And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I {am} Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.

For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.

For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that {their} power is gone, and {there is} none shut up, or left. {power: Heb. hand}

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue {that} shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This {is} the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness {is} of me, saith the LORD.

For I {am} with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. {Peter: this name signifies a rock}

In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months: {exceeding fair: or, fair to God}

Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I {am} with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished. {not leave...: or, not utterly cut thee off}

For we {were} bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. {to repair: Heb. to set up}

Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her.

God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.

And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with {their} face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I {am} the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. {nursing fathers: Heb. nourishers} {queens: Heb. princesses}

And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

And he brought up Hadassah, that {is}, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid {was} fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter. {brought...: Heb. nourished} {fair...: Heb. fair of form, and good of countenance}

Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; {have...: or, strengthened}

Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD {are} upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.

I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:

And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said {to} this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. {Jehovahjireh: that is, The Lord will see, or, provide}

And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who {is there}, that, {being} as I {am}, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.

And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day {is} a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and {there is} not strength to bring forth. {blasphemy: or, provocation}

Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.

And David said, What have I now done? {Is there} not a cause?

Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.

He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.

And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? {is it} not {so}? {take...: Heb. possess us, or, impoverish us?}

And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. {favour: or, kindness} {in his...: Heb. before him}

For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

And David perceived that the LORD had confirmed him king over Israel, for his kingdom was lifted up on high, because of his people Israel.

{Thou art} of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, {and} holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth {the man that is} more righteous than he? {iniquity: or, grievance}

And I will fasten him {as} a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.

Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, {and} went not out of the door?

And David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake.

Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man {is} not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.