“Exert every effort ¹  to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.

Then ¹  when Jesus ²  noticed how the guests ³  chose the places of honor, ⁴  he told them a parable. He said to them,

But when he came to his senses ¹  he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have food ²  enough to spare, but here I am dying from hunger!

It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything that causes your brother to stumble. ¹ 

Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days –

They said, “Come on, let’s attack them, ¹  for ²  we saw their land and it is very good. You seem lethargic, ³  but don’t hesitate ⁴  to invade and conquer ⁵  the land.

“Look up at the hilltops and consider this. ¹  You have had sex with other gods on every one of them. ²  You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the desert. ³  You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods. ⁴ 

He asked the men who were there, ¹  “Where is the cult prostitute ²  who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.”

They sat before him, arranged by order of birth, beginning with the firstborn and ending with the youngest. ¹  The men looked at each other in astonishment. ² 

So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long do you intend to put off occupying ¹  the land the Lord God of your ancestors ²  has given you?

Now, as certainly as the Lord lives (he who made me secure, allowed me to sit on my father David’s throne, and established a dynasty ¹  for me as he promised), Adonijah will be executed today!”

But the prophet said to the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions, ¹  I could not go with you and eat and drink ²  in this place.

In light of the fact that we are loyal to the king, ¹  and since it does not seem appropriate to us that the king should sustain damage, ²  we are sending the king this information ³ 

Everyone who held the words of the God of Israel in awe ¹  gathered around me because of the unfaithful acts of the people of the exile. ²  Devastated, I continued to sit there until the evening offering.

You have also established prophets to announce ¹  in Jerusalem ²  on your behalf, ‘We have a king in Judah!’ Now the king is going to hear about these rumors. So come on! Let’s talk about this.” ³ 

You ascend on high, ¹  you have taken many captives. ²  You receive tribute ³  from ⁴  men, including even sinful rebels. Indeed the Lord God lives there! ⁵ 

Certainly ¹  spending just one day in your temple courts is better than spending a thousand elsewhere. ²  I would rather stand at the entrance ³  to the temple of my God than live ⁴  in the tents of the wicked.

¹ Come, let’s consider your options,” ²  says the Lord. “Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become ³  white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become ⁴  white like wool. ⁵ 

“Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! ¹  Let the nations find renewed strength! Let them approach and then speak; let us come together for debate! ² 

So I said, ¹  “Oh, my dear people, ²  put on sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with painful sobs as though you had lost your only child. For any moment now ³  that destructive army ⁴  will come against us.”