and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave ¹  –

Suppose a Levite comes by his own free will ¹  from one of your villages, from any part of Israel where he is living, ²  to the place the Lord chooses

but ¹  worldly cares, the seductiveness of wealth, ²  and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, ³  and it produces nothing.

Abner said to David, “Let me leave so that I may go and gather all Israel to my lord the king so that they may make an agreement ¹  with you. Then you will rule over all that you desire.” So David sent Abner away, and he left in peace.

You people ¹  are from ²  your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. ³  He ⁴  was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, ⁵  because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, ⁶  he speaks according to his own nature, ⁷  because he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁸ 

Yes, ¹  the wicked man ²  boasts because he gets what he wants; ³  the one who robs others ⁴  curses ⁵  and ⁶  rejects the Lord. ⁷ 

Therefore God gave them over ¹  in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor ²  their bodies among themselves. ³ 

But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires. ¹  For apart from the law, sin is dead.

For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by ¹  the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit.

especially those who indulge their fleshly desires ¹  and who despise authority. Brazen and insolent, ²  they are not afraid to insult ³  the glorious ones, ⁴ 

The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, ¹  but the faithless will be captured ²  by their own desires. ³ 

The wicked person desires a stronghold, ¹  but the righteous root ²  endures. ³ 

But it is not this way among you. Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant,

So then, ¹  God ²  has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden. ³ 

God gives a man riches, property, and wealth so that he lacks nothing that his heart ¹  desires, ²  yet God does not enable ³  him to enjoy ⁴  the fruit of his labor ⁵  – instead, someone else ⁶  enjoys ⁷  it! ⁸  This is fruitless and a grave misfortune. ⁹ 

For when we were in the flesh, ¹  the sinful desires, ²  aroused by the law, were active in the members of our body ³  to bear fruit for death.

For we too were once foolish, disobedient, misled, enslaved to various passions and desires, spending our lives in evil and envy, hateful and hating one another.

For the time that has passed was sufficient for you to do what the non-Christians ¹  desire. ²  You lived then ³  in debauchery, evil desires, drunkenness, carousing, drinking bouts, ⁴  and wanton idolatries. ⁵ 

Through these things ¹  he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised ²  you may become partakers of the divine nature, ³  after escaping ⁴  the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire. ⁵ 

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say: “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wants it take the water of life free of charge.