Then the king gave orders for all his officials to come together---the princes, governors, lieutenant governors, commissioners, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces. They were to attend the dedication of the statue which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

When all these officials gathered for the dedication and stood in front of the statue,

This very day the LORD will put you in my power; I will defeat you and cut off your head. And I will give the bodies of the Philistine soldiers to the birds and animals to eat. Then the whole world will know that Israel has a God,

and everyone here will see that the LORD does not need swords or spears to save his people. He is victorious in battle, and he will put all of you in our power."

Now, LORD our God, rescue us from the Assyrians, so that all the nations of the world will know that only you, O LORD, are God."

May they know that you alone are the LORD, supreme ruler over all the earth.

Praise the LORD, all people on earth; praise his glory and might.

Bow down before the Holy One when he appears; tremble before him, all the earth!

Your enemies do not know that you will punish them. LORD, put them to shame and let them suffer; let them suffer the punishment you have prepared. Show them how much you love your people.

When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited, because all of them heard the believers talking in their own languages.

How is it, then, that all of us hear them speaking in our own native languages?

from Phrygia and Pamphylia, from Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene. Some of us are from Rome,

Amazed and confused, they kept asking each other, "What does this mean?"

King Agrippa! I can speak to you with all boldness, because you know about these things. I am sure that you have taken notice of every one of them, for this thing has not happened hidden away in a corner.

When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you; your troubles will not overwhelm you. When you pass through fire, you will not be burned; the hard trials that come will not hurt you.

put out fierce fires, escaped being killed by the sword. They were weak, but became strong; they were mighty in battle and defeated the armies of foreigners.

As for you, even the hairs of your head have all been counted.

Everyone will hate you because of me.

But not a single hair from your heads will be lost.

I beg you, then, eat some food; you need it in order to survive. Not even a hair of your heads will be lost."