As ¹  he was sitting on the judgment seat, ²  his wife sent a message ³  to him: ⁴  “Have nothing to do with that innocent man; ⁵  I have suffered greatly as a result of a dream ⁶  about him today.”

From this point on, Pilate tried ¹  to release him. But the Jewish leaders ²  shouted out, ³  “If you release this man, ⁴  you are no friend of Caesar! ⁵  Everyone who claims to be a king ⁶  opposes Caesar!”

There he ¹  found ²  a Jew named Aquila, ³  a native of Pontus, ⁴  who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius ⁵  had ordered all the Jews to depart from ⁶  Rome. ⁷  Paul approached ⁸  them,

For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts ¹  were darkened.

and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women ¹  and were inflamed in their passions ²  for one another. Men ³  committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

And why not say, “Let us do evil so that good may come of it”? – as some who slander us allege that we say. ¹  (Their ²  condemnation is deserved!)

Against hope Abraham ¹  believed ²  in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations ³  according to the pronouncement, ⁴  “so will your descendants be.” ⁵ 

so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

So, my brothers and sisters, ¹  you also died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God. ² 

For when we were in the flesh, ¹  the sinful desires, ²  aroused by the law, were active in the members of our body ³  to bear fruit for death.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been in vain. In fact, I worked harder than all of them – yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

as you also join in helping us by prayer, so that many people may give thanks to God ¹  on our behalf for the gracious gift given to us through the help of many.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, ¹  so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil. ² 

Now I rejoice, not because you were made sad, ¹  but because you were made sad to the point of repentance. For you were made sad as God intended, ²  so that you were not harmed ³  in any way by us.

Therefore we have been encouraged. And in addition to our own encouragement, we rejoiced even more at the joy of Titus, because all of you have refreshed his spirit. ¹ 

My goal is that ¹  their hearts, having been knit together ²  in love, may be encouraged, and that ³  they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ⁴ 

Even though they have the appearance of wisdom ¹  with their self-imposed worship and false humility ²  achieved by an ³  unsparing treatment of the body – a wisdom with no true value – they in reality result in fleshly indulgence. ⁴ 

because they hinder us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they constantly fill up their measure of sins, ¹  but wrath ²  has come upon them completely. ³ 

so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. ¹ 

He ¹  opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat ²  in God’s temple, displaying himself as God. ³