¹And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. ²So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.” ³But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lᴏʀᴅ forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!” ⁴So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food. ⁵But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, “Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?” ⁶He said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ” ⁷Then Jezebel his wife said to him, “You now exercise authority over Israel! Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.” ⁸And she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth. ⁹She wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth with high honor among the people; ¹⁰and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to bear witness against him, saying, “You have blasphemed God and the king.” Then take him out, and stone him, that he may die. ¹¹So the men of his city, the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them. ¹²They proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth with high honor among the people. ¹³And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and the scoundrels witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has blasphemed God and the king!” Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died. ¹⁴Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.” ¹⁵And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” ¹⁶So it was, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. ¹⁷Then the word of the Lᴏʀᴅ came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ¹⁸“Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who lives in Samaria. There he is, in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. ¹⁹You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ: “Have you murdered and also taken possession?” ’ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ: “In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours.” ’ ” ²⁰So Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” And he answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lᴏʀᴅ: ²¹‘Behold, I will bring calamity on you. I will take away your posterity, and will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both bond and free. ²²I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and made Israel sin.’ ²³And concerning Jezebel the Lᴏʀᴅ also spoke, saying, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’ ²⁴The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field.” ²⁵But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lᴏʀᴅ, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up. ²⁶And he behaved very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the Lᴏʀᴅ had cast out before the children of Israel. ²⁷So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning. ²⁸And the word of the Lᴏʀᴅ came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ²⁹“See how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity in his days. In the days of his son I will bring the calamity on his house.”

¹Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; ²for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. ³For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, ⁵not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; ⁶that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. ⁷For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. ⁸Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit. ⁹But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; ¹⁰and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; ¹¹that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, ¹²that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing. ¹³But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. ¹⁴For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. ¹⁵For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. ¹⁶For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸Therefore comfort one another with these words.

¹Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. ²And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ³So the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁴Then a herald cried aloud: “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, ⁵that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; ⁶and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.” ⁷So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁸Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. ⁹They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! ¹⁰You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image; ¹¹and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. ¹²There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.” ¹³Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. ¹⁴Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? ¹⁵Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” ¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” ¹⁹Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. ²⁰And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. ²¹Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. ²²Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. ²³And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. ²⁴Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” ²⁵“Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” ²⁶Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. ²⁷And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them. ²⁸Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! ²⁹Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.” ³⁰Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon.

¹Oh, give thanks to the Lᴏʀᴅ, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. ²Let the redeemed of the Lᴏʀᴅ say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, ³And gathered out of the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south. ⁴They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; They found no city to dwell in. ⁵Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in them. ⁶Then they cried out to the Lᴏʀᴅ in their trouble, And He delivered them out of their distresses. ⁷And He led them forth by the right way, That they might go to a city for a dwelling place. ⁸Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lᴏʀᴅ for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! ⁹For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness. ¹⁰Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Bound in affliction and irons— ¹¹Because they rebelled against the words of God, And despised the counsel of the Most High, ¹²Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help. ¹³Then they cried out to the Lᴏʀᴅ in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. ¹⁴He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces. ¹⁵Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lᴏʀᴅ for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! ¹⁶For He has broken the gates of bronze, And cut the bars of iron in two. ¹⁷Fools, because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted. ¹⁸Their soul abhorred all manner of food, And they drew near to the gates of death. ¹⁹Then they cried out to the Lᴏʀᴅ in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. ²⁰He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions. ²¹Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lᴏʀᴅ for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! ²²Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare His works with rejoicing. ²³Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, ²⁴They see the works of the Lᴏʀᴅ, And His wonders in the deep. ²⁵For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. ²⁶They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble. ²⁷They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end. ²⁸Then they cry out to the Lᴏʀᴅ in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. ²⁹He calms the storm, So that its waves are still. ³⁰Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven. ³¹Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lᴏʀᴅ for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! ³²Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the company of the elders. ³³He turns rivers into a wilderness, And the watersprings into dry ground; ³⁴A fruitful land into barrenness, For the wickedness of those who dwell in it. ³⁵He turns a wilderness into pools of water, And dry land into watersprings. ³⁶There He makes the hungry dwell, That they may establish a city for a dwelling place, ³⁷And sow fields and plant vineyards, That they may yield a fruitful harvest. ³⁸He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly; And He does not let their cattle decrease. ³⁹When they are diminished and brought low Through oppression, affliction and sorrow, ⁴⁰He pours contempt on princes, And causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way; ⁴¹Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction, And makes their families like a flock. ⁴²The righteous see it and rejoice, And all iniquity stops its mouth. ⁴³Whoever is wise will observe these things, And they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lᴏʀᴅ.