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God Wants You to Prosper

Lies of the Heart

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Grateful Always: 5 Days to a Thankful Heart

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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkDAN">
 <div class="chapter ch6" data-usfm="DAN.6">
 <div class="label">6</div><div class="s1">Daniel in the Den of Lions</div><div class="p"> # In Aramaic texts 6:1-28 is numbered 6:2-29. 1It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, 2with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. 3Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. 5Finally these men said, &#8220;We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: &#8220;May King Darius live forever! 7The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions&#8217; den. 8Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered&#8212;in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.&#8221; 9So King Darius put the decree in writing.</div><div class="p"> 10Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: &#8220;Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions&#8217; den?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The king answered, &#8220;The decree stands&#8212;in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13Then they said to the king, &#8220;Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.&#8221; 14When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.</div><div class="p"> 15Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, &#8220;Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions&#8217; den. The king said to Daniel, &#8220;May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel&#8217;s situation might not be changed. 18Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.</div><div class="p"> 19At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions&#8217; den. 20When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, &#8220;Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21Daniel answered, &#8220;May the king live forever! 22My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.</div><div class="p"> 24At the king&#8217;s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions&#8217; den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.</div><div class="p"> 25Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth:</div><div class="pmo">&#8220;May you prosper greatly!</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm"> 26&#8220;I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.</div><div class="qm1">&#8220;For he is the living God</div><div class="qm2">and he endures forever;</div><div class="qm1">his kingdom will not be destroyed,</div><div class="qm2">his dominion will never end.</div><div class="qm1"> 27He rescues and he saves;</div><div class="qm2">he performs signs and wonders</div><div class="qm2">in the heavens and on the earth.</div><div class="qm1">He has rescued Daniel</div><div class="qm2">from the power of the lions.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 28So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus#6:28 Or Darius, that is, the reign of Cyrus the Persian.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkDAN">
 <div class="chapter ch9" data-usfm="DAN.9">
 <div class="label">9</div><div class="s1">Daniel&#8217;s Prayer</div><div class="p"> 1In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes#9:1 Hebrew Ahasuerus (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian#9:1 Or Chaldean kingdom&#8212; 2in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.</div><div class="p"> 4I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:</div><div class="pm">&#8220;Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.</div><div class="pm"> 7&#8220;Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame&#8212;the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. 9The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; 10we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.</div><div class="pm">&#8220;Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. 12You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. 13Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. 14The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.</div><div class="pm"> 15&#8220;Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.</div><div class="pm"> 17&#8220;Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Seventy &#8220;Sevens&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill&#8212; 21while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. 22He instructed me and said to me, &#8220;Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. 23As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision:</div><div class="p"> 24&#8220;Seventy &#8216;sevens&#8217;#9:24 Or &#8216;weeks&#8217;; also in verses 25 and 26 are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish#9:24 Or restrain transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.#9:24 Or the most holy One</div><div class="p"> 25&#8220;Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One,#9:25 Or an anointed one; also in verse 26 the ruler, comes, there will be seven &#8216;sevens,&#8217; and sixty-two &#8216;sevens.&#8217; It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26After the sixty-two &#8216;sevens,&#8217; the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing.#9:26 Or death and will have no one; or death, but not for himself The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27He will confirm a covenant with many for one &#8216;seven.&#8217;#9:27 Or &#8216;week&#8217; In the middle of the &#8216;seven&#8217;#9:27 Or &#8216;week&#8217; he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple#9:27 Septuagint and Theodotion; Hebrew wing he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.#9:27 Or it&#8221;#9:27 Or And one who causes desolation will come upon the wing of the abominable temple, until the end that is decreed is poured out on the desolated city</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZR">
 <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="EZR.1">
 <div class="label">1</div><div class="s1">Cyrus Helps the Exiles to Return</div><div class="p"> 1In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:</div><div class="pmo"> 2&#8220;This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. 4And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites&#8212;everyone whose heart God had moved&#8212;prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. 6All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings.</div><div class="p"> 7Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god.#1:7 Or gods 8Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.</div><div class="p"> 9This was the inventory:</div><div class="b"></div><table class="table">
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">gold dishes</td>
 <td class="cell">30</td>
</tr>
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">silver dishes</td>
 <td class="cell">1,000</td>
</tr>
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">silver pans#1:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.</td>
 <td class="cell">29</td>
</tr>
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">10gold bowls</td>
 <td class="cell">30</td>
</tr>
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">matching silver bowls</td>
 <td class="cell">410</td>
</tr>
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">other articles</td>
 <td class="cell">1,000</td>
</tr>
</table><div class="b"> </div><div class="p"> 11In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along with the exiles when they came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.</div>
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New International Version

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2CH">
 <div class="chapter ch36" data-usfm="2CH.36.22+2CH.36.23">
 <div class="p">22In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 23&#8220;This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPSA">
 <div class="chapter ch98" data-usfm="PSA.98">
 <div class="label">98</div><div class="cl">Psalm 98</div><div class="d">A psalm.</div><div class="q1"> 1Sing to the Lord a new song,</div><div class="q2">for he has done marvelous things;</div><div class="q1">his right hand and his holy arm</div><div class="q2">have worked salvation for him.</div><div class="q1"> 2The Lord has made his salvation known</div><div class="q2">and revealed his righteousness to the nations.</div><div class="q1"> 3He has remembered his love</div><div class="q2">and his faithfulness to Israel;</div><div class="q1">all the ends of the earth have seen</div><div class="q2">the salvation of our God.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 4Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,</div><div class="q2">burst into jubilant song with music;</div><div class="q1"> 5make music to the Lord with the harp,</div><div class="q2">with the harp and the sound of singing,</div><div class="q1"> 6with trumpets and the blast of the ram&#8217;s horn&#8212;</div><div class="q2">shout for joy before the Lord, the King.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 7Let the sea resound, and everything in it,</div><div class="q2">the world, and all who live in it.</div><div class="q1"> 8Let the rivers clap their hands,</div><div class="q2">let the mountains sing together for joy;</div><div class="q1"> 9let them sing before the Lord,</div><div class="q2">for he comes to judge the earth.</div><div class="q1">He will judge the world in righteousness</div><div class="q2">and the peoples with equity.</div>
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