‘And they, when they heard it, lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, “O Lord (despota), you who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is,” '

“O Lord (despota).” That is, ‘ Master' e.g. of slaves, therefore here ‘of all things'. It is a title often used of rulers.

The response of the Christians to the threats was to pray to the Lord of all, of heaven, and earth, and sea and all that is in them. They first of all brought to mind Who it was that they served, He Who is Master and Creator of heaven and earth and sea and of all that is in them. The words almost mirror Psalms 146:6 LXX. See also Nehemiah 9:6; Isaiah 37:16; Psalms 69:34. Hezekiah's prayer in Isaiah 37:16 LXX is also probably at the back of the source's mind throughout.

Heaven and earth represented the whole of creation (Genesis 1:1). The sea often represented the troubled masses of the nations (Isaiah 57:20; Daniel 7:3). All that is in them included their adversaries here.

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