When the governor gestured for him to speak, Paul replied, “Because I know ¹  that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I confidently make my defense. ² 

But I confess this to you, that I worship ¹  the God of our ancestors ²  according to the Way (which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law ³  and that is written in the prophets.

To those free from the law I became like one free from the law (though I am not free from God’s law but under the law of Christ) to gain those free from the law.

My goal is that ¹  their hearts, having been knit together ²  in love, may be encouraged, and that ³  they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ⁴ 

For though ¹  I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see ²  your morale ³  and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

For from you the message of the Lord ¹  has echoed forth not just in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place reports of your faith in God have spread, ²  so that we do not need to say anything.

so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. ¹ 

For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, ¹  that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep.

And in this regard we pray for you always, that our God will make you worthy of his calling ¹  and fulfill by his power your every desire for goodness and every work of faith,

I put this charge ¹  before you, Timothy my child, in keeping with the prophecies once spoken about you, ²  in order that with such encouragement ³  you may fight the good fight.

I recall ¹  your sincere faith ²  that was alive first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I am sure ³  is in you.

For we had good news proclaimed to us just as they did. But the message they heard did them no good, since they did not join in ¹  with those who heard it in faith. ² 

so that we who have found refuge in him ¹  may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie.

let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, ¹  because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience ²  and our bodies washed in pure water.

Remember your leaders, who spoke God’s message to you; reflect on the outcome of their lives and imitate their faith.

Moreover, ¹  we ²  possess the prophetic word as an altogether reliable thing. ³  You do well if you pay attention ⁴  to this ⁵  as you would ⁶  to a light shining in a murky place, until the day dawns and the morning star ⁷  rises in your hearts. ⁸ 

Then ¹  the angel ²  said to me, “These words are reliable ³  and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants ⁴  what must happen soon.”

The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come ¹  to you in a dense cloud, ²  so that the people may hear when I speak with you and so that they will always believe in you.” ³  And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

They will besiege all of your villages ¹  until all of your high and fortified walls collapse – those in which you put your confidence throughout the land. They will besiege all your villages throughout the land the Lord your God has given you.

Then Joab bowed down with his face toward the ground and thanked ¹  the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, because the king has granted the request of your ²  servant!”