Everyone who practices sin ¹  also practices lawlessness; ²  indeed, ³  sin is lawlessness.

But you do have this going for you: ¹  You hate what the Nicolaitans ²  practice ³  – practices I also hate.

But the person who hears and does not put my words into practice ¹  is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When ²  the river burst against that house, ³  it collapsed immediately, and was utterly destroyed!” ⁴ 

But we have rejected ¹  shameful hidden deeds, ²  not behaving ³  with deceptiveness ⁴  or distorting the word of God, but by open proclamation of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience before God.

Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, ¹  so that the land does not practice prostitution and become full of lewdness. ² 

Now Ezra had dedicated himself ¹  to the study of the law of the Lord, to its observance, and to teaching ²  its statutes and judgments in Israel.

Even I and my relatives ¹  and my associates ²  are lending them money and grain. But let us abandon this practice of seizing collateral! ³ 

The king then inquired of the wise men who were discerners of the times – for it was the royal custom to confer with all those who were proficient in laws and legalities. ¹ 

Indeed, they ¹  will be ashamed of the sacred trees you ²  find so desirable; you will be embarrassed because of the sacred orchards ³  where you choose to worship.

you who practice ritual sex ¹  under the oaks and every green tree, who slaughter children near the streams under the rocky overhangs. ² 

“That is because, from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all of them practice deceit.

You must change ¹  the way you have been living and do what is right. You must treat one another fairly. ² 

I will put an end to the obscene conduct in the land; all the women will learn a lesson from this and not engage in obscene conduct.

After ¹  entering into an alliance with him, he will behave treacherously; he will ascend to power with only a small force. ² 

The company of priests is like a gang of robbers, lying in ambush to pounce on a victim. They commit murder on the road to Shechem; they have done heinous crimes!

“The Lord who rules over all said, ‘Exercise true judgment and show brotherhood and compassion to each other.

These are the things you must do: Speak the truth, each of you, to one another. Practice true and righteous judgment in your courts. ¹ 

So now we consider the arrogant to be happy; indeed, those who practice evil are successful. ¹  In fact, those who challenge ²  God escape!’”

“Everyone ¹  who hears these words of mine and does them is like ²  a wise man ³  who built his house on rock.

Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.