22Just like the priests were …

23We must unwaveringly keep holding tight to what we believe. Since God faithfully does all he promised to do, we must confidently expect him to keep doing that.

24Since God faithfully does all …

3God is pleased with those …

4 I, John, am writing this to you believers in the seven congregations that are located in Asia province. I pray that God the Father, God’s Spirit, and Jesus Christ be kind to (OR, bless) you and cause you to have inner peace. God the Father is the one who exists, who has always existed, and who will always exist. The Spirit of God, who is in front of God’s throne, has all kinds of power (OR, The Spirit of God is symbolized by seven spirits who are in front of God’s throne).

5Jesus Christ is the one who has faithfully told people about God. He is the first one ◄whom God has raised from the dead/who became alive again after being dead►, in order to show that God will raise us who trust in Jesus. Jesus is the one who rules the kings of the earth. He is the one who loves us. He is the one who has erased the record our sins. He did that by shedding his blood when he died on the cross.

22Now, Belshazzar, you have become …

23You have considered yourself to be greater than God, the Lord of heaven. So you have commanded your servants to bring to you these sacred cups, which were dedicated to the Supreme God, and which were taken from his temple in Jerusalem. You and your officials and your wives and your ◄concubines/slave wives► have been drinking wine from these cups, while you have been praising your own gods—gods which are made of gold and silver and bronze and iron and wood and stone. Those are gods that cannot see, that cannot hear, and that do not know anything! You have not honored the God who gives you breath and who controls everything that happens to you.

24So God sent that hand …

7Purify me from the guilt …

8Allow/Cause me to be joyful [DOU] again;

9Do not continue to look …

3Also, you need to do …

4You have come to the Lord Jesus. He is like an important stone [MET] put in the foundation of a building, but he is alive, not lifeless like a stone. He was rejected by many people {Many people rejected him}, but God chose him and considers him to be very precious.

5And like men build houses …

5Yahweh, your faithful love for …

6Your righteous behavior is as permanent as the highest mountains [MET],

7God, your faithful love for us is very precious.

13So they cannot prove to …

14But I admit to you (sg) that this is true: I do worship the God that our ancestors worshipped. It is true that I follow the way that Jesus taught us. The Jewish leaders call that a false religion/teaching. I also believe everything that was written by Moses {that Moses wrote} in the laws that God gave him, and everything that was written by the other prophets {that the other prophets wrote} in their books [MTY].

15I confidently expect, just like some of these men also expect, that some day God will cause everyone who has died to become alive again. He will ◄cause to become alive again/raise from the dead► both those who were righteous and those who were wicked.

1You who are the daughter of a prince/king,

2Your navel is like [MET] …

2When the king saw Esther …

3Then the king asked her, "Esther, what do you want? Tell me, and I will give you what you want, even if you ask me to give you half of my kingdom!"

4Esther replied, "Your majesty, if …

6Today I am being put …

7Our twelve tribes are also confidently waiting for God to do for us what he promised, as they respectfully worship him, day and night. Respected king, I confidently expect that God will do what he promised, and they also believe that! But that is the reason that these Jewish leaders [SYN] are accusing me!

8They believe that God can …

18But, when they get up …

19And think about horses. Job, are you the one who caused horses to be strong?

20Are you the one who …

12The amount of time that …

13‘When the time that you promised to dedicate yourself to me is ended, go to the entrance of the Sacred Tent

14and offer as sacrifices to me three animals that have no defects: Offer a one-year-old ram that will be burned completely, a one-year-old female lamb as a sacrifice to enable me to forgive your sins, and one full-grown ram as a sacrifice to maintain fellowship with me.

7It will be terrible for …

8So, if you are wanting to use one of your hands or feet to sin, stop using that hand or foot! Even if you have to cut it off to avoid sinning, do it [MET]! It is good that you not sin and go where you will live with God eternally, even though while you are still here on earth you are maimed or lame and do not have a hand or a foot. But it is not good that you continue to have your two hands and two feet and do [MTY] the sinful things you want to, and as a result, you are thrown into hell, where there is eternal fire burning.

9If what you see you makes you want to sin, stop looking at those things! Even if you have to gouge out one of your eyes and throw it away to avoid sinning, do it [HYP]! It is good that you not sin and go where you will live with God eternally, even though while you are still here on earth you have only one eye. But it is not good that you continue to have your two eyes and do the sinful things you want to, and as a result, you are thrown {God throws you} into hell where there is eternal fire burning."

3They kept saying, "Yahweh, God …

4Early the next morning the people built an altar. Then they completely burned some sacrifices on the altar, and also offered other sacrifices to maintain fellowship with God.

5Then, because they had vowed …

1So the king and Haman …

2As they were drinking wine, the king asked again, "Esther, what do you want me to do for you? Tell me, and I will do it for you. Even if you ask me for half of my kingdom, I will give it to you."

3Esther replied, "O king, if you are pleased with me, and if you are willing to do what I ask, save me, and save my people. That is what I want you to do for me.

11and in order that you …

12My fellow believers, I want you to know that the troubles I have experienced have not prevented me from proclaiming the good message to people. Instead, these things that I have experienced have enabled even more people to hear the good message about Christ.

13Specifically, all the military guards …

17◄You ought to understand that …

18You should know that what comes out of people’s mouths, meaning everything that they say [SYN], comes from their inner beings/hearts. Many of the things that they say cause God to consider them to be unacceptable to him.

19It is people’s innermost beings …

13They are like roaring lions …

14I am completely exhausted [MET],

15My strength is all dried …

6Since he has now stopped …

7So now, instead of punishing him any longer, you need to forgive him and deal kindly with him. If you do not forgive him, he may become so sad that he will begin to think that you will never forgive him (OR, will stop believing in Christ).

8For those reasons, I beg …

14It is as though I …

15I am very terrified;

16"And now I [SYN] am …