And he is also the father of the circumcised, ¹  who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham possessed when he was still uncircumcised. ² 

For a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives, but if her ¹  husband dies, she is released from the law of the marriage. ² 

because I know your eagerness to help. ¹  I keep boasting to the Macedonians about this eagerness of yours, ²  that Achaia has been ready to give ³  since last year, and your zeal to participate ⁴  has stirred up most of them. ⁵ 

You are looking at outward appearances. ¹  If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should reflect on this again: Just as he himself belongs to Christ, so too do we.

and live ¹  in love, just as Christ also loved us ²  and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering ³  to God.

Look at ships too: Though they are so large and driven by harsh winds, they are steered by a tiny rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination directs.

Think of how we regard ¹  as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. ² 

Dear friend, do not imitate what is bad but what is good. ¹  The one who does good is of God; the one who does what is bad has not seen God. ² 

Woe to them! For they have traveled down Cain’s path, ¹  and because of greed ²  have abandoned themselves ³  to ⁴  Balaam’s error; hence, ⁵  they will certainly perish ⁶  in Korah’s rebellion.

“The Lord will allow you to be struck down before your enemies; you will attack them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions and will become an object of terror ¹  to all the kingdoms of the earth.

But they did not obey ¹  their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped ²  them. They quickly turned aside from the path ³  their ancestors ⁴  had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they did not. ⁵ 

So each of his men also cut off a branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches ¹  against the stronghold and set fire to it. ²  All the people ³  of the Tower of Shechem died – about a thousand men and women.

and said, “O Lord, I will not do this! ¹  It is equivalent to the blood of the men who risked their lives by going.” ²  So he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three elite warriors. ³ 

then I will remove Israel from the land ¹  I have given them, I will abandon this temple I have consecrated with my presence, ²  and Israel will be mocked and ridiculed ³  among all the nations.

“I raised you up ¹  from the dust and made you ruler over my people Israel. Yet you followed in Jeroboam’s footsteps ²  and encouraged my people Israel to sin; their sins have made me angry. ³ 

He followed in his father Asa’s footsteps and was careful to do what the Lord approved. ¹  (22:44) ²  However, the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places.

They rejected his rules, the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the laws he had commanded them to obey. ¹  They paid allegiance to ²  worthless idols, and so became worthless to the Lord. ³  They copied the practices of the surrounding nations in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command. ⁴ 

‘You displayed a sensitive spirit ¹  and humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard how I intended to make this place and its residents into an appalling example of an accursed people. ²  You tore your clothes and wept before me, and I have heard you,’ says the Lord.

and said, “God forbid that I should do this! ¹  Should I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives?” ²  Because they risked their lives to bring it to him, he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three elite warriors. ³ 

then I will remove you ¹  from my land I have given you, ²  I will abandon this temple I have consecrated with my presence, ³  and I will make you ⁴  an object of mockery and ridicule ⁵  among all the nations.