All the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God on behalf of us – your servants – so we won’t die, for we have added to all our sins by asking for a king.” ¹ 

The men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you ¹  and you can do with us whatever you wish.” ² 

Let’s go to the Jordan. Each of us will get a log from there and we will build a meeting place for ourselves there.” He said, “Go.”

Be strong! Let’s fight bravely for the sake of our people and the cities of our God! The Lord will do what he decides is best!” ¹ 

Then those in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers ¹  has failed! The debris is so great that we are unable to rebuild the wall.”

We also accept responsibility for ¹  bringing the first fruits of our land and the first fruits of every fruit tree year by year to the temple of the LORD.

After ¹  we ²  tore ourselves away ³  from them, we put out to sea, ⁴  and sailing a straight course, ⁵  we came to Cos, ⁶  on the next day to Rhodes, ⁷  and from there to Patara. ⁸ 

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, “You have no right ¹  to help us build the temple of our God. We will build it by ourselves for the Lord God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.”

For our reason for confidence ¹  is this: the testimony of our conscience, that with pure motives ²  and sincerity which are from God ³  – not by human wisdom ⁴  but by the grace of God – we conducted ourselves in the world, and all the more ⁵  toward you.

I urged Titus to visit you ¹  and I sent our ²  brother along with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? ³  Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit? Did we not behave in the same way? ⁴ 

When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, “What is this dream that you had? ¹  Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?” ² 

For you say, “We have made a treaty with death, with Sheol ¹  we have made an agreement. ²  When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by ³  it will not reach us. For we have made a lie our refuge, we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.” ⁴ 

Or do only Barnabas and I lack the right not to work?

Now we have such confidence in God through Christ.

for we live ¹  by faith, not by sight.

And I hope that you will realize that we have not failed the test! ¹ 

For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness.

We have enough straw and grain for our donkeys, and there is enough food and wine for me, your female servant, ¹  and the young man who is with your servants. ²  We lack nothing.”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar, ¹  “We do not need to give you a reply ²  concerning this.

But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’