“Suppose a man is righteous. He practices what is just and right,

For if such things are done ¹  when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” ² 

For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord,

And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language ¹  they have begun to do this, then ²  nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. ³ 

At that time the city of Jerusalem ¹  will be called the Lord’s throne. All nations will gather there in Jerusalem to honor the Lord’s name. ²  They will no longer follow the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. ³ 

But they did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They followed the stubborn inclinations of their own wicked hearts. They acted worse and worse instead of better. ¹ 

I saw a dream that ¹  frightened me badly. The things I imagined while lying on my bed – these visions of my mind – were terrifying me.

You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, or the poor, nor should anyone secretly plot evil against his fellow human being.’

Do not plan evil in your hearts against one another. Do not favor a false oath – these are all things that I hate,’ says the Lord.”

And do you think, ¹  whoever you are, when you judge ²  those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, ³  that you will escape God’s judgment?

If someone thinks he knows something, he does not yet know to the degree that he needs to know.

and every arrogant obstacle ¹  that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey ²  Christ.

to ¹  those who wait ²  for death that ³  does not come, and search for it ⁴  more than for hidden treasures,

“Yes, I know what you are thinking, ¹  the schemes ²  by which you would wrong me. ³ 

Can you bind the wild ox ¹  to a furrow with its rope, will it till the valleys, following after you?

The wicked arrogantly chase the oppressed; ¹  the oppressed are trapped ²  by the schemes the wicked have dreamed up. ³ 

Yes, ¹  they intend to do you harm; ²  they dream up a scheme, ³  but they do not succeed. ⁴ 

I gave them over to their stubborn desires; ¹  they did what seemed right to them. ² 

who plan ways to harm me. ¹  All day long they stir up conflict. ² 

Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil, ¹  but those who promote peace ²  have joy.