³⁹ As for me, even though I am the anointed king, I have little power today. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too fierce for me.^(A) May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his evil! ’^(B)

⁵ King Zedekiah said, ‘Here he is; he’s in your hands since the king can’t do anything against you.’

⁷ All the administrators of the kingdom^(A) – the prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors – have agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an edict that, for thirty days, anyone who petitions any god or man except you, the king, will be thrown into the lions’ den.^(B)