bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat ¹  you.

Do they not blaspheme the good name of the one you belong to? ¹ 

for your sins and your ancestors’ sins,” ¹  says the Lord. “Because they burned incense on the mountains and offended ²  me on the hills, I will punish them in full measure.” ³ 

But when ¹  some were stubborn ²  and refused to believe, reviling ³  the Way ⁴  before the congregation, he left ⁵  them and took the disciples with him, ⁶  addressing ⁷  them every day ⁸  in the lecture hall ⁹  of Tyrannus.

So I entered a complaint with them. I called down a curse on them, and I struck some of the men and pulled out their hair. I had them swear by God saying, “You will not marry off ¹  your daughters to their sons, and you will not take any of their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves!

I will see to it that all the Judean remnant that was determined to go ¹  and live in the land of Egypt will be destroyed. Here in the land of Egypt they will fall in battle ²  or perish from starvation. People of every class ³  will die in war or from starvation. They will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. ⁴ 

You must not curse a deaf person or put a stumbling block in front of a blind person. ¹  You must fear ²  your God; I am the Lord.

They went out to the field, harvested their grapes, ¹  squeezed out the juice, ²  and celebrated. They came to the temple ³  of their god and ate, drank, and cursed Abimelech.

But one of the servants told Nabal’s wife Abigail, “David sent messengers from the desert to greet ¹  our lord, but he screamed at them.

Yes, ¹  the wicked man ²  boasts because he gets what he wants; ³  the one who robs others ⁴  curses ⁵  and ⁶  rejects the Lord. ⁷ 

Why does the wicked man reject God? ¹  He says to himself, ²  “You ³  will not hold me accountable.” ⁴ 

My enemies’ taunts cut into me to the bone, ¹  as they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” ² 

because of what the enemy says, ¹  and because of how the wicked ²  pressure me, ³  for they hurl trouble ⁴  down upon me ⁵  and angrily attack me.

Highways are empty, ¹  there are no travelers. ²  Treaties are broken, ³  witnesses are despised, ⁴  human life is treated with disrespect. ⁵ 

‘Don’t preach with such impassioned rhetoric,’ they say excitedly. ¹  ‘These prophets should not preach of such things; we will not be overtaken by humiliation.’ ² 

Those who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,

They were only hearing, “The one who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news ¹  of the faith he once tried to destroy.”

So I want younger women to marry, raise children, and manage a household, in order to give the adversary no opportunity to vilify us. ¹ 

Those who are under the yoke as slaves ¹  must regard their own masters as deserving of full respect. This will prevent ²  the name of God and Christian teaching ³  from being discredited. ⁴ 

he is conceited and understands nothing, but has an unhealthy interest in controversies and verbal disputes. This gives rise to envy, dissension, slanders, evil suspicions,