Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.’ ”

你们不要恐惧，也不要害怕。我岂不是从上古就说明指示你们吗？并且你们是我的见证！除我以外，岂有真神吗？诚然没有磐石，我不知道一个！”

你们不要恐惧，也不要害怕。我岂不是从上古就告诉并指示你们了吗？你们是我的见证人！除我以外，岂有上帝呢？诚然没有磐石，就我所知，一个也没有！”

你们不要恐惧，也不要害怕。我岂不是从上古就告诉并指示你们了吗？你们是我的见证人！除我以外，岂有神呢？诚然没有磐石，就我所知，一个也没有！”

不要恐惧，不要害怕，我不是早已告诉过你们吗？你们是我的证人。除我以外还有真神吗？没有，没有别的磐石，一个也没有。’”

你们不要惊惶，也不要惧怕。我不是老早就说了给你们听，告诉了你们吗？你们就是我的见证人。除我以外，还有真神吗？没有别的磐石；我一个也不知道。”

你们不要惧怕，也不要害怕！难道我从前不就告知了你们、向你们宣告了吗？你们是我的见证人！除我以外，难道还有神吗？没有别的磐石！我知道没有！”

你們不要恐懼，也不要害怕。我豈不是從上古就說明指示你們嗎？並且你們是我的見證！除我以外，豈有真神嗎？誠然沒有磐石，我不知道一個！

你們不要恐懼，也不要害怕。我豈不是從上古就告訴並指示你們了嗎？你們是我的見證人！除我以外，豈有上帝呢？誠然沒有磐石，就我所知，一個也沒有！」

你們不要恐懼，也不要害怕。我豈不是從上古就告訴並指示你們了嗎？你們是我的見證人！除我以外，豈有神呢？誠然沒有磐石，就我所知，一個也沒有！」

不要恐懼，不要害怕，我不是早已告訴過你們嗎？你們是我的證人。除我以外還有真神嗎？沒有，沒有別的磐石，一個也沒有。』」

你們不要驚惶，也不要懼怕。我不是老早就說了給你們聽，告訴了你們嗎？你們就是我的見證人。除我以外，還有真神嗎？沒有別的磐石；我一個也不知道。”

你們不要恐懼，不要懼怕我不是從上古就說給你聽，就告訴了你了麼？你們就是我的見證！我以外哪有真神呢？實在沒有磐石；我不知道有啊。』

你們不要懼怕，也不要害怕！難道我從前不就告知了你們、向你們宣告了嗎？你們是我的見證人！除我以外，難道還有神嗎？沒有別的磐石！我知道沒有！」

爾勿畏葸、勿驚惶、我豈非自古宣示爾乎、爾為我證、我外豈有上帝乎、無有磐石、我不知其他也、

爾毋畏葸、在昔我有預言、已告乎爾、爾可為證。我乃全能上帝、外此我弗知之矣。

爾勿畏懼、勿驚惶、我豈未自始已示爾告爾乎、爾曹可為我作證、在我之外豈有天主、我之外實無可賴之主、我不知有誰也、

Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

Do not tremble with fear. Do not be afraid. Didn’t I announce everything that has happened? Didn’t I tell you about it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any other God but me? No! There is no other Rock. I do not know even one.”

Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago? You are my witnesses— is there any other God? No! There is no other Rock— not one!”

Do not be startled or afraid. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me? There is no other Rock; I do not know any.

Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.’”

Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have I not declared unto thee of old, and showed it? and ye are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? yea, there is no Rock; I know not any.

Do not be startled or afraid. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? You are my witnesses! Is there any God but Me? There is no other Rock; I do not know any.

Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared[ it]? ye[ are] even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea,[ there is] no God; I know not[ any].

Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid! Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it? You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me? There is no other sheltering rock; I know of none.

Don’t fear, neither be afraid. Haven’t I declared it to you long ago, and shown it? You are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? Indeed, there is not. I don’t know any other Rock.”

“ You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,“ And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me.

You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord, He is God; there is no other besides Him.

There is no one holy like the Lord, Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.

Therefore know today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.

I and the Father are one.”

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God,

For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?

See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can save anyone from My hand.

“ This is what the Lord says, He who is the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of armies:‘ I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.

Therefore I declared them to you long ago, Before they took place I proclaimed them to you, So that you would not say,‘ My idol has done them, And my carved image and my cast metal image have commanded them.’

but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”

So you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am the Lord your God And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame.

However, there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed.

“ This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:‘ The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to rebuild for Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

You will have songs as in the night when you keep the festival, And gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute, To go to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.

Then God said to Abram,“ Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the wrongdoing of the Amorite is not yet complete.”Now it came about, when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, a smoking oven and a flaming torch appeared which passed between these pieces.On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,“ To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:the land of the Kenite, the Kenizzite, the Kadmonite,the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Rephaim,the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.”

‘ You shall not make for yourselves idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves a carved image or a memorial stone, nor shall you place a figured stone in your land to bow down to it; for I am the Lord your God.You shall keep My Sabbaths and revere My sanctuary; I am the Lord.If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out,then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.Indeed, your threshing season will last for you until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until sowing time. So you will eat your food to the full and live securely in your land.I shall also grant peace in the land, so that you may lie down, with no one to make you afraid. I shall also eliminate harmful animals from the land, and no sword will pass through your land.Instead, you will chase your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword;five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand; and your enemies will fall before you by the sword.So I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you.And you will eat the old supply, and clear out the old because of the new.Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you.I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves, and I broke your yoke and made you walk erect.‘ But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments,if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul loathes My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, but rather to break My covenant,I, in turn, will do this to you: I will summon a sudden terror against you, consumption and fever that will make the eyes fail and the soul languish; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it.And I will set My face against you so that you will be defeated before your enemies; and those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.I will also break down your pride of power; and I will make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze.Your strength will be consumed uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit.‘ Yet if you show hostility toward Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you seven times according to your sins.I will also let loose among you the animals of the field, which will deprive you of your children and eliminate your cattle, and reduce your number so that your roads become deserted.‘ And if by these things you do not learn your lesson regarding Me, but you show hostility toward Me,then I in turn will show hostility toward you; and I, even I, will strike you seven times for your sins.I will also bring upon you a sword which will execute vengeance for the covenant; and when you gather together into your cities, I will send a plague among you, so that you will be handed over to the enemy.When I break your staff of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will bring back your bread in rationed amounts, so that you will eat and not be satisfied.‘ Yet if in spite of this you do not obey Me, but act with hostility against Me,then I will act with wrathful hostility against you, and I for My part will punish you seven times for your sins.Further, you will eat the flesh of your sons, and you will eat the flesh of your daughters.I then will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and pile your remains on the remains of your idols, for My soul will loathe you.I will turn your cities into ruins as well and make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your soothing aromas.And I will make the land desolate so that your enemies who settle in it will be appalled at it.You, however, I will scatter among the nations, and I will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become ruins.‘ Then the land will restore its Sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and restore its Sabbaths.All the days of its desolation it will have the rest which it did not have on your Sabbaths, while you were living on it.As for those among you who are left, I will also bring despair into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a scattered leaf will chase them, and even when no one is pursuing they will flee as though from the sword, and they will fall.They will then stumble over each other as if running from the sword, although no one is pursuing; and you will have no strength to stand before your enemies.Instead, you will perish among the nations, and your enemies’ land will consume you.So those of you who may be left will rot away because of their wrongdoing in the lands of your enemies; and also because of the wrongdoing of their forefathers they will rot away with them.‘ But if they confess their wrongdoing and the wrongdoing of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me—I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies— or if their uncircumcised heart is humbled so that they then make amends for their wrongdoing,then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land.For the land will be abandoned by them, and will restore its Sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their wrongdoing, because they rejected My ordinances and their soul loathed My statutes.Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so loathe them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God.But I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, so that I might be their God. I am the Lord.’ ”These are the statutes and ordinances and laws which the Lord established between Himself and the sons of Israel through Moses on Mount Sinai.

Indeed, their rock is not like our Rock; Even our enemies themselves judge this.

Jesus said,“ Have the people recline to eat.” Now there was plenty of grass in the place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.

Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us,

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed nego replied to the king,“ Nebuchadnezzar, we are not in need of an answer to give you concerning this matter.If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will rescue us from your hand, O king.But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods nor worship the golden statue that you have set up.”Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and his facial expression was changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed nego. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.And he ordered certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed nego in order to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire.Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps, and their other clothes, and were thrown into the middle of the furnace of blazing fire.For this reason, because the king’s command was harsh and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed nego.But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed nego, fell into the middle of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up quickly; he said to his counselors,“ Was it not three men that we threw bound into the middle of the fire?” They replied to the king,“ Absolutely, O king.”He responded,“ Look! I see four men untied and walking about in the middle of the fire unharmed, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!”Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he said,“ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed nego came out of the middle of the fire.The satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men, nor was the hair of their heads singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had even the smell of fire touched them.Nebuchadnezzar responded and said,“ Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed nego, who has sent His angel and rescued His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and surrendered their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

“ Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I am commanding you today, that the Lord your God will put you high above all the nations of the earth.And all these blessings will come to you and reach you if you obey the Lord your God:“ Blessed will you be in the city, and blessed will you be in the country.“ Blessed will be the children of your womb, the produce of your ground, and the offspring of your animals: the newborn of your herd and the young of your flock.“ Blessed will be your basket and your kneading bowl.“ Blessed will you be when you come in, and blessed will you be when you go out.“ The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated by you; they will go out against you one way and will flee at your presence seven ways.The Lord will command the blessing for you in your barns and in everything that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will be afraid of you.And the Lord will give you more than enough prosperity, in the children of your womb, in the offspring of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless every work of your hand; and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow.And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will only be above, and not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God which I am commanding you today, to follow them carefully,and do not turn aside from any of the words which I am commanding you today, to the right or the left, to pursue other gods to serve them.“ But it shall come about, if you do not obey the Lord your God, to be careful to follow all His commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:“ Cursed will you be in the city, and cursed will you be in the country.“ Cursed will be your basket and your kneading bowl.“ Cursed will be the children of your womb, the produce of your ground, the newborn of your herd, and the offspring of your flock.“ Cursed will you be when you come in, and cursed will you be when you go out.“ The Lord will send against you curses, panic, and rebuke, in everything you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have abandoned Me.The Lord will make the plague cling to you until He has eliminated you from the land where you are entering to take possession of it.The Lord will strike you with consumption, inflammation, fever, feverish heat, and with the sword, with blight, and with mildew, and they will pursue you until you perish.The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you, iron.The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.“ The Lord will cause you to be defeated by your enemies; you will go out one way against them, but you will flee seven ways from their presence, and you will be an example of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.Your dead bodies will serve as food for all birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away.“ The Lord will strike you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, the festering rash, and with scabies, from which you cannot be healed.The Lord will strike you with insanity, blindness, and with confusion of mind;and you will be groping about at noon, just as a person who is blind gropes in the darkness, and you will not be successful in your ways; but you will only be oppressed and robbed all the time, with no one to save you.You will betroth a woman, but another man will violate her; you will build a house, but you will not live in it; you will plant a vineyard, but you will not make use of its fruit.Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat of it; your donkey will be snatched away from you, and will not be restored to you; your sheep will be given to your enemies, and you will have no one to save you.Your sons and your daughters will be given to another people, while your eyes look on and long for them constantly; but there will be nothing you can do.A people whom you do not know will eat the produce of your ground and every product of your labor, and you will never be anything but oppressed and mistreated continually.You will also be driven insane by the sight of what you see.The Lord will strike you on the knees and thighs with severe boils from which you cannot be healed, and strike you from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.The Lord will bring you and your king, whom you appoint over you, to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods, made of wood and stone.And you will become an object of horror, a song of mockery, and an object of taunting among all the peoples where the Lord drives you.“ You will bring out a great amount of seed to the field, but you will gather in little, because the locust will devour it.You will plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine nor bring in the harvest, because the worm will eat it.You will have olive trees throughout your territory but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, because your olives will drop off prematurely.You will father sons and daughters but they will not remain yours, because they will go into captivity.The cricket will take possession of all your trees and the produce of your ground.The stranger who is among you will rise above you higher and higher, and you will go down lower and lower.He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he will be the head, and you will be the tail.“ So all these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.And they will become a sign and a wonder against you and your descendants forever.“ Since you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a cheerful heart, in gratitude for the abundance of all things,you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, thirst, nakedness, and devoid of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.“ The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down; a nation whose language you will not understand,a nation with a defiant attitude, who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young.Furthermore, it will eat the offspring of your herd and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed; a nation that will leave you no grain, new wine, or oil, nor the newborn of your cattle or the young of your flock, until they have eliminated you.And it will besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout your land, and it will besiege you in all your towns throughout your land which the Lord your God has given you.Then you will eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, during the siege and the hardship by which your enemy will oppress you.The man who is refined and very delicate among you will be hostile toward his brother, toward the wife he cherishes, and toward the rest of his children who are left,so that he will not give even one of them any of the flesh of his children which he will eat, since he has nothing else left, during the siege and the hardship by which your enemy will oppress you in all your towns.The refined and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and tenderness, will be hostile toward the husband she cherishes and toward her son and daughter,and toward her afterbirth that comes from between her legs, and toward her children to whom she gives birth, because she will eat them secretly for lack of anything else, during the siege and the hardship with which your enemy will oppress you in your towns.“ If you are not careful to follow all the words of this Law that are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the Lord your God,then the Lord will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses.And He will bring back on you every disease of Egypt of which you were afraid, and they will cling to you.Also every sickness and every plague, which are not written in the book of this Law, the Lord will bring on you until you are destroyed.Then you will be left few in number, whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not obey the Lord your God.And it will come about that, just as the Lord rejoiced over you to be good to you, and make you numerous, so will the Lord rejoice over you to wipe you out and destroy you; and you will be torn away from the land which you are entering to possess.Furthermore, the Lord will scatter you among all the peoples, from one end of the earth to the other; and there you will serve other gods, made of wood and stone, which you and your fathers have not known.Among those nations you will find no peace, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul.So your lives will be hanging in doubt before you; and you will be terrified night and day, and have no assurance of your life.In the morning you will say,‘ If only it were evening!’ And at evening you will say,‘ If only it were morning!’ because of the terror of your heart which you fear, and the sight of your eyes which you will see.And the Lord will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I said to you,‘ You will never see it again!’ And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”

The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and just is He.

Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will also help you, I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand.’Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, Those who war with you will be as nothing and non existent.For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand, Who says to you,‘ Do not fear, I will help you.’Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you people of Israel; I will help you,” declares the Lord,“ and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

But his father refused and said,“ I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”

The king responded to Daniel and said,“ Your God truly is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of secrets, since you have been able to reveal this secret.”

Then behold, the Lord was standing above it and said,“ I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants.Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For it is Your due! For among all the wise men of the nations And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You.

and saying,“ Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men, of the same nature as you, preaching the gospel to you, to turn from these useless things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything that is in them.

that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the animals of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.

It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,“ And I am God.

Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,

I am the Lord, and there is no one else; There is no God except Me. I will arm you, though you have not known Me,So that people may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no one else,

“ When you father children and have grandchildren, and you grow old in the land, and you act corruptly, and make an idol in the form of anything, and do what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God to provoke Him to anger,I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today, that you will certainly perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to take possession of it. You will not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed.The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord drives you.There you will serve gods, the work of human hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear, nor eat nor smell anything.But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.When you are in distress and all these things happen to you, in the latter days you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice.For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not abandon you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.

Then He said,“ I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

Then Jacob summoned his sons and said,“ Assemble yourselves, so that I may tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.Gather together and listen, sons of Jacob; Yes, listen to Israel your father.“ Reuben, you are my firstborn, My might and the beginning of my strength, Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.Uncontrollable as water, you shall not have preeminence, Because you went up to your father’s bed; Then you defiled it— he went up to my couch.“ Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence.May my soul not enter into their council; May my glory not be united with their assembly; For in their anger they killed men, And in their self will they lamed oxen.Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will scatter them in Jacob, And disperse them among Israel.“ As for you, Judah, your brothers shall praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.Judah is a lion’s cub; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares to stir him up?The scepter will not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.He ties his foal to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, And his robes in the blood of grapes.His eyes are dull from wine, And his teeth white from milk.“ Zebulun will reside at the seashore; And he shall be a harbor for ships, And his flank shall be toward Sidon.“ Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between the sheepfolds.When he saw that a resting place was good And that the land was pleasant, He bowed his shoulder to carry burdens, And became a slave at forced labor.“ Dan shall judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel.Dan shall be a serpent in the way, A horned viper in the path, That bites the horse’s heels, So that its rider falls backward.For Your salvation I wait, Lord.“ As for Gad, a band of raiders shall attack him, But he will attack at their heels.“ As for Asher, his food shall be rich, And he will yield royal delicacies.“ Naphtali is a doe let loose; He utters beautiful words.“ Joseph is a fruitful branch, A fruitful branch by a spring; Its branches hang over a wall.The archers provoked him, And shot at him and were hostile toward him;But his bow remained firm, And his arms were agile, From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob( From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),From the God of your father who helps you, And by the Almighty who blesses you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.The blessings of your father Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors Up to the furthest boundary of the everlasting hills; May they be on the head of Joseph, And on the top of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.“ Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he devours the prey, And in the evening he divides the spoils.”All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him.

and the life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was revealed to us—

Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.”

but you have risen up against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives, and your concubines have been drinking wine out of them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, nor hear, nor understand. But the God in whose hand are your life breath and all your ways, you have not glorified.Then the hand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out.“ Now this is the inscription that was written:‘ Menē, Menē, Tekēl, Upharsin.’This is the interpretation of the message:‘ Menē’— God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it.‘ Tekēl’— you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient.‘ Perēs’— your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”Then Belshazzar gave orders, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a necklace of gold around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he now had authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed.

My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, since I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime.”

For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription,‘ TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands;nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said,‘ For we also are His descendants.’Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought.So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent,because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.”

For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king,“ The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who abandon Him.”

This is what the Lord says, He who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you:‘ Do not fear, Jacob My servant, And Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

Do not be afraid of sudden danger, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes;For the Lord will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.

And do not fear, Jacob My servant,’ declares the Lord,‘ And do not be dismayed, Israel; For behold, I am going to save you from far away, And your descendants from the land of their captivity. And Jacob will return and be at peace, without anxiety, And no one will make him afraid.For I am with you,’ declares the Lord,‘ to save you; For I will completely destroy all the nations where I have scattered you, Only I will not destroy you completely. But I will discipline you fairly And will by no means leave you unpunished.’