Is there idolatry ¹  in Gilead? ²  Certainly its inhabitants ³  will come to nothing! ⁴  Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Surely their altars will be like stones heaped up on a plowed field!

But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt. Therefore, you must not acknowledge any God but me; except me there is no Savior.

On that day the bells of the horses will bear the inscription “Holy to the Lord.” The cooking pots in the Lord’s temple ¹  will be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar. ² 

When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one ¹  comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; ²  this is the seed sown along the path.

telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. ¹  Right away you will find a donkey tied there, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.

The ¹  one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, saying, ‘Sir, ²  you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: Whenever they hear, immediately Satan ¹  comes and snatches the word ²  that was sown in them.

He asked him urgently, “My little daughter is near death. Come and lay your hands on her so that she may be healed and live.”

They came to Jericho. ¹  As Jesus ²  and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road.

“A sower went out to sow ¹  his seed. ²  And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled on, and the wild birds ³  devoured it.

Those along the path are the ones who have heard; then the devil ¹  comes and takes away the word ²  from their hearts, so that they may not believe ³  and be saved.

Jesus replied, ¹  “A man was going down ²  from Jerusalem ³  to Jericho, ⁴  and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat ⁵  him up, and went off, leaving him half dead. ⁶ 

He ¹  went up to him ²  and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil ³  and wine on them. Then ⁴  he put him on ⁵  his own animal, ⁶  brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

Besides all this, ¹  a great chasm ²  has been fixed between us, ³  so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’

But we had hoped ¹  that he was the one who was going to redeem ²  Israel. Not only this, but it is now the third day since these things happened.

I have ¹  other sheep that do not come from ²  this sheepfold. ³  I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice, ⁴  so that ⁵  there will be one flock and ⁶  one shepherd.

And a man lame ¹  from birth ²  was being carried up, who was placed at the temple gate called “the Beautiful Gate” every day ³  so he could beg for money ⁴  from those going into the temple courts. ⁵ 

Suddenly ¹  an angel of the Lord ²  appeared, and a light shone in the prison cell. He struck ³  Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off Peter’s ⁴  wrists. ⁵ 

The following night the Lord ¹  stood near ²  Paul ³  and said, “Have courage, ⁴  for just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, ⁵  so you must also testify in Rome.” ⁶ 

Are they servants of Christ? (I am talking like I am out of my mind!) I am even more so: with much greater labors, with far more imprisonments, with more severe beatings, facing death many times.