far from oppression, for you will have no fear. Terror will be far removed, for it will not come near you.

⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.

³⁵ All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”

²⁰ When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” ²¹ Then Daniel replied, “O king, may you live forever! ²² My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”

²⁷ He delivers and rescues; He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth, for He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”

³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.”

²⁴ But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course with joy and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

¹³ Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

²⁰ When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the great storm continued to batter us, we abandoned all hope of being saved. ²¹ After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete. Then you would have averted this disaster and loss. ²² But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because you will not experience any loss of life, but only of the ship. ²³ For just last night an angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve, stood beside me ²⁴ and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And look, God has granted you the lives of all who sail with you.’ ²⁵ So take courage, men, for I believe God that it will happen just as He told me.

³¹ What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

²⁵ Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.

³ You shall have no other gods before Me. ⁴ You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

⁴ Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods. I am the LORD your God.

¹⁵ But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”

¹⁵ Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. I will still defend my ways to His face.

¹ The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

¹² “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass? ¹³ But you have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. You live in terror all day long because of the fury of the oppressor who is bent on destruction. But where is the fury of the oppressor?

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

³² Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.

³⁹ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

² But He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘The weather will be fair, for the sky is red,’

³ What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops. ⁴ I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. ⁵ But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear the One who, after you have been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him! ⁶ Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. ⁷ And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. ⁸ I tell you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God. ⁹ But whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

¹⁰ then let this be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ ¹² Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name given to men by which we must be saved.” ¹³ When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and took note that these men had been with Jesus.

²⁹ But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men. ³⁰ The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree. ³¹ God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. ³² We are His witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

¹⁰ Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. ¹¹ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.

¹¹ They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives so as to shy away from death.

⁵ but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell. ⁶ “Why are you angry,” said the LORD to Cain, “and why has your countenance fallen?

² And Jacob saw from the countenance of Laban that his attitude toward him had changed.

⁹ The enemy declared, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’ ¹⁰ But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

¹⁸ And if after all this you will not obey Me, I will proceed to punish you sevenfold for your sins.

²¹ If you walk in hostility toward Me and refuse to obey Me, I will multiply your plagues seven times, according to your sins.

²⁴ then I will act with hostility toward you, and I will strike you sevenfold for your sins.

²⁸ then I will walk in fury against you, and I, even I, will punish you sevenfold for your sins.

³³ Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, placed it on the wood, ³⁴ and said, “Fill four waterpots and pour the water on the offering and on the wood.” “Do it a second time,” he said, and they did it a second time. “Do it a third time,” he said, and they did it a third time. ³⁵ So the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

¹⁰ Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.” ¹¹ And the king of Israel replied, “Tell him: ‘The one putting on his armor should not boast like one taking it off.’”

²⁷ But I know your sitting down, your going out and coming in, and your raging against Me. ²⁸ Because your rage and arrogance against Me have reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will send you back the way you came.’

⁷ In his fury, the king arose from drinking his wine and went to the palace garden, while Haman stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life, for he realized that the king was planning a terrible fate for him.

¹⁰ Even the wrath of man shall praise You; with the survivors of wrath You will clothe Yourself.

¹⁴ The wrath of a king is a messenger of death, but a wise man will pacify it.

²⁴ Mocker is the name of the proud and arrogant man—of him who acts with excessive pride.

³ A stone is heavy and sand is a burden, but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both. ⁴ Wrath is cruel and anger is like a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?

²³ I will place it in the hands of your tormentors, who told you: ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you,’ so that you made your back like the ground, like a street to be traversed.”

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar, furious with rage, summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king,

⁶ his face grew pale and his thoughts so alarmed him that his hips gave way and his knees knocked together.

²⁴ At the command of the king, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they and their children and wives. And before they had reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

⁶³ “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while He was alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ ⁶⁴ So give the order that the tomb be secured until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples may come by night and steal Him away and tell the people He has risen from the dead. And this last deception would be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵ “You have a guard,” Pilate said. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶ So they went and secured the tomb by sealing the stone and posting the guard.

⁴ I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. ⁵ But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear the One who, after you have been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!

³³ When the Council members heard this, they were enraged, and they resolved to put the apostles to death.

⁵⁴ On hearing this, the members of the Sanhedrin were enraged, and they gnashed their teeth at him.

⁴ He arrested him and put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover. ⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

²³ And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely.

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

³³ And in order to send them out of the land quickly, the Egyptians urged the people on. “For otherwise,” they said, “we are all going to die!”

⁸ The righteous man is delivered from trouble; in his place the wicked man goes in.

¹⁸ The wicked become a ransom for the righteous, and the faithless for the upright.

¹⁵ “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” he asked. At this time Arioch explained the situation to Daniel.

² “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples. Judah will be besieged, as well as Jerusalem. ³ On that day, when all the nations of the earth gather against her, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who would heave it away will be severely injured.

⁵ So Judas threw the silver into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

¹⁹ After Herod had searched for him unsuccessfully, he examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent some time there.

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.

¹¹ You led us into the net; You laid burdens on our backs. ¹² You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but You brought us into abundance.

¹ A song of ascents. Of David. If the LORD had not been on our side—let Israel now declare— ² if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us, ³ when their anger flared against us, then they would have swallowed us alive, ⁴ then the floods would have engulfed us, then the torrent would have overwhelmed us, ⁵ then the raging waters would have swept us away.

⁶ So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah with ropes into the cistern, which had no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.

⁵² Without cause my enemies hunted me like a bird. ⁵³ They dropped me alive into a pit and cast stones upon me. ⁵⁴ The waters flowed over my head, and I thought I was going to die.

¹⁶ So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” ¹⁷ A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that nothing concerning Daniel could be changed.

⁸ We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. ⁹ Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He continues to deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us,

¹⁷ For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.

¹² Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.

⁵⁵ As Saul had watched David going out to confront the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” “As surely as you live, O king,” Abner replied, “I do not know.”

² Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue he had set up. ³ So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

⁹ saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, may you live forever! ¹⁰ You, O king, have issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the golden statue,

²² you, O king, are that tree! For you have become great and strong; your greatness has grown to reach the sky, and your dominion extends to the ends of the earth.

²⁷ Therefore, may my advice be pleasing to you, O king. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.”

¹⁸ As for you, O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness, glory and honor.

²² My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”

²³ “We indeed found the jail securely locked, with the guards posted before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” ²⁴ When the high priest and the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this account, they were perplexed as to what was happening. ²⁵ Then someone came in and announced, “Look, the men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people!”

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

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

¹³ About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions.

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

⁶ One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.

⁷ while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁷ The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and he delivers them.

³ Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly plague. ⁴ He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart. ⁵ You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, ⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the calamity that destroys at noon. ⁷ Though a thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, no harm will come near you. ⁸ You will only see it with your eyes and witness the punishment of the wicked. ⁹ Because you have made the LORD your dwelling—my refuge, the Most High—

⁴ Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son—surely you know!

² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.

¹⁸ But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

¹⁸ they will pick up snakes, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”

³⁵ The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.

⁷ “We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and according to our law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God.” ⁸ When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid,

⁵ But Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹³ Who can harm you if you are imitators of what is good?

¹⁸ Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine—since he was priest of God Most High—

¹⁷ The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed over the dry ground, until the entire nation had crossed the Jordan.

¹⁰ Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until the people had completed everything the LORD had commanded Joshua to tell them, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried across,

¹⁶ “Command the priests who carry the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.” ¹⁷ So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up from the Jordan.” ¹⁸ When the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD came up out of the Jordan and their feet touched the dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned to their course and overflowed all the banks as before.

¹¹ And this is the answer they returned: “We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and completed.

¹⁶ So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.

¹² For you will not leave in a hurry nor flee in haste, for the LORD goes before you, and the God of Israel is your rear guard.

⁴⁷ The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”

² I am pleased to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.

¹⁷ This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to us the way of salvation!”

³⁷ But Paul said to the officers, “They beat us publicly without a trial and threw us into prison, even though we are Roman citizens. And now do they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! Let them come themselves and escort us out!”

²³ For just last night an angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve, stood beside me

¹⁰ Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

⁵ Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you who serve Him, and those who fear Him, small and great alike!”

⁴⁶ This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. This day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the creatures of the earth. Then the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷ And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”

¹⁹ And now, O LORD our God, please save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God.”

¹⁸ May they know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, are Most High over all the earth.

⁷ Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the nations, 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 the splendor of His holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth.

¹¹ O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!

³⁰ And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

¹⁷ And you will be hated by everyone because of My name. ¹⁸ Yet not even a hair of your head will perish.

⁶ And when this sound rang out, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking his own language. ⁷ Astounded and amazed, they asked one another, “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ How is it then that each of us hears them in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome, ¹¹ both Jews and converts to Judaism; Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ¹² Astounded and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

²⁶ For the king knows about these matters, and I can speak freely to him. I am confident that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.

³⁴ So for your own preservation, I urge you to eat something, because not a single hair of your head will be lost.”

³⁴ quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.

²⁶ He also declared: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the servant of Shem.

¹⁵ At daybreak the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” ¹⁶ But when Lot hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters. And they led them safely out of the city, because of the LORD’s compassion for them.

²⁰ And because they cried out to God in battle, they were helped against their enemies, and the Hagrites and all their allies were delivered into their hands. Because they put their trust in God, He answered their prayers.

²⁰ Early in the morning they got up and left for the Wilderness of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Hear me, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be upheld; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.”

²¹ and the LORD sent an angel who annihilated every mighty man of valor and every leader and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons struck him down with the sword.

³ Whoever among you belongs to His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.

¹¹ I also decree that if any man interferes with this directive, a beam is to be torn from his house and raised up, and he is to be impaled on it. And his own house shall be made a pile of rubble for this offense.

²³ Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven must be done diligently for His house. For why should wrath fall on the realm of the king and his sons? ²⁴ And be advised that you have no authority to impose tribute, duty, or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God. ²⁵ And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God which you possess, are to appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people west of the Euphrates—all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach these laws to anyone who does not know them. ²⁶ If anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let a strict judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment. ²⁷ Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put into the heart of the king to so honor the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, ²⁸ and who has shown me favor before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officials. And because the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, I took courage and gathered the leaders of Israel to return with me.

⁴ In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them. ⁵ They cried out to You and were set free; they trusted in You and were not disappointed.

¹⁸ Surely the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His loving devotion

²¹ For our hearts rejoice in Him, since we trust in His holy name.

⁷ The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and he delivers them. ⁸ Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

²² The LORD redeems His servants, and none who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

⁸ Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah

¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity. ¹² O LORD of Hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!

²⁰ Bless the LORD, all His angels mighty in strength who carry out His word, who hearken to the voice of His command.

⁵ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, ⁶ the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He remains faithful forever.

¹¹ The LORD is pleased with those who fear Him, who hope in His loving devotion.

³⁶ Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!

⁷ But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. ⁸ He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.

¹⁵ Now, if you are ready, as soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the statue I have made. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?” ¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

²⁵ “Look!” he exclaimed. “I see four men, unbound and unharmed, walking around in the fire—and the fourth looks like a son of the gods!”

³⁴ But at the end of those days I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity was restored to me. Then I praised the Most High, and I honored and glorified Him who lives forever: “For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

²² My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.” ²³ The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den, and when Daniel was lifted out of the den, no wounds whatsoever were found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

²⁶ I hereby decree that in every part of my kingdom, men are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel: For He is the living God, and He endures forever; His kingdom will never be destroyed, and His dominion will never end.

¹⁰ “Get behind Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

¹⁹ But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out, saying,

⁷ Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists. ⁸ “Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” ⁹ So Peter followed him out, but he was unaware that what the angel was doing was real. He thought he was only seeing a vision. ¹⁰ They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened for them by itself. When they had gone outside and walked the length of one block, the angel suddenly left him. ¹¹ Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”

¹ Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

⁷ For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone. ⁸ If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

¹² in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory. ¹³ And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

²⁰ I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

¹⁴ Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to the test, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated.

²¹ Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him; and so your faith and hope are in God.

³¹ For their rock is not like our Rock, even our enemies concede.

⁸ Salvation belongs to the LORD; may Your blessing be on Your people. Selah

²⁶ I hereby decree that in every part of my kingdom, men are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel: For He is the living God, and He endures forever; His kingdom will never be destroyed, and His dominion will never end. ²⁷ He delivers and rescues; He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth, for He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”

³⁰ Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained.

³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.

¹⁴ “Because he loves Me, I will deliver him; because he knows My name, I will protect him.

²⁶ If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, My servant will be as well. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.