¹ At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus ²  they filed an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. ³ 

So Pilate came outside to them and said, “What accusation ¹  do you bring against this man?” ² 

Do not accept an accusation against an elder unless it can be confirmed by two or three witnesses. ¹ 

The inscription ¹  of the charge against him read, “The king of the Jews.”

Above ¹  his head they put the charge against him, ²  which read: ³  “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.”

But there are some Jews from the province of Asia ¹  who should be here before you and bring charges, ²  if they have anything against me.

When his accusers stood up, they did not charge ¹  him with any of the evil deeds I had suspected. ² 

The experts in the law ¹  and the Pharisees ²  watched ³  Jesus ⁴  closely to see if ⁵  he would heal on the Sabbath, ⁶  so that they could find a reason to accuse him.

The Jews also joined in the verbal attack, ¹  claiming ²  that these things were true.

But if the accusation is true and the young woman was not a virgin,

But he did not answer even one accusation, so that the governor was quite amazed.

Then ¹  Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for an accusation ²  against this man.”

yet even ¹  angels, who are much more powerful, ²  do not bring a slanderous ³  judgment against them before the Lord. ⁴ 

Then some soldiers ¹  also asked him, “And as for us – what should we do?” ²  He told them, “Take money from no one by violence ³  or by false accusation, ⁴  and be content with your pay.”

But even ¹  when Michael the archangel ²  was arguing with the devil and debating with him ³  concerning Moses’ body, he did not dare to bring a slanderous judgment, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!”

So these men concluded, ¹  “We won’t find any pretext against this man Daniel unless it is ²  in connection with the law of his God.”

I found he ¹  was accused with reference to controversial questions ²  about their law, but no charge against him deserved death or imprisonment. ³ 

Surely ¹  I would wear it proudly ²  on my shoulder, I would bind ³  it on me like a crown;

But they did not find anything, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally ¹  two came forward

Hear the Lord’s accusation, you mountains, you enduring foundations of the earth! For the Lord has a case against his people; he has a dispute with Israel! ¹