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10 Never slander a worker to the employer,
    or the person will curse you, and you will pay for it.

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10 “Do not slander a servant to their master,
    or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.

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Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval.

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Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?(A) To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

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21 Don’t eavesdrop on others—you may hear your servant curse you.

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21 Do not pay attention to every word people say,
    or you(A) may hear your servant cursing you—

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24 Then the king gave orders to arrest the men who had maliciously accused Daniel. He had them thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. The lions leaped on them and tore them apart before they even hit the floor of the den.

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24 At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den,(A) along with their wives and children.(B) And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.(C)

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13 Then they told the king, “That man Daniel, one of the captives from Judah, is ignoring you and your law. He still prays to his God three times a day.”

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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.”

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But some of the astrologers[a] went to the king and informed on the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “Long live the king! 10 You issued a decree requiring all the people to bow down and worship the gold statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments. 11 That decree also states that those who refuse to obey must be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up.”

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in, 14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? 15 I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments.[b] But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

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Footnotes

  1. 3:8 Aramaic Chaldeans.
  2. 3:15 Aramaic the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments.

At this time some astrologers[a](A) came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever!(B) 10 Your Majesty has issued a decree(C) that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold,(D) 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego(E)—who pay no attention(F) to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”(G)

13 Furious(H) with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods(I) or worship the image(J) of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god(K) will be able to rescue(L) you from my hand?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego(M) replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver(N) us from it, and he will deliver(O) us[b] from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.(P)

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 3:8 Or Chaldeans
  2. Daniel 3:17 Or If the God we serve is able to deliver us, then he will deliver us from the blazing furnace and

27 Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing,
    but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed.

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27 Those who give to the poor will lack nothing,(A)
    but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.(B)

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More Sayings of the Wise

23 Here are some further sayings of the wise:

It is wrong to show favoritism when passing judgment.
24 A judge who says to the wicked, “You are innocent,”
    will be cursed by many people and denounced by the nations.

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Further Sayings of the Wise

23 These also are sayings of the wise:(A)

To show partiality(B) in judging is not good:(C)
24 Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,”(D)
    will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.

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26 People curse those who hoard their grain,
    but they bless the one who sells in time of need.

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26 People curse the one who hoards grain,
    but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell.

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22 That was how King Joash repaid Jehoiada for his loyalty—by killing his son. Zechariah’s last words as he died were, “May the Lord see what they are doing and avenge my death!”

The End of Joash’s Reign

23 In the spring of the year[a] the Aramean army marched against Joash. They invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the nation. Then they sent all the plunder back to their king in Damascus. 24 Although the Arameans attacked with only a small army, the Lord helped them conquer the much larger army of Judah. The people of Judah had abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so judgment was carried out against Joash.

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Footnotes

  1. 24:23 Hebrew At the turn of the year. The first day of the year in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in March or April.

22 King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, “May the Lord see this and call you to account.”(A)

23 At the turn of the year,[a] the army of Aram marched against Joash; it invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the people.(B) They sent all the plunder to their king in Damascus. 24 Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men,(C) the Lord delivered into their hands a much larger army.(D) Because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, judgment was executed on Joash.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 24:23 Probably in the spring

26 Mephibosheth replied, “My lord the king, my servant Ziba deceived me. I told him, ‘Saddle my donkey[a] so I can go with the king.’ For as you know I am crippled. 27 Ziba has slandered me by saying that I refused to come. But I know that my lord the king is like an angel of God, so do what you think is best.

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Footnotes

  1. 19:26 As in Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions; Hebrew reads I will saddle a donkey for myself.

26 He said, “My lord the king, since I your servant am lame,(A) I said, ‘I will have my donkey saddled and will ride on it, so I can go with the king.’ But Ziba(B) my servant betrayed me. 27 And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. My lord the king is like an angel(C) of God; so do whatever you wish.

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David and Ziba

16 When David had gone a little beyond the summit of the Mount of Olives, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth,[a] was waiting there for him. He had two donkeys loaded with 200 loaves of bread, 100 clusters of raisins, 100 bunches of summer fruit, and a wineskin full of wine.

“What are these for?” the king asked Ziba.

Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s people to ride on, and the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat. The wine is for those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”

“And where is Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson?” the king asked him.

“He stayed in Jerusalem,” Ziba replied. “He said, ‘Today I will get back the kingdom of my grandfather Saul.’”

“In that case,” the king told Ziba, “I give you everything Mephibosheth owns.”

“I bow before you,” Ziba replied. “May I always be pleasing to you, my lord the king.”

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Footnotes

  1. 16:1 Mephibosheth is another name for Merib-baal.

David and Ziba

16 When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba,(A) the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine.(B)

The king asked Ziba, “Why have you brought these?”

Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh(C) those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”

The king then asked, “Where is your master’s grandson?”(D)

Ziba(E) said to him, “He is staying in Jerusalem, because he thinks, ‘Today the Israelites will restore to me my grandfather’s kingdom.’”

Then the king said to Ziba, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth(F) is now yours.”

“I humbly bow,” Ziba said. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.”

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15 “Will you lead me to this band of raiders?” David asked.

The young man replied, “If you take an oath in God’s name that you will not kill me or give me back to my master, then I will guide you to them.”

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15 David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?”

He answered, “Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master,(A) and I will take you down to them.”

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