We do not give anyone ¹  an occasion for taking an offense in anything, ²  so that no fault may be found with our ministry.

Would you indeed annul ¹  my justice? Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?

He had been hired to scare me so that I would do this and thereby sin. They would thus bring reproach on me and I ¹  would be discredited. ² 

to be self-controlled, ¹  pure, fulfilling their duties at home, ²  kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the message ³  of God may not be discredited. ⁴ 

Those who hate you ¹  will be clothed with shame, ²  and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”

So I defiled your holy princes, and handed Jacob over to destruction, and subjected ¹  Israel to humiliating abuse.”

We did this ¹  as a precaution so that no one should blame us in regard to this generous gift we are administering.

There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute, ¹  but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis ²  will be regarded as nothing, ³  and she whom all the province of Asia ⁴  and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness.” ⁵ 

In light of the fact that we are loyal to the king, ¹  and since it does not seem appropriate to us that the king should sustain damage, ²  we are sending the king this information ³ 

“Blessed are you when people ¹  insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely ²  on account of me.

Those who are under the yoke as slaves ¹  must regard their own masters as deserving of full respect. This will prevent ²  the name of God and Christian teaching ³  from being discredited. ⁴ 

and a sound message that cannot be criticized, so that any opponent will be at a loss, ¹  because he has nothing evil to say about us.

Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Arkite sounds better than the advice of Ahithophel.” Now the Lord had decided ¹  to frustrate the sound advice of Ahithophel, so that the Lord could bring disaster on Absalom.

When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame. They say ¹  to me, “Where is the Lord your God?” I will gloat over them. ²  Then they will be trampled down ³  like mud in the streets.

“Blessed are you when people ¹  hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject you as evil ²  on account of the Son of Man!

But when ¹  some were stubborn ²  and refused to believe, reviling ³  the Way ⁴  before the congregation, he left ⁵  them and took the disciples with him, ⁶  addressing ⁷  them every day ⁸  in the lecture hall ⁹  of Tyrannus.

And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded ¹  and turned away ²  a large crowd, ³  not only in Ephesus ⁴  but in practically all of the province of Asia, ⁵  by saying ⁶  that gods made by hands are not gods at all. ⁷ 

But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing these things so that something will be done for me. ¹  In fact, it would be better for me to die than – no one will deprive me of my reason for boasting! ² 

Then some people ¹  said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! ²  There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. ³  Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! ⁴  Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”

(To my disgrace ¹  I must say that we were too weak for that!) ²  But whatever anyone else dares to boast about ³  (I am speaking foolishly), I also dare to boast about the same thing. ⁴