quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight.

灭了烈火的猛势，脱了刀剑的锋刃；软弱变为刚强，争战显出勇敢，打退外邦的全军。

灭了烈火的威力，在锋利的刀剑下逃生，从软弱变为刚强，争战中显出勇猛，打退外邦的全军。

灭了烈火的威力，在锋利的刀剑下逃生，从软弱变为刚强，争战中显出勇猛，打退外邦的全军。

熄灭了猛烈的火焰，刀下逃生，由软弱变为刚强，作战勇猛，击退外敌。

消灭了烈火的威力，逃脱了刀剑的锋刃，软弱变成刚强，在战争中显出大能，把外国的军队击退。

灭了烈火的威力，逃脱了刀剑的锋刃，从软弱中得以刚强，在战争中得以强大，击败了外国的军队。

滅了烈火的猛勢，脫了刀劍的鋒刃；軟弱變為剛強，爭戰顯出勇敢，打退外邦的全軍。

滅了烈火的威力，在鋒利的刀劍下逃生，從軟弱變為剛強，爭戰中顯出勇猛，打退外邦的全軍。

滅了烈火的威力，在鋒利的刀劍下逃生，從軟弱變為剛強，爭戰中顯出勇猛，打退外邦的全軍。

熄滅了猛烈的火焰，刀下逃生，由軟弱變為剛強，作戰勇猛，擊退外敵。

消滅了烈火的威力，逃脫了刀劍的鋒刃，軟弱變成剛強，在戰爭中顯出大能，把外國的軍隊擊退。

撲滅了烈火之威力，躲脫了刀劍的鋒刃，從軟弱中得了能力，在戰爭中顯為勇猛，使外國的隊伍掉頭逃竄。

滅了烈火的威力，逃脫了刀劍的鋒刃，從軟弱中得以剛強，在戰爭中得以強大，擊敗了外國的軍隊。

滅火勢、避鋒刃、弱而強、戰而勇、破異邦軍、

使火燄不傷、鋒刃可避、弱而強、戰而勇、破敵陳、

滅火燄之勢、避刀之鋒刃、由弱成強、於戰則勇、攻退異邦人隊伍、

撲滅燎原、脫免刀兵、轉弱為強、奮勇作戰、所向披靡、無一而不憑信德也。

quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

They put out great fires. They escaped being killed by swords. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became powerful in battle. They beat back armies from other countries.

quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.

quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to flight armies of aliens.

quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength after being weak, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.

Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight,

quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, grew mighty in war, and caused foreign armies to flee.

For you grant victory to kings! You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword.

The Arameans now realized that they were no match for Israel. So when they regrouped,they were joined by additional Aramean troops summoned by Hadadezer from the other side of the Euphrates River. These troops arrived at Helam under the command of Shobach, the commander of Hadadezer’s forces.When David heard what was happening, he mobilized all Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and led the army to Helam. The Arameans positioned themselves in battle formation and fought against David.But again the Arameans fled from the Israelites. This time David’s forces killed 700 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers, including Shobach, the commander of their army.When all the kings allied with Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they surrendered to Israel and became their subjects. After that, the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites.

Elisha was sitting in his house with the elders of Israel when the king sent a messenger to summon him. But before the messenger arrived, Elisha said to the elders,“ A murderer has sent a man to cut off my head. When he arrives, shut the door and keep him out. We will soon hear his master’s steps following him.”

It was just after midnight, after the changing of the guard, when Gideon and the 100 men with him reached the edge of the Midianite camp. Suddenly, they blew the rams’ horns and broke their clay jars.Then all three groups blew their horns and broke their jars. They held the blazing torches in their left hands and the horns in their right hands, and they all shouted,“ A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”Each man stood at his position around the camp and watched as all the Midianites rushed around in a panic, shouting as they ran to escape.When the 300 Israelites blew their rams’ horns, the Lord caused the warriors in the camp to fight against each other with their swords. Those who were not killed fled to places as far away as Beth shittah near Zererah and to the border of Abel meholah near Tabbath.Then Gideon sent for the warriors of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh, who joined in chasing the army of Midian.Gideon also sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying,“ Come down to attack the Midianites. Cut them off at the shallow crossings of the Jordan River at Beth barah.” So all the men of Ephraim did as they were told.They captured Oreb and Zeeb, the two Midianite commanders, killing Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. And they continued to chase the Midianites. Afterward the Israelites brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan River.

So he attacked the Philistines with great fury and killed many of them. Then he went to live in a cave in the rock of Etam.

Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran.Then the men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron.

“ Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him.“ For there are more on our side than on theirs!”Then Elisha prayed,“ O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.As the Aramean army advanced toward him, Elisha prayed,“ O Lord, please make them blind.” So the Lord struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked.

Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there.

He prayed,“ O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you!O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham?Your people settled here and built this Temple to honor your name.They said,‘ Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your name is honored. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.’“ And now see what the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir are doing. You would not let our ancestors invade those nations when Israel left Egypt, so they went around them and did not destroy them.Now see how they reward us! For they have come to throw us out of your land, which you gave us as an inheritance.O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.”As all the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, wives, and children,the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite who was a descendant of Asaph.He said,“ Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel.But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!”Then King Jehoshaphat bowed low with his face to the ground. And all the people of Judah and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping the Lord.Then the Levites from the clans of Kohath and Korah stood to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud shout.Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said,“ Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:“ Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!”At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves.The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other.So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder. They found vast amounts of equipment, clothing, and other valuables— more than they could carry. There was so much plunder that it took them three days just to collect it all!

Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual.Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments.And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in.So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers,“ Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?”“ Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied.“ Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted.“ I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!”Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted:“ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire.Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!Then Nebuchadnezzar said,“ Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

He will save you from death in time of famine, from the power of the sword in time of war.

Then Isaiah said,“ Make an ointment from figs.” So Hezekiah’s servants spread the ointment over the boil, and Hezekiah recovered!Meanwhile, Hezekiah had said to Isaiah,“ What sign will the Lord give to prove that he will heal me and that I will go to the Temple of the Lord three days from now?”Isaiah replied,“ This is the sign from the Lord to prove that he will do as he promised. Would you like the shadow on the sundial to go forward ten steps or backward ten steps?”“ The shadow always moves forward,” Hezekiah replied,“ so that would be easy. Make it go ten steps backward instead.”So Isaiah the prophet asked the Lord to do this, and he caused the shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial of Ahaz!

Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.

Each time he said,“ My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God,“ O Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in you alone. It is in your name that we have come against this vast horde. O Lord, you are our God; do not let mere men prevail against you!”So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians in the presence of Asa and the army of Judah, and the enemy fled.Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar, and so many Ethiopians fell that they were unable to rally. They were destroyed by the Lord and his army, and the army of Judah carried off a vast amount of plunder.While they were at Gerar, they attacked all the towns in that area, and terror from the Lord came upon the people there. As a result, a vast amount of plunder was taken from these towns, too.

In the thirty sixth year of Asa’s reign, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from entering or leaving King Asa’s territory in Judah.Asa responded by removing the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and the royal palace. He sent it to King Ben hadad of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, along with this message:“ Let there be a treaty between you and me like the one between your father and my father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me alone.”Ben hadad agreed to King Asa’s request and sent the commanders of his army to attack the towns of Israel. They conquered the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel beth maacah, and all the store cities in Naphtali.As soon as Baasha of Israel heard what was happening, he abandoned his project of fortifying Ramah and stopped all work on it.Then King Asa called out all the men of Judah to carry away the building stones and timbers that Baasha had been using to fortify Ramah. Asa used these materials to fortify the towns of Geba and Mizpah.At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa and told him,“ Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the Lord your God, you missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram.Don’t you remember what happened to the Ethiopians and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and charioteers? At that time you relied on the Lord, and he handed them over to you.The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.”

Go away, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping.

Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to God in heaven.And the Lord sent an angel who destroyed the Assyrian army with all its commanders and officers. So Sennacherib was forced to return home in disgrace to his own land. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with a sword.That is how the Lord rescued Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from King Sennacherib of Assyria and from all the others who threatened them. So there was peace throughout the land.

Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan stood up for Jeremiah and persuaded the court not to turn him over to the mob to be killed.

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

As Samson arrived at Lehi, the Philistines came shouting in triumph. But the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson, and he snapped the ropes on his arms as if they were burnt strands of flax, and they fell from his wrists.Then he found the jawbone of a recently killed donkey. He picked it up and killed 1,000 Philistines with it.Then Samson said,“ With the jawbone of a donkey, I’ve piled them in heaps! With the jawbone of a donkey, I’ve killed a thousand men!”When he finished his boasting, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was named Jawbone Hill.Samson was now very thirsty, and he cried out to the Lord,“ You have accomplished this great victory by the strength of your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of these pagans?”So God caused water to gush out of a hollow in the ground at Lehi, and Samson was revived as he drank. Then he named that place“ The Spring of the One Who Cried Out,” and it is still in Lehi to this day.Samson judged Israel for twenty years during the period when the Philistines dominated the land.

Then you put a leader over us. We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of great abundance.

Ishbi benob was a descendant of the giants; his bronze spearhead weighed more than seven pounds, and he was armed with a new sword. He had cornered David and was about to kill him.But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue and killed the Philistine. Then David’s men declared,“ You are not going out to battle with us again! Why risk snuffing out the light of Israel?”

Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him.Then she cried out,“ Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” When he woke up, he thought,“ I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him.So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison.But before long, his hair began to grow back.The Philistine rulers held a great festival, offering sacrifices and praising their god, Dagon. They said,“ Our god has given us victory over our enemy Samson!”When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying,“ Our god has delivered our enemy to us! The one who killed so many of us is now in our power!”Half drunk by now, the people demanded,“ Bring out Samson so he can amuse us!” So he was brought from the prison to amuse them, and they had him stand between the pillars supporting the roof.Samson said to the young servant who was leading him by the hand,“ Place my hands against the pillars that hold up the temple. I want to rest against them.”Now the temple was completely filled with people. All the Philistine rulers were there, and there were about 3,000 men and women on the roof who were watching as Samson amused them.Then Samson prayed to the Lord,“ Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes.”Then Samson put his hands on the two center pillars that held up the temple. Pushing against them with both hands,he prayed,“ Let me die with the Philistines.” And the temple crashed down on the Philistine rulers and all the people. So he killed more people when he died than he had during his entire lifetime.

After this, David defeated and subdued the Philistines by conquering Gath, their largest town.David also conquered the land of Moab. He made the people lie down on the ground in a row, and he measured them off in groups with a length of rope. He measured off two groups to be executed for every one group to be spared. The Moabites who were spared became David’s subjects and paid him tribute money.David also destroyed the forces of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when Hadadezer marched out to strengthen his control along the Euphrates River.David captured 1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers, and 20,000 foot soldiers. He crippled all the chariot horses except enough for 100 chariots.When Arameans from Damascus arrived to help King Hadadezer, David killed 22,000 of them.Then he placed several army garrisons in Damascus, the Aramean capital, and the Arameans became David’s subjects and paid him tribute money. So the Lord made David victorious wherever he went.David brought the gold shields of Hadadezer’s officers to Jerusalem,along with a large amount of bronze from Hadadezer’s towns of Tebah and Berothai.When King Toi of Hamath heard that David had destroyed the entire army of Hadadezer,he sent his son Joram to congratulate King David for his successful campaign. Hadadezer and Toi had been enemies and were often at war. Joram presented David with many gifts of silver, gold, and bronze.King David dedicated all these gifts to the Lord, as he did with the silver and gold from the other nations he had defeated—from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek— and from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.So David became even more famous when he returned from destroying 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.He placed army garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s subjects. In fact, the Lord made David victorious wherever he went.So David reigned over all Israel and did what was just and right for all his people.Joab son of Zeruiah was commander of the army. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian.Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were the priests. Seraiah was the court secretary.Benaiah son of Jehoiada was captain of the king’s bodyguard. And David’s sons served as priestly leaders.

So they climbed up using both hands and feet, and the Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer killed those who came behind them.They killed some twenty men in all, and their bodies were scattered over about half an acre.Suddenly, panic broke out in the Philistine army, both in the camp and in the field, including even the outposts and raiding parties. And just then an earthquake struck, and everyone was terrified.

When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!

Gideon then crossed the Jordan River with his 300 men, and though exhausted, they continued to chase the enemy.When they reached Succoth, Gideon asked the leaders of the town,“ Please give my warriors some food. They are very tired. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”But the officials of Succoth replied,“ Catch Zebah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed your army.”So Gideon said,“ After the Lord gives me victory over Zebah and Zalmunna, I will return and tear your flesh with the thorns and briers from the wilderness.”From there Gideon went up to Peniel and again asked for food, but he got the same answer.So he said to the people of Peniel,“ After I return in victory, I will tear down this tower.”By this time Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with about 15,000 warriors— all that remained of the allied armies of the east, for 120,000 had already been killed.

David now fled from Naioth in Ramah and found Jonathan.“ What have I done?” he exclaimed.“ What is my crime? How have I offended your father that he is so determined to kill me?”