15
For if he does not choose to help us within these five days, he has power to protect us within any time he pleases, or even to destroy us in the presence of our enemies.
16
Do not try to bind the purposes of the Lord our God; for God is not like a human being, to be threatened, or like a mere mortal, to be won over by pleading.
17
Therefore, while we wait for his deliverance, let us call upon him to help us, and he will hear our voice, if it pleases him.
18
"For never in our generation, nor in these present days, has there been any tribe or family or people or town of ours that worships gods made with hands, as was done in days gone by.
19
That was why our ancestors were handed over to the sword and to pillage, and so they suffered a great catastrophe before our enemies.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.