¹² But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego^(A)—who pay no attention^(B) to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”^(C)

¹³ Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah,^(A) pays no attention^(B) to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.”

⁴⁹ Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon,^(A) while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.^(B)

⁷ and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”^(A)

²⁸ “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,”^(A) he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”^(B)

⁴ And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.^(A)

⁸ Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs^(A) are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey^(B) the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.^(C)

⁷ As they danced, they sang:^(A)

⁸ Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?^(C)” ⁹ And from that time on Saul kept a close^(D) eye on David.

¹⁰ The next day an evil^[a] spirit^(E) from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre,^(F) as he usually^(G) did. Saul had a spear^(H) in his hand ¹¹ and he hurled it, saying to himself,^(I) “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded^(J) him twice.^(K)