⁵ You say you have a design and strength for war, but these are only words: now to whom are you looking for support, that you have gone against my authority?

⁷ And the Lord was with him; he did well in all his undertakings: and he took up arms against the king of Assyria and was his servant no longer.

¹ In his days, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up and Jehoiakim was his servant for three years; then he took up arms against him.

¹⁹ But Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, hearing of it, made sport of us, laughing at us and saying, What are you doing? will you go against the king?

²⁰ Then answering them I said, The God of heaven, he will be our help; so we his servants will go on with our building: but you have no part or right or any name in Jerusalem.

³⁰ Wisdom and knowledge and wise suggestions are of no use against the Lord.

³¹ The horse is made ready for the day of war, but power to overcome is from the Lord.

⁵ A wise man is strong; and a man of knowledge makes strength greater.

⁶ For by wise guiding you will overcome in war: and in a number of wise guides there is salvation.

³ And because of the wrath of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had sent them away from before him: and Zedekiah took up arms against the king of Babylon.

¹⁵ But he went against his authority in sending representatives to Egypt to get from them horses and a great army. Will he do well? will he be safe who does such things? if the agreement is broken will he be safe?