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The three young men, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, started walking around in the flames, singing hymns to God, and praising him as Lord.
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Then Azariah stood still and there in the fire he prayed aloud:
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"O Lord, the God of our ancestors, we praise and adore you; may your name be honored forever.
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You have treated us as we deserve. In everything you have done to us you are always honest, and when you bring us to judgment, you are always fair.
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You did what was right when you brought disaster upon Jerusalem, the holy city of our ancestors. We deserved that judgment because of our sins.
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We disobeyed you, we turned our backs on you, and we are guilty of every sin.
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We did not do the things that you commanded us to do. If we had obeyed your laws, we would have prospered,
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but now we deserve the judgment and punishment that you have brought upon us.
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You have handed us over to lawless, hateful, and defiant enemies - to the most wicked king in the world.
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And now all of us who worship you are humiliated; we are too ashamed to open our mouths.
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"Yet for the sake of your own honor, do not break your covenant with us and abandon us forever.