Look, the sovereign Lord who commands armies ¹  is about to remove from Jerusalem ²  and Judah every source of security, including ³  all the food and water, ⁴ 

“This is the law of the temple: The entire area on top of the mountain all around will be most holy. Indeed, this is the law of the temple.

The dry and liquid measures will be the same, the bath will contain a tenth of a homer, ¹  and the ephah a tenth of a homer; the homer will be the standard measure.

Draw yourselves water for a siege! ¹  Strengthen your fortifications! Trample the mud ²  and tread the clay! Make mud bricks to strengthen your walls! ³ 

For Moses has had those who proclaim him in every town from ancient times, ¹  because he is read aloud ²  in the synagogues ³  every Sabbath.”

What then? Are we better off? Certainly not, for we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin,

But the fruit of the Spirit ¹  is love, ²  joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ³ 

We proclaim him by instructing ¹  and teaching ²  all people ³  with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature ⁴  in Christ.

Remind people ¹  of these things and solemnly charge them ²  before the Lord ³  not to wrangle over words. This is of no benefit; it just brings ruin on those who listen. ⁴ 

For this very reason, ¹  make every effort ²  to add to your faith excellence, ³  to excellence, knowledge;

But now ¹  I ask you, lady (not as if I were ²  writing a new commandment ³  to you, but the one ⁴  we have had from the beginning), ⁵  that ⁶  we love one another.

So the Lord’s word to them will sound like meaningless gibberish, senseless babbling, a syllable here, a syllable there. ¹  As a result, they will fall on their backsides when they try to walk, ²  and be injured, ensnared, and captured. ³ 

For if a woman will not cover her head, she should cut off her hair. But if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, she should cover her head.

But now that you have come to know God (or rather to be known by God), how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless ¹  basic forces? ²  Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? ³