Psalm 68:6
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6 God gives the desolate a home to live in;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious live in a parched land.(A)
Psalm 113:9
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9 He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the Lord!(A)
Psalm 107:10
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10 Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and in irons,(A)
Psalm 107:14
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14 he brought them out of darkness and gloom,
and broke their bonds apart.(A)
Isaiah 61:1
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The Good News of Deliverance
61 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,(A)
Psalm 146:7
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7 who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;(A)
Psalm 107:34
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34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.(A)
1 Samuel 2:5
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5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.(A)
Galatians 4:27
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27 For it is written,
“Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children,
burst into song and shout, you who endure no birth pangs,
for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous
than the children of the one who is married.”(A)
Psalm 107:40-41
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40 he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes,(A)
41 but he raises up the needy out of distress
and makes their families like flocks.(B)
Psalm 69:33
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33 For the Lord hears the needy
and does not despise his own who are in bonds.(A)
Acts 12:6-25
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Peter Delivered from Prison
6 The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison.(A) 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.(B) 8 The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 Peter[a] went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.(C) 10 After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him.(D) 11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”(E)
12 As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many had gathered and were praying.(F) 13 When he knocked at the outer gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer.(G) 14 On recognizing Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate.(H) 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she insisted that it was so. They said, “It is his angel.”(I) 16 Meanwhile Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the gate they saw him and were amazed. 17 He motioned to them with his hand to be silent and described for them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he added, “Tell this to James and to the brothers and sisters.” Then he left and went to another place.(J)
18 When morning came, there was no small commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 When Herod had searched for him and could not find him, he examined the guards and ordered them to be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.(K)
The Death of Herod
20 Now Herod[b] was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they came to him in a body, and after winning over Blastus, the king’s personal attendant, they asked for a reconciliation, because their country depended on the king’s country for food.(L) 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat on the platform, and delivered a public address to them. 22 The people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a mortal!” 23 And immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.(M)
24 But the word of God continued to advance and gain adherents.(N) 25 Then after completing their mission Barnabas and Saul returned to[c] Jerusalem and brought with them John, whose other name was Mark.(O)
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Hosea 2:3
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3 or I will strip her naked
and expose her as in the day she was born
and make her like a wilderness
and turn her into a parched land
and kill her with thirst.(A)
Acts 16:26
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26 Suddenly there was an earthquake so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.(A)
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Malachi 1:3
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3 but I have hated Esau; I have made his hill country a desolation and his heritage a desert for jackals.(A)
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Deuteronomy 28:23-24
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23 The sky over your head shall be bronze and the earth under you iron.(A) 24 The Lord will change the rain of your land into powder, and only dust shall come down upon you from the sky until you are destroyed.
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