Est 7:4-6, Job 31:34, Pro 24:11-12, 31:8-9, Jer 38:1-6 | ESV | STEP | For we have been sold , I and my people , to be destroyed , to be killed , and to be annihilated . If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women , I would have been silent , for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king .

Esther 7:4-6

4 ^aFor we have been sold, I and my people, ^bto be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.” 5 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared ^{▼▼Hebrew whose heart has filled him} to do this?” 6 And Esther said, ^d“A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.

Job 31:34

34 because I stood in great fear of ^ethe multitude,
and the contempt of families terrified me,
so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—

Proverbs 24:11-12

11 ^fRescue those who are being taken away to death;
hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
^gdoes not he who ^hweighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who ⁱkeeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not repay man ^jaccording to his work?

Proverbs 31:8-9

8 ^kOpen your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute. ^{▼▼Hebrew are sons of passing away}
9 Open your mouth, ^mjudge righteously,
ⁿdefend the rights of ^othe poor and needy.

Jeremiah 38:1-6

Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern

1 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, ^pJucal the son of Shelemiah, and ^qPashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people: 2 “Thus says the Lord: ^rHe who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^sbut he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. 3 Thus says the Lord: ^tThis city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.” 4 Then the officials said to the king, ^u“Let this man be put to death, ^vfor he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking ^wthe welfare of this people, but their harm.” 5 King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, ^xfor the king can do nothing against you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah ^yand cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in ^zthe court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down ^aaby ropes. ^abAnd there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and ^acJeremiah sank in the mud.