And all the prophets, from Samuel and those who followed him, have spoken about and announced ¹  these days.

but ¹  wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition ²  and do not obey the truth but follow ³  unrighteousness.

Pursue love and be eager for the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.

Be imitators of me, ¹  brothers and sisters, ²  and watch carefully those who are living this way, just as you have us as an example.

They had not gone very far from the city ¹  when Joseph said ²  to the servant who was over his household, “Pursue the men at once! ³  When you overtake ⁴  them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil?

Take note of ¹  the field where the men ²  are harvesting and follow behind with the female workers. ³  I will tell the men ⁴  to leave you alone. ⁵  When you are thirsty, you may go to ⁶  the water jars ⁷  and drink some of the water ⁸  the servants draw.” ⁹ 

At this very moment he is hiding out in one of the caves or in some other similar place. If it should turn out that he attacks our troops first, ¹  whoever hears about it will say, ‘Absalom’s army has been slaughtered!’

The king stood by his pillar ¹  and renewed ²  the covenant before the Lord, agreeing to follow ³  the Lord and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being, ⁴  by carrying out the terms ⁵  of this covenant recorded on this scroll.

These wicked people refuse to obey what I have said. ¹  They follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts and pay allegiance ²  to other gods by worshiping and serving them. So ³  they will become just like these linen shorts which are good for nothing.

To this very day they observe their earlier practices. They do not worship ¹  the Lord; they do not obey the rules, regulations, law, and commandments that the Lord gave ²  the descendants of Jacob, whom he renamed Israel.

Rejoice, young man, while you are young, ¹  and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the impulses ²  of your heart and the desires ³  of your eyes, but know that God will judge your motives and actions. ⁴ 

And as for me, I am going to harden ¹  the hearts of the Egyptians so that ²  they will come after them, that I may be honored ³  because ⁴  of Pharaoh and his army and his chariots and his horsemen.

“You must not bow down to their gods; you must not serve them or do according to their practices. Instead you must completely overthrow them and smash their standing stones ¹  to pieces. ² 

How blessed ²  is the one ³  who does not follow ⁴  the advice ⁵  of the wicked, ⁶  or stand in the pathway ⁷  with sinners, or sit in the assembly ⁸  of scoffers! ⁹ 

“Listen to me, you who pursue godliness, ¹  who seek the Lord! Look at the rock from which you were chiseled, at the quarry ²  from which you were dug! ³ 

I did this ¹  because they rejected my regulations, did not follow my statutes, and desecrated my Sabbaths; for their hearts followed their idols. ² 

After him Judas the Galilean arose in the days of the census, ¹  and incited people to follow him in revolt. ²  He too was killed, and all who followed him were scattered.

The king stood by the pillar and renewed ¹  the covenant before the Lord, agreeing to follow ²  the Lord and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being, ³  by carrying out the terms ⁴  of this covenant recorded on this scroll. All the people agreed to keep the covenant. ⁵ 

The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered ¹  because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe. ² 

You must observe my regulations ¹  and you must be sure to walk in my statutes. ²  I am the Lord your God.