³ Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence.^(A) Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.

⁸ Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”

“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”^(A)

⁹ Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord?^(B) Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

¹⁹ Because of the high position he gave him, all the nations and peoples of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death;^(A) those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled.^(B)

¹⁶ “We will not listen^(A) to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord!^{(B) 17} We will certainly do everything we said we would:^(C) We will burn incense^(D) to the Queen of Heaven^(E) and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials^(F) did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem.^(G) At that time we had plenty of food^(H) and were well off and suffered no harm.^(I)