We are experiencing trouble on every side, ¹  but are not crushed; we are perplexed, ²  but not driven to despair;

For it is not the person who commends himself who is approved, but the person the Lord commends.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight – the only thing that matters is faith working through love. ¹ 

For ¹  neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for ²  anything; the only thing that matters is a new creation! ³ 

and for this reason he is obligated to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people.

by the fresh and living way that he inaugurated for us ¹  through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, ² 

And these all were commended ¹  for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. ² 

But if you do not experience discipline, ¹  something all sons ²  have shared in, then you are illegitimate and are not sons.

And the fruit that consists of righteousness ¹  is planted ²  in peace among ³  those who make peace.

For ¹  this is the love of God: ²  that we keep his commandments. ³  And his commandments do not weigh us down,

But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the Lord lives and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king is, whether dead or alive, ¹  there I ²  will be as well!”

The king called out loudly ¹  to summon ²  the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed ³  to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple ⁴  and have a golden collar ⁵  placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! Certainly, I ¹  would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else ²  if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” ³ 

Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, so that it would be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.

When the king passed by, he called out to the king, “Your servant went out into the heat ¹  of the battle, and then a man turned aside and brought me a prisoner. ²  He told me, ‘Guard this prisoner. If he ends up missing for any reason, ³  you will pay with your life or with a talent ⁴  of silver.’ ⁵ 

He replied, “You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof ¹  that I dug this well.” ² 

Then they came to Marah, ¹  but they were not able to drink ²  the waters of Marah, because ³  they were bitter. ⁴  (That is ⁵  why its name was ⁶  Marah.)

“If you encounter ¹  your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return ²  it to him.

You are to attach to it a blue cord so that it will be ¹  on the turban; it is to be ²  on the front of the turban,

Moreover, the fat of an animal that has died of natural causes ¹  and the fat of an animal torn by beasts may be used for any other purpose, ²  but you must certainly never eat it.