“As my life
Was ebbing away,
I remembered
Yahweh.
My prayer
Came to you
Into your holy Temple.
Those who worship
Vain idols
Forsake their true loyalty.”
As Jonah was sinking away in the sea, he remembered Yahweh. His prayer came to Yahweh in his holy Temple. Jonah was lucky, since he worshipped a true loyal God. However, those who worshipped vain idols would not have loyalty.
“Thus,
All that you brought
Upon us,
All that you have done
To us,
You have done
By a true judgment.
You have handed us over
To our enemies,
Lawless,
Hateful rebels.
You have handed us over
To an unjust king,
The most wicked
In all the world.”
Azariah continued his prayer. Due to their sinfulness, God executed a proper and true judgment. He has handed over the Judeans to their enemies, the lawless and hateful rebels of Babylon. They were turned over to an unjust king, the most wicked king in the whole world. Remember, up until this incident of the golden statue, Azariah and his 2 friends were serving this king in his royal court. I could see how this furnace punishment might change their minds.
“You have executed
True judgments
In all
That you have brought
Upon us,
Upon Jerusalem,
The holy city
Of our ancestors.
By a true judgment,
You have brought
All this upon us
Because of our sins.
We have sinned.
We have broken
Your law,
In turning away
From you.
In all matters,
We have sinned grievously.
We have not obeyed
Your commandments.
We have not kept them.
We have not done
What you have commanded us
For our own good.”
Azariah continued with his prayer to God. God has executed his true judgments upon the Judeans and their ancestral holy city of Jerusalem, because of their sins. They were sinners. They broke his laws. They turned away from God. They have sinned grievously, by not obeying his commandments. They did not do what God had commanded them to do for their own good.
“They walked around
In the midst
Of the flames.
They were singing
Hymns to God.
They were blessing
The Lord.
Then Azariah stood still
In the fire.
He prayed aloud.”
Like the Book of Esther, this Book of Daniel has several sections that were not in the Hebrew text. Thus, they did not make it into the English King James Bible, and so became known as Apocrypha. This prayer of Azariah, one of the 3 men in the furnace, and then their joint prayer that follows, can be found in the Greek Septuagint, but not in the Hebrew text. The Bible of Jerusalem also includes it here. The New Oxford Standard lists it as “additions to Daniel, inserted between 3:23 and 3:24.” I have given it its own separate verse numbers as if it were complete in itself. The 3 men in the furnace, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, walked around in the middle of the hot flames. They were singing hymns and blessing God, the Lord. Then Azariah, who was called Abednego, stood still. He uttered his prayer out loud. The rest of this section is his beautiful prayer.
“Pour out your wrath
On the nations
That do not know you!
Pour out your wrath
On the people
That do not call on your name!
They have devoured Jacob.
They have devoured him.
They have consumed him.
They have laid waste his habitation.”
Jeremiah continues with his prayer. He wanted God to pour out his wrath on the nations that did not know him, nor Israel. He wanted Yahweh to pour out his wrath on those people who did not call on his name. These were the people who devoured and consumed Jacob. They also had destroyed their living area.
“Then the word of Yahweh
Came to Isaiah.
‘Go!
Say to King Hezekiah.
Thus says Yahweh,
The God of your ancestor David.
I have heard your prayer.
I have seen your tears.
I will add fifteen years to your life.
I will deliver you.
I will deliver this city
Out of the hand of the king of Assyria.
I will defend this city.’”
Once again, this is almost word for word from 2 Kings, chapter 20. However, there are some minor changes. There is no indication here that Isaiah was still at the royal court. There is nothing here about King Hezekiah going to the temple on the 3rd day, nor defending this city for the sake of David. However, Yahweh did tell Isaiah to let King Hezekiah know that he had heard his prayer and seen his tears. Yahweh was going to add 15 years to his life. He would also defend and deliver the city of Jerusalem from the King of Assyria. Obviously, this was before the invasion of the king of Assyria.
“Then Isaiah,
Son of Amoz,
Sent to King Hezekiah,
Saying.
‘Thus says Yahweh,
The God of Israel.
You have prayed to me
Concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria.’”
Once again, this is almost word for word from 2 Kings, chapter 19. Isaiah will interpret the word of Yahweh. He sent word to King Hezekiah that Yahweh had heard his prayer about King Sennacherib. This is good news for King Hezekiah.
“Answer me quickly!
Yahweh!
My spirit fails!
Do not hide your face from me.
Otherwise I shall be
Like those who go down to the Pit.
Let me hear of your steadfast love
In the morning.
In you
I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go.
To you
I lift up my soul.”
David wanted a quick answer to his prayer. His spirit was failing. He did not want Yahweh to hide his face because then he would go down into the Pit. He wanted to hear the steadfast love of Yahweh in the morning. David put all his trust in Yahweh so that Yahweh might teach him the way to go. He had lifted up his soul to Yahweh.
A psalm of David
“Hear my prayer!
Yahweh!
Give ear to my supplications!
In your faithfulness!
Answer me!
In your righteousness!
Do not enter into judgment with your servant!
No one living is righteous before you.”
Psalm 143 is another lamentation psalm of David as indicated in its title. David once again asked Yahweh to hear his prayer. He wanted an answer because Yahweh was faithful and righteous. He did not want Yahweh to judge him, the humble servant. In a theme that will be repeated by Paul in the New Testament writings, he concluded that no living person was righteous before Yahweh.
A psalm of David
“I call upon you!
Yahweh!
Come quickly to me!
Give ear to my voice
When I call to you!
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you!
I lift up my hands as an evening sacrifice!”
Psalm 141 is a psalm of David as indicated in the title. Once again this is a direct appeal to Yahweh, asking for help to defeat his enemies. David called upon Yahweh to hurry up and hear his voice. He wanted his prayer to be like that of incense at the evening prayer with his lifted hands. This thus assumes a fixed liturgical worship service.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 