Stay ¹  in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you, ²  for the worker deserves his pay. ³  Do not move around from house to house.

And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth, ¹  so that when it runs out you will be welcomed ²  into the eternal homes. ³ 

If anyone wants to serve me, he must follow ¹  me, and where I am, my servant will be too. ²  If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women ¹  and were inflamed in their passions ²  for one another. Men ³  committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, ¹  so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil. ² 

Not that I have already attained this – that is, I have not already been perfected – but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. ¹ 

For “physical exercise ¹  has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come.”

Happy is the one ¹  who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God ²  promised to those who love him.

And if you address as Father the one who impartially judges according to each one’s work, live out the time of your temporary residence here ¹  in reverence.

They had not gone very far from the city ¹  when Joseph said ²  to the servant who was over his household, “Pursue the men at once! ³  When you overtake ⁴  them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil?

She said to him, “My father, since ¹  you made an oath to the Lord, do to me as you promised. ²  After all, the Lord vindicated you before ³  your enemies, the Ammonites.”

He said to his mother, “You know ¹  the eleven hundred pieces of silver which were stolen ²  from you, about which I heard you pronounce a curse? Look here, I have the silver. I stole ³  it, but now I am giving it back to you.” ⁴  His mother said, “May the Lord reward ⁵  you, my son!”

When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, “Praised be the Lord who has vindicated me and avenged the insult that I suffered from Nabal! ¹  The Lord has kept his servant from doing evil, and he has repaid Nabal for his evil deeds.” ²  Then David sent word to Abigail and asked her to become his wife.

These words of Ish-bosheth really angered Abner and he said, “Am I the head of a dog that belongs to Judah? This very day I am demonstrating ¹  loyalty to the house of Saul your father and to his relatives ²  and his friends! I have not betrayed you into the hand of David. Yet you have accused me of sinning with this woman today! ³ 

The king then told Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your property ¹  in Anathoth. You deserve to die, ²  but today I will not kill you because you did carry the ark of the sovereign Lord before my father David and you suffered with my father through all his difficult times.” ³ 

The Lord said to Jehu, “You have done well. You have accomplished my will and carried out my wishes with regard to Ahab’s dynasty. Therefore four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel.” ¹ 

Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers, ¹  from the murderers of this world! ²  They enjoy prosperity; ³  you overwhelm them with the riches they desire. ⁴  They have many children, and leave their wealth to their offspring. ⁵ 

If you say, “But we did not know about this,” does not the one who evaluates ¹  hearts consider? Does not the one who guards your life know? Will he not repay each person according to his deeds? ² 

Here is ¹  another ²  enigma ³  that occurs on earth: Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve, ⁴  and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve. ⁵  I said, “This also is an enigma.”

Again, ¹  I observed this on the earth: ²  the race is not always ³  won by the swiftest, the battle is not always won by the strongest; prosperity ⁴  does not always belong to those who are the wisest, wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning, nor does success ⁵  always come to those with the most knowledge – for time and chance may overcome ⁶  them all.