The Jews assembled themselves in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to strike out against those who were seeking their harm. No one was able to stand before them, for dread of them fell on all the peoples.

Then a trustworthy king will be established; he will rule in a reliable manner, this one from David’s family. ¹  He will be sure to make just decisions and will be experienced in executing justice. ² 

The chief priests and the experts in the law ¹  heard it and they considered how they could assassinate ²  him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed by his teaching.

Two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the chief priests and the experts in the law ¹  were trying to find a way ²  to arrest Jesus ³  by stealth and kill him.

So ¹  he said to the worker who tended the vineyard, ‘For ²  three years ³  now, I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and each time I inspect it ⁴  I find none. Cut ⁵  it down! Why ⁶  should it continue to deplete ⁷  the soil?’

But a time ¹  is coming – and now is here ²  – when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks ³  such people to be ⁴  his worshipers. ⁵ 

For this reason the Jewish leaders ¹  were trying even harder to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God.

He has brought you near and all your brothers, the sons of Levi, with you. Do you now seek ¹  the priesthood also?

They travel down to Egypt without seeking my will, ¹  seeking Pharaoh’s protection, and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade. ² 

saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.”

A crowd was sitting around him and they said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers ¹  are outside looking for you.”

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find anything.

So then they tried to seize Jesus, ¹  but no one laid a hand on him, because his time ²  had not yet come.

But now you are trying ¹  to kill me, a man who has told you ²  the truth I heard from God. Abraham did not do this! ³ 

The disciples replied, ¹  “Rabbi, the Jewish leaders ²  were just now trying ³  to stone you to death! Are ⁴  you going there again?”

It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful.

Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Evil men set an ambush for the godly and try to kill them. ¹ 

The discerning person ¹  acquires knowledge, and the wise person ²  seeks ³  knowledge.

Plans ¹  are established by counsel, so ²  make war ³  with guidance.