Gather together and come! Approach together, you refugees from the nations! Those who carry wooden idols know nothing, those who pray to a god that cannot deliver.

“Fall down! Sit in the dirt, O virgin ¹  daughter Babylon! Sit on the ground, not on a throne, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, ²  you will no longer be called delicate and pampered.

I struck all the products of your labor ¹  with blight, disease, and hail, and yet you brought nothing to me,’ ²  says the Lord.

“See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. ¹ 

“Woe to you, experts in the law ¹  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean. ² 

Then ¹  they said to him, “John’s ²  disciples frequently fast ³  and pray, ⁴  and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, ⁵  but yours continue to eat and drink.” ⁶ 

So listen carefully, ¹  for whoever has will be given more, but ²  whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has ³  will be taken from him.”

But Martha was distracted ¹  with all the preparations she had to make, ²  so ³  she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care ⁴  that my sister has left me to do all the work ⁵  alone? Tell ⁶  her to help me.”

But ¹  Jesus ²  said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, ³  but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized ⁴  among men is utterly detestable ⁵  in God’s sight.

“And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, ¹  and on the earth nations will be in distress, ²  anxious ³  over the roaring of the sea and the surging waves.

But while John was completing his mission, ¹  he said repeatedly, ²  ‘What do you think I am? I am not he. But look, one is coming after me. I am not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet!’ ³ 

For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, we are dishonored!

and those members we consider less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our unpresentable members are clothed with dignity, ¹ 

Therefore when I was planning to do this, I did not do so without thinking about what I was doing, did I? ¹  Or do I make my plans ²  according to mere human standards ³  so that I would be saying ⁴  both “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time?

Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, ¹  we try to persuade ²  people, ³  but we are well known ⁴  to God, and I hope we are well known to your consciences too.

now I ask that when I am present I may not have to be bold with the confidence that (I expect) I will dare to use against some who consider us to be behaving ¹  according to human standards. ² 

For if I boast somewhat more about our authority that the Lord gave us ¹  for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of doing so. ² 

For we were not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach as far as you, because we were the first to reach as far as you with the gospel about Christ. ¹ 

I say again, let no one think that I am a fool. ¹  But if you do, then at least accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.