You have nothing to fear. I will take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them with kind words that touched their hearts.

and every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the king's son, who is heir to the throne, to the son of the slave woman who grinds corn. The firstborn of all the cattle will die also.

Your hearts will pound with fear at everything you see. Every morning you will wish for evening; every evening you will wish for morning.

would you wait until they had grown up? Would this keep you from marrying someone else? No, my daughters, you know that's impossible. The Lord has turned against me, and I feel very sorry for you.”

You know, O Lord, that we pass through life like exiles and strangers, as our ancestors did. Our days are like a passing shadow, and we cannot escape death.

Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, of the clan of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have broken faith with God by marrying foreign women, but even so there is still hope for Israel.

For the Jews there was joy and relief, happiness and a sense of victory.

It may even be that my boldness will save me,     since no wicked person would dare to face God.

Think back now. Name a single case     where a righteous person met with disaster.

If only he would go ahead and kill me!