Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. ¹  When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. ²  So pray for this remnant that remains.’” ³ 

Some men from Manasseh joined ¹  David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. (But in the end they did not help the Philistines because, after taking counsel, the Philistine lords sent David away, saying: “It would be disastrous for us if he deserts to his master Saul.”) ² 

David said, “My son Solomon is just an inexperienced young man, ¹  and the temple to be built for the Lord must be especially magnificent so it will become famous and be considered splendid by all the nations. ²  Therefore I will make preparations for its construction.” So David made extensive preparations before he died.

He also gave him a written copy of the law that had been disseminated ¹  in Susa for their destruction so that he could show it to Esther and talk to her about it. He also gave instructions that she should go to the king to implore him and petition him on behalf of her people.

So the sovereign master was not pleased ¹  with their young men, he took no pity ²  on their orphans and widows; for the whole nation was godless ³  and did wicked things, ⁴  every mouth was speaking disgraceful words. ⁵  Despite all this, his anger does not subside, and his hand is ready to strike again. ⁶ 

In those days, your population will greatly increase ¹  in the land. At that time,” says the Lord, “people will no longer talk about having the ark ²  that contains the Lord’s covenant with us. ³  They will not call it to mind, remember it, or miss it. No, that will not be done any more! ⁴ 

Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! ¹  I did not send them. I did not commission them. ²  I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, ³  and the delusions of their own mind.

“When you tell these people about all this, ¹  they will undoubtedly ask you, ‘Why has the Lord threatened us with such great disaster? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done to offend the Lord our God?’

“For the last twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was ruling in Judah ¹  until now, the Lord has been speaking to me. I told you over and over again ²  what he said. ³  But you would not listen.

“Son of man, your brothers, ¹  your relatives, ²  and the whole house of Israel, all of them are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem ³  have said, ‘They have gone ⁴  far away from the Lord; to us this land has been given as a possession.’

Then ¹  one who appeared to be a human being ²  was touching my lips. I opened my mouth and started to speak, saying to the one who was standing before me, “Sir, ³  due to the vision, anxiety has gripped me and I have no strength.

You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” Because you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the Lord’s opinion, ¹  and he delights in them,” or “Where is the God of justice?”

All things have been handed over to me by my Father. ¹  No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides ²  to reveal him.

When ¹  the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem ²  and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord ³  has made known to us.”

Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is the meaning of what he is saying, ¹  ‘In a little while you ²  will not see me; again after a little while, you ³  will see me,’ and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” ⁴ 

There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute, ¹  but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis ²  will be regarded as nothing, ³  and she whom all the province of Asia ⁴  and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness.” ⁵ 

They set ¹  a day to meet with him, ²  and they came to him where he was staying ³  in even greater numbers. ⁴  From morning until evening he explained things ⁵  to them, ⁶  testifying ⁷  about the kingdom of God ⁸  and trying to convince ⁹  them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets.

For I am afraid that somehow when I come I will not find you what I wish, and you will find me ¹  not what you wish. I am afraid that ²  somehow there may be quarreling, jealousy, intense anger, selfish ambition, ³  slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.

I went there ¹  because of ²  a revelation and presented ³  to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did so ⁴  only in a private meeting with the influential people, ⁵  to make sure that I was not running – or had not run ⁶  – in vain.

Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters. ¹  He who speaks against a fellow believer ²  or judges a fellow believer speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but its judge. ³