“Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, ¹  nor does he grasp the hand ²  of the evildoers.

Rely ¹  on the Lord! Be strong and confident! ²  Rely on the Lord!

They encourage one another to carry out their evil deed. ¹  They plan how to hide ²  snares, and boast, ³  “Who will see them?” ⁴ 

Like one who grabs a wild dog by the ears, ¹  so is the person passing by who becomes furious ²  over a quarrel not his own.

unless they became my subjects ¹  and made peace with me; let them make peace with me. ² 

For I am the Lord your God, the one who takes hold of your right hand, who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, I am helping you.’

“I, the Lord, officially commission you; ¹  I take hold of your hand. I protect you ²  and make you a covenant mediator for people, ³  and a light ⁴  to the nations, ⁵ 

There was no one to lead her among all the children she bore; there was no one to take her by the hand among all the children she raised.

Make your tent larger, stretch your tent curtains farther out! ¹  Spare no effort, lengthen your ropes, and pound your stakes deep. ² 

The people cry out, ¹  “We have heard reports about them! We have become helpless with fear! ²  Anguish grips us, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby!

Why, then, do these people of Jerusalem ¹  continually turn away from me in apostasy? They hold fast to their deception. ²  They refuse to turn back to me. ³ 

Lord, you coerced me into being a prophet, and I allowed you to do it. You overcame my resistance and prevailed over me. ¹  Now I have become a constant laughingstock. Everyone ridicules me.

The people of Damascus will lose heart and turn to flee. Panic will grip them. Pain and anguish will seize them like a woman in labor.

The king of Babylon will become paralyzed with fear ¹  when he hears news of their coming. ²  Anguish will grip him, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby. ³ 

By the ninth day of the fourth month ¹  the famine in the city was so severe the residents ²  had no food.

A wind lifted me up and carried me away. I went bitterly, ¹  my spirit full of fury, and the hand of the Lord rested powerfully ²  on me.

And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I ¹  stood to strengthen him and to provide protection for him.)

Then with smooth words he will defile ¹  those who have rejected ²  the covenant. But the people who are loyal to ³  their God will act valiantly. ⁴ 

“You have criticized me sharply,” ¹  says the Lord, “but you ask, ‘How have we criticized you?’

David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing upset you. ¹  There is no way to anticipate whom the sword will cut down. ²  Press the battle against the city and conquer ³  it.’ Encourage him with these words.” ⁴