They see delusion and their omens are a lie. ¹  They say, “the Lord declares,” though the Lord has not sent them; ²  yet they expect their word to be confirmed. ³ 

if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, ¹  without shifting ²  from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

And they did this not just as we had hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us by the will of God.

“Oh that ¹  my request would be realized, ²  and that God would grant me what I long for! ³ 

Will ¹  it ²  go down to the barred gates ³  of death? Will ⁴  we descend ⁵  together into the dust?”

But when I hoped for good, trouble came; when I expected light, then darkness came.

So my heart rejoices and I am happy; ¹  My life is safe. ² 

The wicked will be thrown down in his trouble, ¹  but the righteous have refuge ²  even in the threat of death. ³ 

Let none who rely on you be disgraced because of me, O sovereign Lord and king! ¹  Let none who seek you be ashamed because of me, O God of Israel!

Ashkelon will see and be afraid; Gaza will be in great anguish, as will Ekron, for her hope will have been dried up. ¹  Gaza will lose her king, and Ashkelon will no longer be inhabited.

In the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), on its thirteenth day, the edict of the king and his law were to be executed. It was on this day that the enemies of the Jews had supposed that they would gain power over them. But contrary to expectations, the Jews gained power over their enemies.

Those who worship ¹  worthless idols ²  forfeit the mercy that could be theirs. ³ 

We know our noisy worship of false gods on the hills and mountains did not help us. ¹  We know that the Lord our God is the only one who can deliver Israel. ² 

Pray that it may not be in winter.

Then I said, “Lord, ¹  have you completely rejected the nation of Judah? Do you despise ²  the city of Zion? Why have you struck us with such force that we are beyond recovery? ³  We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it. We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror. ⁴ 

The Lord who rules over all ¹  says to the people of Jerusalem: ²  “Do not listen to what those prophets are saying to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They are reporting visions of their own imaginations, not something the Lord has given them to say. ³ 

whose ¹  trust ²  is in something futile, ³  whose security is a spider’s web. ⁴ 

My days have passed, my plans ¹  are shattered, even ²  the desires ³  of my heart.

These men ¹  change ²  night into day; they say, ³  ‘The light is near in the face of darkness.’ ⁴ 

Wicked men ¹  will be wiped out, ²  but those who rely on the Lord are the ones who will possess the land. ³