Restin the LORDand waitpatientlyfor Him; Do not fretbecause of him who prospersin his way,Because of the manwho carriesout wickedschemes.
The courierswentout impelledby the king'scommandwhile the decreewas issuedat the citadelin Susa;and while the kingand Hamansatdownto drink,the cityof Susawas in confusion.
"Howmuchlesswhenyou sayyou do not beholdHim, The caseis beforeHim, and you must waitfor Him!
Waitfor the LORD;Be strongand let your hearttakecourage;Yes, waitfor the LORD.
I waitedpatientlyfor the LORD;And He inclinedto me and heardmy cry.
"I do not reproveyou for your sacrifices,And your burntofferingsare continuallybeforeMe.
My soul[waits] in silencefor Godonly;From Him is my salvation.
My soul,waitin silencefor Godonly,For my hopeis from Him.
Do not say,"I will repayevil";Waitfor the LORD,and He will saveyou.
Ifyou seeoppressionof the poorand denialof justiceand righteousnessin the province,do not be shockedat the sight;for one officialwatchesoveranother official,and there are higherofficialsoverthem.
For thusthe LordGOD,the HolyOneof Israel,has said,"In repentanceand restyou will be saved,In quietnessand trustis your strength."But you were not willing,
And I will waitfor the LORDwho is hidingHis facefrom the houseof Jacob;I will even lookeagerlyfor Him.
Righteousare You, O LORD,that I would plead[my] casewith You; IndeedI would discussmattersof justicewith You: Whyhas the wayof the wickedprospered?[Why] are allthose who dealin treacheryat ease?
"Then the kingwill doas he pleases,and he will exaltand magnifyhimself aboveeverygodand will speakmonstrousthingsagainstthe Godof gods;and he will prosperuntilthe indignationis finished,for that which is decreedwill be done.
So they saidto him, "Whatshould we doto you that the seamay becomecalmfor us?"-- for the seawas becomingincreasinglystormy.
"For the visionis yetfor the appointedtime;It hastenstoward the goaland it will not fail.Thoughit tarries,waitfor it; For it will certainlycome,it will not delay.
Let us not lose heartin doinggood,for in duetimewe will reapif we do not grow weary.
ThenJoshuaspoketo the LORDin the daywhen the LORDdeliveredup the Amoritesbeforethe sonsof Israel,and he saidin the sightof Israel,"O sun,standstillat Gibeon,And O moonin the valleyof Aijalon."
