^11 (A)In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to ^(B)the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

⁴ Then ^(A)the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, ⁵ and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of ^(B)Darius king of Persia.

¹⁶ For ^(A)by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or ^(B)dominions or ^[a]principalities or ^[b]powers. All things were created ^(C)through Him and for Him. ^17 (D)And He is before all things, and in Him ^(E)all things consist. ¹⁸ And ^(F)He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, ^(G)the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.