Ezra 4:11-16

11(This is a copy of the letter that they sent.) “To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now 12be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are afinishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay btribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired. 14Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king, 15in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste. 16We make known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.”

Ezra 8:21-22

Fasting and Prayer for Protection

21 cThen I proclaimed a fast there, at the river dAhava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, eto seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. 22For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, f“The hand of our God is for good on gall who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.”

Psalms 27:1-2

The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation

Of David.

1 The Lord is my hlight and my isalvation;
jwhom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold
Or refuge
of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assail me
to leat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.

Psalms 56:2-4

2my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many attack me proudly.
3When I am afraid,
I mput my trust in you.
4In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; nI shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
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