Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. ¹  “Do not be afraid to submit to the Babylonians. ²  Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.

So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and told him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: ‘How long do you refuse ¹  to humble yourself before me? ²  Release my people so that they may serve me!

Give sincere homage! ¹  Otherwise he ²  will be angry, ³  and you will die because of your behavior, ⁴  when his anger quickly ignites. ⁵  How blessed ⁶  are all who take shelter in him! ⁷ 

Sound your battle cry ¹  against the wild beast of the reeds, ²  and the nations that assemble like a herd of calves led by bulls! ³  They humble themselves ⁴  and offer gold and silver as tribute. ⁵  God ⁶  scatters ⁷  the nations that like to do battle.

Do not let me have evil desires, ¹  or participate in sinful activities with men who behave wickedly. ²  I will not eat their delicacies. ³ 

Pay attention and come to me! Listen, so you can live! ¹  Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to ²  you, just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David. ³ 

I will go to the leaders ¹  and speak with them. Surely they know what the Lord demands. ²  Surely they know what their God requires of them.” ³  Yet all of them, too, have rejected his authority and refuse to submit to him. ⁴ 

He will attack ¹  mighty fortresses, aided by ²  a foreign deity. To those who recognize him he will grant considerable honor. He will place them in authority over many people, and he will parcel out land for a price. ³ 

Afterward, the Israelites will turn and seek the Lord their God and their Davidic king. ¹  Then they will submit to the Lord in fear and receive his blessings ²  in the future. ³ 

For if someone comes and proclaims ¹  another Jesus different from the one we proclaimed, ²  or if you receive a different spirit than the one you received, ³  or a different gospel than the one you accepted, ⁴  you put up with it well enough! ⁵ 

And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons? “My son, do not scorn ¹  the Lord’s discipline or give up when he corrects ²  you.

From that time on ¹  Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem ²  and suffer ³  many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, ⁴  and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

I sent all my servants the prophets to warn you over and over again. They said, “Every one of you, stop doing the evil things you have been doing and do what is right. ¹  Do not pay allegiance to other gods ²  and worship them. Then you can continue to live in this land that I gave to you and your ancestors.” But you did not pay any attention or listen to me.