The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the earth will yield its crops. They will live securely on their land; they will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hand of those who enslaved them.

Yet they will be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple, and serving the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for the people, and they will stand before them to minister to them.

An area eight and a quarter miles ¹  in length and three and one-third miles ²  in width will be for the Levites, who minister at the temple, as the place for the cities ³  in which they will live.

But Daniel made up his mind ¹  that he would not defile ²  himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. ³  He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself.

Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my gods and that you don’t pay homage to the golden statue that I erected?

So the king gave the order, ¹  and Daniel was brought and thrown into a den ²  of lions. The king consoled ³  Daniel by saying, “Your God whom you continually serve will rescue you!”

A river of fire was streaming forth and proceeding from his presence. Many thousands were ministering to him; Many tens of thousands stood ready to serve him. ¹  The court convened ²  and the books were opened.

To him was given ruling authority, honor, and sovereignty. All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving ¹  him. His authority is eternal and will not pass away. ²  His kingdom will not be destroyed. ³ 

Then the kingdom, authority, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be delivered to the people of the holy ones ¹  of the Most High. His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; all authorities will serve him and obey him.’

Hearing this, ¹  the men became even more afraid ²  and said to him, “What have you done?” (The men said this because they knew that he was trying to escape ³  from the Lord, ⁴  because he had previously told them. ⁵ )

For a son thinks his father is a fool, a daughter challenges ¹  her mother, and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are his own servants. ² 

You march out to deliver your people, to deliver your special servant. ¹  You strike the leader of the wicked nation, ²  laying him open from the lower body to the neck. ³  Selah.

“They will belong to me,” says the Lord who rules over all, “in the day when I prepare my own special property. ¹  I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

The ¹  one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, saying, ‘Sir, ²  you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

Then ¹  the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking my position ²  away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig, ³  and I’m too ashamed ⁴  to beg.

So ¹  he got up ²  and went. There ³  he met ⁴  an Ethiopian eunuch, ⁵  a court official of Candace, ⁶  queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasury. He ⁷  had come to Jerusalem to worship, ⁸ 

But now we have been released from the law, because we have died ¹  to what controlled us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit and not under the old written code. ² 

Thanks be ¹  to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, ²  I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but ³  with my flesh I serve ⁴  the law of sin.

To the weak I became weak in order to gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that by all means I may save some.

For you put up with ¹  it if someone makes slaves of you, if someone exploits you, if someone takes advantage of you, if someone behaves arrogantly ²  toward you, if someone strikes you in the face.