had me brought from the palace courtyard. They put me under the care of Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, who was to see that I got home safely. And so I stayed there among the people.

When I did not answer, Nebuzaradan said, "Go back to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylonia has made governor of the towns of Judah. You may stay with him and live among the people, or you may go anywhere you think you should." Then he gave me a present and some food to take with me, and let me go on my way.

Some of the Judean officers and soldiers had not surrendered. They heard that the king of Babylonia had made Gedaliah governor of the land and had placed him in charge of all those who had not been taken away to Babylonia---the poorest people in the land.

and gave the following order to Hilkiah the priest, to Ahikam son of Shaphan, to Achbor son of Micaiah, to Shaphan, the court secretary, and to Asaiah, the king's attendant:

Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to consult a woman named Huldah, a prophet who lived in the newer part of Jerusalem. (Her husband Shallum, the son of Tikvah and grandson of Harhas, was in charge of the Temple robes.) They described to her what had happened,

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia made Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, governor of Judah, and placed him in charge of all those who had not been taken away to Babylonia.

and gave the following order to Hilkiah, to Ahikam son of Shaphan, to Abdon son of Micaiah, to Shaphan, the court secretary, and to Asaiah, the king's attendant:

Listen, Jeremiah! Everyone in this land---the kings of Judah, the officials, the priests, and the people---will be against you. But today I am giving you the strength to resist them; you will be like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. They will not defeat you, for I will be with you to protect you. I, the LORD, have spoken."

(SEE 1:18)

Then I said, " LORD, you understand. Remember me and help me. Let me have revenge on those who persecute me. Do not be so patient with them that they succeed in killing me. Remember that it is for your sake that I am insulted.

I did not spend my time with other people, laughing and having a good time. In obedience to your orders I stayed by myself and was filled with anger.

To this the LORD replied, "If you return, I will take you back, and you will be my servant again. If instead of talking nonsense you proclaim a worthwhile message, you will be my prophet again. The people will come back to you, and you will not need to go to them.

I will rescue you from the power of wicked and violent people. I, the LORD, have spoken."

and when Jezebel was killing the LORD's prophets, Obadiah took a hundred of them, hid them in caves in two groups of fifty, and provided them with food and water.)

There will be people in Jerusalem and on Mount Zion who will survive, because the LORD Almighty is determined to make this happen.

"And this is what the LORD has said about the Assyrian emperor: 'He will not enter this city or shoot a single arrow against it. No soldiers with shields will come near the city, and no siege mounds will be built around it.

The argument became so violent that the commander was afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces. So he ordered his soldiers to go down into the group, get Paul away from them, and take him into the fort.

He said, "The Jewish authorities have agreed to ask you tomorrow to take Paul down to the Council, pretending that the Council wants to get more accurate information about him.

The commander said, "Don't tell anyone that you have reported this to me." And he sent the young man away.

Provide some horses for Paul to ride and get him safely through to Governor Felix."

"Claudius Lysias to His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings.

I wanted to know what they were accusing him of, so I took him down to their Council.

And when I was informed that there was a plot against him, at once I decided to send him to you. I have told his accusers to make their charges against him before you."

The next day the foot soldiers returned to the fort and left the horsemen to go on with him.

The governor read the letter and asked Paul what province he was from. When he found out that he was from Cilicia,

to do them the favor of having Paul come to Jerusalem, for they had made a plot to kill him on the way.

Festus answered, "Paul is being kept a prisoner in Caesarea, and I myself will be going back there soon.

But the army officer wanted to save Paul, so he stopped them from doing this. Instead, he ordered everyone who could swim to jump overboard first and swim ashore;

But the earth helped the woman; it opened its mouth and swallowed the water that had come from the dragon's mouth.