To all those loved by God in Rome, ¹  called to be saints: ²  Grace and peace to you ³  from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God ¹  has been poured out ²  in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ¹ 

It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful.

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, ¹  kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,

For Demas deserted me, since he loved ¹  the present age, and he went to Thessalonica. ²  Crescens went to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia.

But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him.

Likewise, the most ¹  tender and delicate of your women, who would never think of putting even the sole of her foot on the ground because of her daintiness, ²  will turn against her beloved husband, her sons and daughters,

For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” ²  by the Korahites, a well-written poem, ³  a love song. My heart is stirred by a beautiful song. ⁴  I say, “I have composed this special song ⁵  for the king; my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.” ⁶ 

You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” Because you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the Lord’s opinion, ¹  and he delights in them,” or “Where is the God of justice?”

So realize that the Lord your God is the true God, ¹  the faithful God who keeps covenant faithfully ²  with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

The man among you who is by nature tender and sensitive will turn against his brother, his beloved wife, and his remaining children.

Of Benjamin he said: The beloved of the Lord will live safely by him; he protects him all the time, and the Lord ¹  places him on his chest. ² 

Then Saul instructed his servants, “Tell David secretly, ‘The king is pleased with you, and all his servants like you. So now become the king’s son-in-law.”

He prayed: ¹  “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You maintain covenantal loyalty ²  to your servants who obey you with sincerity. ³ 

and prayed: ¹  “O Lord God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven or on earth! You maintain covenantal loyalty ²  to your servants who obey you with sincerity. ³ 

I will listen to what God the Lord says. ¹  For he will make ²  peace with his people, his faithful followers. ³  Yet they must not ⁴  return to their foolish ways.

the way ¹  of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship in the sea, and the way of a man with a woman. ² 

What they loved, ¹  as well as what they hated ²  and envied, ³  perished long ago, and they no longer have a part in anything that happens on earth. ⁴ 

Let us rise early to go to the vineyards, to see if the vines have budded, to see if their blossoms have opened, if the pomegranates are in bloom – there I will give you my love.