Afterward David’s conscience bothered him ¹  because he had cut off an edge of Saul’s robe.

“I made myself available to those who did not ask for me; ¹  I appeared to those who did not look for me. ²  I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’ to a nation that did not invoke ³  my name.

Sharon ¹  will become a pasture for sheep, and the Valley of Achor ²  a place where cattle graze; ³  they will belong to my people, who seek me. ⁴ 

Yet which of them has ever stood in the Lord’s inner circle ¹  so they ²  could see and hear what he has to say? ³  Which of them have ever paid attention or listened to what he has said?

But the Lord ¹  answered her, ²  “Martha, Martha, ³  you are worried and troubled ⁴  about many things,

Eat anything that is sold in the marketplace without questions of conscience,

For he never bothered to show kindness; ¹  he harassed the oppressed and needy, and killed the disheartened. ² 

From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body. ¹ 

so that ¹  you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed ²  you, but have always treated you well ³  before sending you away ⁴  in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” ⁵ 

Naomi then said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is good, my daughter, that you should go out to work with his female servants. ¹  That way you will not be harmed, which could happen in another field.” ² 

He went and found the corpse lying in the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside it; ¹  the lion had neither eaten the corpse nor attacked the donkey.

You did not bring me lambs for your burnt offerings; you did not honor me with your sacrifices. I did not burden you with offerings; I did not make you weary by demanding ¹  incense.

But if they had stood in my inner circle, ¹  they would have proclaimed my message to my people. They would have caused my people to turn from their wicked ways and stop doing the evil things they are doing.

but since it concerns points of disagreement ¹  about words and names and your own law, settle ²  it yourselves. I will not be ³  a judge of these things!”

If an unbeliever invites you to dinner and you want to go, eat whatever is served without asking questions of conscience.

For in fact you shared the sufferings of those in prison, ¹  and you accepted the confiscation of your belongings with joy, because you knew that you certainly ²  had a better and lasting possession.

They will be like a tree planted near a stream whose roots spread out toward the water. It has nothing to fear when the heat comes. Its leaves are always green. It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought. It does not stop bearing fruit.