³⁹ And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah^(A) are too strong^(B) for me.^(C) May the Lord repay^(D) the evildoer according to his evil deeds!”

⁵ “He is in your hands,”^(A) King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing^(B) to oppose you.”

⁷ The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors^(A) have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.^(B)