You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near.

who by God’s power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

He was foreknown ¹  before the foundation of the world but ²  was manifested in these last times ³  for your sake.

“To ¹  the angel of the church in Smyrna write the following: ²  “This is the solemn pronouncement of ³  the one who is the first and the last, the one who was dead, but ⁴  came to life:

Finally Abraham ¹  said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

So Jacob ¹  went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent ²  of his clothing, he blessed him, saying, “Yes, ³  my son smells like the scent of an open field which the Lord has blessed.

“You are also to observe ¹  the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors that you have sown in the field, and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year ²  when you have gathered in ³  your harvest ⁴  out of the field.

Then we left Horeb and passed through all that immense, forbidding wilderness that you saw on the way to the Amorite hill country as the Lord our God had commanded us to do, finally arriving at Kadesh Barnea.

She cried on his shoulder ¹  until the party was almost over. ²  Finally, on the seventh day, he told her because she had nagged him so much. ³  Then she told the young men the solution to the riddle. ⁴ 

The men refused to listen to him, so the Levite ¹  grabbed his concubine and made her go outside. ²  They raped ³  her and abused her all night long until morning. They let her go at dawn.

(Now this used to be the customary way to finalize a transaction involving redemption in Israel: ¹  A man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party. ²  This was a legally binding act ³  in Israel.)

How long must the land be parched ¹  and the grass in every field be withered? How long ²  must the animals and the birds die because of the wickedness of the people who live in this land? ³  For these people boast, “God ⁴  will not see what happens to us.” ⁵ 

Finally the Lord could no longer endure your wicked deeds and the disgusting things you did. That is why your land has become the desolate, uninhabited ruin that it is today. That is why it has become a proverbial example used in curses. ¹ 

Later Daniel entered (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, ¹  and in whom there is a spirit of the holy gods). I recounted the dream for him as well,

She continued to do this for many days. But Paul became greatly annoyed, ¹  and turned ²  and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ ³  to come out of her!” And it came out of her at once. ⁴ 

A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, ¹  was sinking ²  into a deep sleep while Paul continued to speak ³  for a long time. Fast asleep, ⁴  he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead.

We sailed slowly ¹  for many days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus. ²  Because the wind prevented us from going any farther, ³  we sailed under the lee ⁴  of Crete off Salmone. ⁵ 

So they began to leave, ¹  unable to agree among themselves, after Paul made one last statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your ancestors ²  through the prophet Isaiah

Finally the crown of righteousness is reserved for me. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will award it to me in that day – and not to me only, but also to all who have set their affection on ¹  his appearing.

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