As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, ¹  take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name.

I am also aware ¹  that you have persisted steadfastly, ²  endured much for the sake of my name, and have not grown weary.

So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Abner ¹  has come to you! Why would you send him away? Now he’s gone on his way! ² 

Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond; you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’ You must ¹  remove the burdensome yoke from among you and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.

But ever since we stopped sacrificing and pouring out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven, we have been in great need. Our people have died in wars or of starvation.” ¹ 

“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Enough, you princes of Israel! Put away violence and destruction, and do what is just and right. Put an end to your evictions of my people, ¹  declares the sovereign Lord.

With regard to our brother Apollos: I strongly encouraged him to visit you with the other brothers, ¹  but it was simply not his intention to come now. ²  He will come when he has the opportunity.

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. ¹ 

He will arbitrate ¹  between many peoples and settle disputes between many ²  distant nations. ³  They will beat their swords into plowshares, ⁴  and their spears into pruning hooks. ⁵  Nations will not use weapons ⁶  against other nations, and they will no longer train for war.

After there had been much debate, ¹  Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that some time ago ²  God chose ³  me to preach to the Gentiles so they would hear the message ⁴  of the gospel ⁵  and believe. ⁶ 

For if someone comes and proclaims ¹  another Jesus different from the one we proclaimed, ²  or if you receive a different spirit than the one you received, ³  or a different gospel than the one you accepted, ⁴  you put up with it well enough! ⁵ 

The rest of humanity, who had not been killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so that they did not stop worshiping demons and idols made ¹  of gold, silver, ²  bronze, stone, and wood – idols that cannot see or hear or walk about.

After Isaac ¹  had been there a long time, ²  Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed ³  Isaac caressing ⁴  his wife Rebekah.

They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, ¹  Rachel went into labor ²  – and her labor was hard.

Joseph stored up a vast amount of grain, like the sand of the sea, ¹  until he stopped measuring it because it was impossible to measure.

“Your servant our father is well,” they replied. “He is still alive.” They bowed down in humility. ¹ 

They told him, “Joseph is still alive and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned, ¹  for he did not believe them.

¹ “If an ox ²  gores a man or a woman so that either dies, ³  then the ox must surely ⁴  be stoned and its flesh must not be eaten, but the owner of the ox will be acquitted.

“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 

The land must not be sold without reclaim ¹  because the land belongs to me, for you are foreigners and residents with me. ²