“I hope I continue to please you, sir,” she replied. “You have comforted me by speaking so kindly to me, even though I am not one of your workers.”

And don’t worry about those donkeys that were lost three days ago, for they have been found. And I am here to tell you that you and your family are the focus of all Israel’s hopes.”

Samuel Executes King Agag

Then Samuel said, “Bring King Agag to me.” Agag arrived full of hope, for he thought, “Surely the worst is over, and I have been spared!”

Ahithophel told him, “Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, for he has left them here to look after the palace. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you.”

“I have one small request to make of you,” she said. “I hope you won’t turn me down.” “What is it, my mother?” he asked. “You know I won’t refuse you.”

“Next year at this time you will be holding a son in your arms!” “No, my lord!” she cried. “O man of God, don’t deceive me and get my hopes up like that.”

Then she said, “Did I ask you for a son, my lord? And didn’t I say, ‘Don’t deceive me and get my hopes up’?”

Hope for Israel’s Royal Line

In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, Evil-merodach ascended to the Babylonian throne. He was kind to Jehoiachin and released him from prison on April 2 of that year.

Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, a descendant of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God, for we have married these pagan women of the land. But in spite of this there is hope for Israel.

The Victory of the Jews

So on March 7 the two decrees of the king were put into effect. On that day, the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but quite the opposite happened. It was the Jews who overpowered their enemies.

Let its morning stars remain dark. Let it hope for light, but in vain; may it never see the morning light.

Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence? Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope?

And so at last the poor have hope, and the snapping jaws of the wicked are shut.

The caravans from Tema search for this water; the travelers from Sheba hope to find it.

They count on it but are disappointed. When they arrive, their hopes are dashed.

Job Cries Out to God

“My days fly faster than a weaver’s shuttle. They end without hope.

The same happens to all who forget God. The hopes of the godless evaporate.

Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and will rest in safety.

But the wicked will be blinded. They will have no escape. Their only hope is death.”

God might kill me, but I have no other hope. I am going to argue my case with him.

“Even a tree has more hope! If it is cut down, it will sprout again and grow new branches.

Can the dead live again? If so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle, and I would eagerly await the release of death.

as water wears away the stones and floods wash away the soil, so you destroy people’s hope.

My days are over. My hopes have disappeared. My heart’s desires are broken.

Where then is my hope? Can anyone find it?