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.”

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.”

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 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.’ ”

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.”

“ People of Israel, you are my witnesses,” announces the Lord.“ I have chosen you to be my servant. I wanted you to know me and believe in me. I wanted you to understand that I am the one and only God. Before me, there was no other god at all. And there will not be any god after me.

The Lord showed you those things so that you might know he is God. There is no other God except him.

“ There isn’t anyone holy like the Lord. There isn’t anyone except him. There isn’t any Rock like our God.

The Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Today you must agree with that and take it to heart. There is no other God.

I and the Father are one.”

In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Who is God except the Lord? Who is the Rock except our God?

Who is God except the Lord? Who is the Rock except our God?

“ Look! I am the One! There is no other God except me. I put some people to death. I bring others to life. I have wounded, and I will heal. No one can save you from my power.

“ I am Israel’s King. I set them free. I am the Lord who rules over all. So listen to what I am saying. I am the first and the last. I am the one and only God.

So I told you those things long ago. Before they happened I announced them to you. I did it so you would not be able to say,‘ My statues of gods did them. My wooden and metal gods made them happen.’

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Then you will tell people about me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria. And you will even tell other people about me from one end of the earth to the other.”

You will know that I am with you in Israel. I am the Lord your God. There is no other God. So my people will never again be put to shame.

But there is a God in heaven who can explain mysteries. King Nebuchadnezzar, he has shown you what is going to happen. Here is what you dreamed while lying in bed. And here are the visions that passed through your mind.

“ Cyrus, the king of Persia, says,“‘ The Lord is the God of heaven. He has given me all the kingdoms on earth. He has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah.

You will sing as you do on the night you celebrate a holy feast. Your hearts will be filled with joy. You will be as joyful as people playing their flutes as they go up to the mountain of the Lord. He is the Rock of Israel.

Then the Lord said to him,“ You can be sure of what I am about to tell you. For 400 years, your family who comes after you will be strangers in another country. They will become slaves there and will be treated badly.But I will punish the nation that makes them slaves. After that, they will leave with many possessions.But you will die in peace. You will join the members of your family who have already died. And you will be buried when you are very old.Your children’s grandchildren will come back here. That’s because the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached the point where I must punish them.”The sun set and it became dark. Then a burning torch and a pot filled with smoking coals appeared. They passed between the pieces of the animals that had been cut in two.On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram. He said,“ I am giving this land to your family who comes after you. It reaches from the River of Egypt to the great Euphrates River.It includes the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,Hittites, Perizzites and Rephaites.The Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites also live there.”

“‘ Do not make statues of gods for yourselves. Do not set up a likeness of a god or a sacred stone for yourselves. Do not place a carved stone in your land and bow down in front of it. I am the Lord your God.“‘ You must always keep my Sabbath days. Have respect for my sacred tent. I am the Lord.“‘ Follow my rules. Be careful to obey my commands.Then I will send you rain at the right time. The ground will produce its crops. The trees will bear their fruit.You will continue to harvest your grain until you gather your grapes. You will continue to gather your grapes until you plant your crops. You will have all you want to eat. And you will live in safety in your land.“‘ I will give you peace in the land. You will be able to sleep because no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild animals from the land. There will not be any war in your country.You will hunt down your enemies. You will kill them with your swords.Five of you will chase 100. And 100 of you will chase 10,000. You will kill your enemies with your swords.“‘ I will bless you. I will give you many children so that there will be many of you. And I will be faithful to the covenant I made with you.You will still be eating last year’s crops when you will have to make room for new crops.I will live among you. I will not turn away from you.I will walk among you. I will be your God. And you will be my people.I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt. I did not want you to be slaves in Egypt anymore. I threw off your heavy load. I helped you walk with your heads held high.“‘ On the other hand, suppose you do not listen to me. Suppose you do not carry out all my commands.Suppose you say no to my rules and turn away from my laws. And suppose you break my covenant by failing to carry out all my commands.Then here is what I will do to you. All at once I will bring terror on you. I will send sicknesses that will make you weak. I will send fever that will destroy your sight. It will slowly take your strength away. When you plant seeds, it will not do you any good. Instead, your enemies will eat what you have planted.I will turn against you. Then your enemies will win the battle over you. Those who hate you will rule over you. You will run away even when no one is chasing you.“‘ After all that, suppose you still will not listen to me. Then I will punish you for your sins seven times.I will break down your stubborn pride. I will make the sky above you like iron, and it will not rain. I will make the ground under you like bronze, and you will not be able to farm it.You will work with all your strength, but it will not do you any good. That is because your soil will not produce any crops. The trees of your land will not bear any fruit.“‘ Suppose you continue to be my enemy. And suppose you still refuse to listen to me. Then I will multiply your troubles many times because of your sins.I will send wild animals against you. They will kill your children. They will destroy your cattle. There will be so few of you left that your roads will be deserted.“‘ After all those things, suppose you still do not accept my warnings. And suppose you continue to be my enemy.Then I myself will be your enemy. I will make you suffer again and again for your sins.I will send war against you to punish you for breaking my covenant. When you go back into your cities, I will send a plague among you. You will be handed over to your enemies.I will cut off your supply of bread. Ten women will need only one oven to bake your bread. They will weigh out the bread piece by piece. Even when you eat all of it, it will not be enough to satisfy you.“‘ After all that, suppose you still do not listen to me. And suppose you continue to be my enemy.Then I will be angry with you. I will be your enemy. I myself will again punish you for your sins over and over.You will eat the dead bodies of your sons. You will also eat the dead bodies of your daughters.I will destroy the high places where you worship other gods. I will pull down your incense altars. I will pile up your dead bodies on the lifeless statues of your gods. And I will turn away from you.I will completely destroy your cities. I will destroy your places of worship. The pleasant smell of your offerings will not give me any delight.I myself will destroy your land so completely that your enemies who live there will be shocked.I will scatter you among the nations. I will pull out my sword and hunt you down. Your land and your cities will be completely destroyed.Then the deserted land will enjoy its sabbath years. It will rest. It will not be farmed. It will enjoy its sabbaths. But you will become prisoners in the country of your enemies.The land will rest the whole time it is deserted. It was not able to rest during the sabbaths you lived in it.“‘ Some of you will be left in the lands of your enemies. I will fill your hearts with fear. The sound of a leaf blown by the wind will scare you away. You will run as if you were escaping from swords. You will fall down, even though no one is chasing you.You will trip over one another as if you were running away from the battle. You will run away, even though no one is chasing you. You will not be able to stand and fight against your enemies.While you are still scattered among the nations, you will die. The lands of your enemies will destroy you.You who are left in those lands will become weaker and weaker. You will die because of your sins and the sins of your people who lived before you.“‘ But suppose you admit that both you and your people who lived before you have sinned. You admit the evil and dishonest things you have done against me. And you admit you have become my enemy.What you did made me become your enemy. I let your enemies take you into their land. But suppose you stop being stubborn. You stop being proud. And you pay for your sin.Then I will remember my covenant with Jacob. I will remember my covenant with Isaac. I will remember my covenant with Abraham. I will remember what I said to them about the land.You will leave the land. It will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies deserted because you are not there. You will pay for your sins because you said no to my laws. You turned away from my rules.But even after all that, I will not say no to you or turn away from you. I will not destroy you completely in the land of your enemies. I will not break my covenant with you. I am the Lord your God.Because of you, I will remember the covenant I made with the people of Israel who lived before you. I brought them out of Egypt to be their God. The nations saw me do it. I am the Lord.’ ”These are the orders, the laws and the rules of the covenant the Lord made on Mount Sinai. He made it between himself and the Israelites through Moses.

Their rock is not like our Rock. Even our enemies know that.

Jesus said,“ Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down. About 5,000 men were there.

A huge cloud of witnesses is all around us. So let us throw off everything that stands in our way. Let us throw off any sin that holds on to us so tightly. And let us keep on running the race marked out for us.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him. They said,“ King Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to talk about this anymore.We might be thrown into the blazing furnace. But the God we serve is able to bring us out of it alive. He will save us from your power.But we want you to know this, Your Majesty. Even if we knew that our God wouldn’t save us, we still wouldn’t serve your gods. We wouldn’t worship the gold statue you set up.”Then Nebuchadnezzar was very angry with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The look on his face changed. And he ordered that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual.He also gave some of the strongest soldiers in his army a command. He ordered them to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Then he told his men to throw them into the blazing furnace.So they were tied up. Then they were thrown into the furnace. They were wearing their robes, pants, turbans and other clothes.The king’s command was carried out quickly. The furnace was so hot that its flames killed the soldiers who threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into it.So the three men were firmly tied up. And they fell into the blazing furnace.Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet. He was so amazed he asked his advisers,“ Didn’t we tie up three men? Didn’t we throw three men into the fire?” They replied,“ Yes, we did, Your Majesty.”The king said,“ Look! I see four men walking around in the fire. They aren’t tied up. And the fire hasn’t even harmed them. The fourth man looks like a son of the gods.”Then the king approached the opening of the blazing furnace. He shouted,“ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, come out! You who serve the Most High God, come here!” So they came out of the fire.The royal rulers, high officials, governors and advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire hadn’t harmed their bodies. Not one hair on their heads was burned. Their robes weren’t burned either. And they didn’t even smell like smoke.Then Nebuchadnezzar said,“ May the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be praised! He has sent his angel and saved his servants. They trusted in him. They refused to obey my command. They were willing to give up their lives. They would rather die than serve or worship any god except their own God.

Make sure you obey the Lord your God completely. Be careful to obey all his commands. I’m giving them to you today. If you do these things, the Lord will honor you more than all the other nations on earth.If you obey the Lord your God, here are the blessings that will come to you and remain with you.You will be blessed in the cities. You will be blessed out in the country.Your children will be blessed. Your crops will be blessed. The young animals among your livestock will be blessed. That includes your calves and lambs.Your baskets and bread pans will be blessed.You will be blessed no matter where you go.Enemies will rise up against you. But the Lord will help you win the battle over them. They will come at you from one direction. But they’ll run away from you in every direction.The Lord your God will bless your barns with plenty of grain and other food. He will bless everything you do. He’ll bless you in the land he’s giving you.The Lord your God will make you his holy people. He will set you apart for himself. He promised to do this. He promised to do it if you would keep his commands and live exactly as he wants you to live.All the nations on earth will see that you belong to the Lord. And they will be afraid of you.The Lord will give you more than you need. You will have many children. Your livestock will have many little ones. Your crops will do very well. All of that will happen in the land he promised to give you. He promised this to your people of long ago.The Lord will open up the heavens. That’s where he stores his riches. He will send rain on your land at just the right time. He’ll bless everything you do. You will lend money to many nations. But you won’t have to borrow from any of them.The Lord your God will make you leaders, not followers. Pay attention to his commands that I’m giving you today. Be careful to obey them. Then you will always be on top. You will never be on the bottom.Don’t turn away from any of the commands I’m giving you today. Don’t turn to the right or the left. Don’t follow other gods. Don’t worship them.But suppose you don’t obey the Lord your God. And you aren’t careful to obey all his commands and rules I’m giving you today. Then he will send curses on you. They’ll catch up with you. Here are those curses.You will be cursed in the cities. You will be cursed out in the country.Your baskets and bread pans will be cursed.Your children will be cursed. Your crops will be cursed. Your calves and lambs will be cursed.You will be cursed no matter where you go.The Lord will send curses on you. You won’t know what’s going on. In everything you do, he will be angry with you. You will be destroyed suddenly and completely. This will happen because you did an evil thing when you deserted the Lord.He will send all kinds of sicknesses on you. He’ll send them until he has destroyed you. He’ll remove you from the land you are entering to take as your own.The Lord will make you sick and very weak. He will strike you with fever and swelling. He’ll send burning heat. There won’t be any rain. The hot winds will completely dry up your crops. All those things will happen until you die.The sky above you will be like bronze. The ground beneath you will be like iron.The Lord will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder. It will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.The Lord will help your enemies win the battle over you. You will come at them from one direction. But you will run away from them in every direction. All the kingdoms on earth will be completely shocked when they see you.Birds and wild animals will eat up your dead bodies. There won’t be anyone left to scare them away.The Lord will send boils on you, just like the ones he sent on the Egyptians. You will have growths in your bodies and boils on your skin. You will itch all over. No one will be able to heal you.The Lord will make you lose your mind. He will make you blind. You won’t know what’s going on.Even at noon you will have to feel your way around like a blind person in the dark. You won’t have success in anything you do. Day after day you will be robbed and treated badly. No one will be able to save you.You and a woman will promise to marry each other. But another man will take her and rape her. You will build a house. But you won’t live in it. You will plant a vineyard. But you won’t eat a single grape from it.Your ox will be killed right in front of your eyes. But you won’t eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away from you by force. And you will never get it back. Your sheep will be given to your enemies. No one will be able to save them.Your children will be given to another nation. Day after day you will watch for them to come back. But you will only wear out your eyes. You won’t be able to help your children.A nation you don’t know anything about will eat what you work to produce on your land. You will only be treated badly as long as you live.The things you see will make you lose your mind.The Lord will send painful boils on your knees and legs. No one will be able to heal them. They will cover you from head to toe.The Lord will drive you out of the land. And he will drive out the king you place over yourselves. All of you will go to another nation. You and your people of long ago didn’t know anything about them. There you will worship other gods. They will be made out of wood and stone.You will look very bad to all the nations where the Lord sends you. They will be completely shocked when they see you. They will mock you and make fun of you.You will plant many seeds in your field. But you will gather very little food. Locusts will eat it up.You will plant vineyards and take care of them. But you won’t drink the wine. You won’t gather the grapes. Worms will eat them up.You will have olive trees through your whole country. But you won’t use the oil. The olives will drop off the trees.You will have children. But you won’t be able to keep them. They’ll be taken away as prisoners.Large numbers of locusts will eat up the leaves on all your trees. They will also eat up the crops on your land.Outsiders who live among you will become your leaders. They will rise higher and higher. But you will sink lower and lower.They will lend money to you. But you won’t be able to lend money to them. They will be the leaders. But you will be the followers.The Lord your God will send all these curses on you. They will follow you everywhere. They’ll catch up with you. You will be under the Lord’ s curse until you are destroyed. That’s because you didn’t obey him. You didn’t keep the commands and rules he gave you.These curses will remain as signs and awful judgments against you and your children after you forever.You didn’t serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness when times were good.So he will send enemies against you. You will have to serve them. You will be hungry and thirsty. You will be naked and poor. The Lord will put the iron chains of slavery around your necks until he has destroyed you.The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away. It will come from the ends of the earth. It will dive down on you like an eagle. You won’t understand that nation’s language.Its people will look mean. They won’t have any respect for old people. They won’t show any kindness to young people.They will eat up the young animals among your livestock. They’ll eat up the crops on your land. They’ll destroy you. They won’t leave you any grain, olive oil or fresh wine. They won’t leave you any calves or lambs. They’ll destroy you.They’ll surround all the cities throughout your whole land. They’ll attack those cities until the high, strong walls you trust in fall down. That’s what will happen to the cities in the land the Lord your God is giving you.Your enemies will surround you and attack you. They will make you suffer greatly. So you will eat your own children. You will eat the dead bodies of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you.There may be a gentle and caring man among you. But he will treat his own brother badly. He’ll be just as mean to the wife he loves and to any of his children who are still alive.He won’t give to a single one of them any part of the dead bodies of his children that he’s eating. It will be all he has left to eat. That’s how much your enemies will make you suffer when they surround all your cities and attack them.There may be a gentle and caring woman among you. She wouldn’t even touch the ground with her feet without first putting her sandals on. But she will not share anything with the husband she loves. She won’t share with her own children either.She will eat what comes out of her body after she has a baby. Then she’ll even eat her baby. She won’t share it with anyone in her family. In her great hunger she’ll plan to eat it in secret. There won’t be anything else for her to eat because the city she lives in will be surrounded. That’s an example of how much your enemies will make you suffer when they are attacking your cities.Be careful to follow all the words of this law. They are written in this scroll. Have respect for the glorious and wonderful name of the Lord your God. If you don’t,he will send terrible plagues on you and your children after you. He’ll send horrible and lasting troubles. He’ll make you very sick for a long time.He’ll bring on you all the sicknesses you were afraid of getting when you were in Egypt. You won’t be able to get rid of them.The Lord will also bring on you all other kinds of sickness and trouble. I haven’t even written those down in this Book of the Law. You will be destroyed.At one time you were as many as the stars in the sky. But there will only be a few of you left. That’s because you didn’t obey the Lord your God.It pleased the Lord to give you success and to cause there to be many of you. But it will please him just as much to wipe you out and destroy you. You will be removed from the land you are entering to take as your own.Then the Lord will scatter you among all the nations. He’ll spread you around from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship statues of gods made out of wood and stone. You and your people of long ago hadn’t known anything about those gods.Among those nations you won’t find any peace. There won’t be any place where you can make your home and rest your feet. The Lord will give you minds filled with worry. He’ll give you eyes worn out from looking for help. You won’t have any hope in your hearts.Your lives will always be in danger. You will be filled with fear night and day. You will never be sure you are safe.In the morning you will say,“ We wish it were evening!” In the evening you will say,“ We wish it were morning!” Your hearts will be filled with fear. The things you see will terrify you.The Lord will send you back to Egypt in ships. He’ll send you on a journey I said you should never have to make again. You will offer to sell yourselves to your enemies as slaves in Egypt. But no one will buy you.

He is the Rock. His works are perfect. All his ways are right. He is faithful. He doesn’t do anything wrong. He is honest and fair.

So do not be afraid. I am with you. Do not be terrified. I am your God. I will make you strong and help you. I will hold you safe in my hands. I always do what is right.“ All those who are angry with you will be put to shame. And they will be dishonored. Those who oppose you will be destroyed. And they will vanish.You might search for your enemies. But you will not find them. Those who go to war against you will completely disappear.I am the Lord your God. I take hold of your right hand. I say to you,‘ Do not be afraid. I will help you.’Family of Jacob, you are as weak as a worm. But do not be afraid. People of Israel, there are only a few of you. But do not be afraid. I myself will help you,” announces the Lord. He is the one who sets his people free. He is the Holy One of Israel.

But his father wouldn’t do it. He said,“ I know, my son. I know. He too will become a nation. He too will become great. But his younger brother will be greater than he is. His children after him will become a group of nations.”

The king said to Daniel,“ I’m sure your God is the greatest God of all. He is the Lord of kings. He explains mysteries. That’s why you were able to explain the mystery of my dream.”

The Lord stood beside the stairway. He said,“ I am the Lord. I am the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your children after you the land you are lying on.They will be like the dust of the earth that can’t be counted. They will spread out to the west and to the east. They will spread out to the north and to the south. All nations on earth will be blessed because of you and your children after you.I am with you. I will watch over you everywhere you go. And I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

King of the nations, everyone should have respect for you. That’s what people should give you. Among all the wise leaders of the nations there is no one like you. No one can compare with you in all their kingdoms.

“ Friends, why are you doing this? We are only human, just like you. We are bringing you good news. Turn away from these worthless things. Turn to the living God. He is the one who made the heavens and the earth and the sea. He made everything in them.

You will be driven away from people. You will live with the wild animals. You will eat grass just as an ox does. You will become wet with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass by for you. Then you will recognize that the Most High God rules over all kingdoms on earth. He gives them to anyone he wants.

I have made known what would happen. I saved you. I have told you about it. I did this. It was not some other god you worship. You are my witnesses that I am God,” announces the Lord.

“ Remember what happened in the past. Think about what took place long ago. I am God. There is no other God. I am God. There is no one like me.

I am the Lord. There is no other Lord. I am the one and only God. You do not know anything about me. But I will make you strong.Then people will know there is no God but me. Everyone from where the sun rises in the east to where it sets in the west will know it. I am the Lord. There is no other Lord.

So don’t make a statue of a god. Don’t commit that horrible sin. Don’t do it even after you have had children and grandchildren. Don’t do it even after you have lived in the land a long time. If you do, that will be an evil thing in the sight of the Lord your God. You will make him angry.Today I’m calling out to the heavens and the earth to be witnesses against you. Suppose you do these things. Then you will quickly die in the land you are going across the Jordan River to take over. You won’t live there very long. You will certainly be destroyed.The Lord will drive you out of your land. He will scatter you among the nations. Only a few of you will remain alive there.There you will worship gods that men have made out of wood and stone. Those gods can’t see, hear, eat or smell.Perhaps while you are there, you will seek the Lord your God. You will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.All the things I’ve told you about might happen to you. And you will be in trouble. But later you will return to the Lord your God. You will obey him.The Lord your God is tender and loving. He won’t leave you or destroy you. He won’t forget the covenant he made with your people of long ago. He gave his word when he made it.

“ I am God. I am the God of your father,” he said.“ Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt. There I will make you into a great nation.

Then Jacob sent for his sons. He said,“ Gather around me so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.“ Sons of Jacob, come together and listen. Listen to your father Israel.“ Reuben, you are my oldest son. You were my first child. You were the first sign of my strength. You were first in honor. You were first in power.But you are as unsteady as water. So you won’t be first anymore. You had sex with my concubine on my bed. You lay on my couch and made it‘ unclean.’“ Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords have killed a lot of people.I won’t share in their plans. I won’t have anything to do with them. They became angry and killed people. They cut the legs of oxen just for the fun of it.May the Lord put a curse on them because of their terrible anger. I will scatter them in Jacob’s land. I will spread them around in Israel.“ Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your enemies will be brought under your control. Your father’s sons will bow down to you.Judah, you are like a lion’s cub. You return from hunting, my son. Like a lion, you lie down and sleep. You are like a mother lion. Who dares to wake you up?The right to rule will not leave Judah. The ruler’s scepter will not be taken from between his feet. It will be his until the king it belongs to will come. The nations will obey that king.He will tie his donkey to a vine. He will tie his colt to the very best branch. He will wash his clothes in wine. He will wash his robes in the red juice of grapes.His eyes will be darker than wine. His teeth will be whiter than milk.“ Zebulun will live by the seashore. He will become a safe harbor for ships. His border will go out toward Sidon.“ Issachar is like a wild donkey lying down among the sheep pens.He sees how good his resting place is. He sees that his land is pleasant. So he will carry a heavy load on his back. He will obey when he’s forced to work.“ Dan will do what is fair for his people. He will do it as one of the tribes of Israel.Dan will be a snake by the side of the road. He will be a poisonous snake along the path. It bites the horse’s heels so that the rider falls off backward.“ Lord, I look to you to save me.“ Gad will be attacked by a group of robbers. But he will attack them as they run away.“ Asher’s food will be rich and sweet. He will provide food that even a king would enjoy.“ Naphtali is a female deer set free and gives birth to beautiful fawns.“ Joseph is a vine that grows a lot of fruit. It grows close by a spring. Its branches climb over a wall.Mean people shot arrows at him. They shot at him because they were angry.But his bow remained steady. His strong arms moved freely. The hand of the Mighty God of Jacob was with him. The Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, stood by him.Joseph, your father’s God helps you. The Mighty God blesses you. He gives you blessings from the sky above. He gives you blessings from the deep springs below. He blesses you with children and with a mother’s milk.Your father’s blessings are great. They are greater than the blessings from the age- old mountains. They are greater than the gifts from the ancient hills. Let all those blessings rest on the head of Joseph. Let them rest on the head of the one who is prince among his brothers.“ Benjamin is a hungry wolf. In the morning he eats what he has killed. In the evening he shares what he has stolen.”All these are the 12 tribes of Israel. That’s what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each one the blessing that was just right for him.

This life has appeared. We have seen him. We are witnesses about him. And we announce to you this same eternal life. He was already with the Father. He has appeared to us.

What I said would happen has taken place. Now I announce new things to you. Before they even begin to happen, I announce them to you.”

You have taken your stand against the Lord of heaven. You had your servants bring cups from his temple to you. You and your nobles drank wine from them. So did your wives and concubines. You praised your gods. The statues of those gods are made out of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood or stone. They can’t see or hear or understand anything. But you didn’t honor God. He holds in his hand your very life and everything you do.So he sent the hand that wrote on the wall.“ Here is what was written. mene, mene, tekel, parsin“ And here is what these words mean.“ The word Mene means that God has limited the time of your rule. He has brought it to an end.“ The word Tekel means that you have been weighed on scales. And you haven’t measured up to God’s standard.“ The word Peres means that your authority over your kingdom will be taken away from you. It will be given to the Medes and Persians.”Then Belshazzar commanded his servants to dress Daniel in purple clothes. So they did. They put a gold chain around his neck. And he was made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.That very night Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, was killed.

My God sent his angel. And his angel shut the mouths of the lions. They haven’t hurt me at all. That’s because I haven’t done anything wrong in God’s sight. I’ve never done anything wrong to you either, Your Majesty.”

As I walked around, I looked carefully at the things you worship. I even found an altar with to an unknown god written on it. So you don’t know what you are worshiping. Now I am going to tell you about this‘ unknown god.’“ He is the God who made the world. He also made everything in it. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn’t live in temples built by human hands.He is not served by human hands. He doesn’t need anything. Instead, he himself gives life and breath to all people. He also gives them everything else they have.From one man he made all the people of the world. Now they live all over the earth. He decided exactly when they should live. And he decided exactly where they should live.God did this so that people would seek him. And perhaps they would reach out for him and find him. They would find him even though he is not far from any of us.‘ In him we live and move and exist.’ As some of your own poets have also said,‘ We are his children.’“ Yes, we are God’s children. So we shouldn’t think that God is made out of gold or silver or stone. He isn’t a statue planned and made by clever people.In the past, God didn’t judge people for what they didn’t know. But now he commands all people everywhere to turn away from their sins.He has set a day when he will judge the world fairly. He has appointed a man to be its judge. God has proved this to everyone by raising that man from the dead.”

I was ashamed to ask King Artaxerxes for soldiers and horsemen. They could have kept us safe from enemies on the road. But we had told the king that our God would keep us safe. We had said,“ Our God is gracious and helps everyone who looks to him. But he becomes very angry with anyone who deserts him.”

I made you. I formed you when you were born as a nation. I will help you. So listen to what I am saying. Family of Jacob, do not be afraid. You are my servant. People of Israel, I have chosen you.

Don’t be terrified by sudden trouble. Don’t be afraid when sinners are destroyed.The Lord will be at your side. He will keep your feet from being caught in a trap.

“‘ People of Jacob, do not be afraid. You are my servant. Israel, do not be terrified,’ ” announces the Lord.“‘ You can be sure that I will save you. I will bring you out of a place far away. I will bring your children back from the land where they were taken. Your people will have peace and security again. And no one will make them afraid.I am with you. I will save you,’ ” announces the Lord.“‘ I will completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you. But I will not completely destroy you. I will correct you. But I will be fair. I will not let you go without any punishment.’ ”