Now at one point ¹  the Pharisees ²  asked Jesus ³  when the kingdom of God ⁴  was coming, so he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs ⁵  to be observed,

The hired hand, ¹  who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons ²  the sheep and runs away. ³  So the wolf attacks ⁴  the sheep and scatters them.

Thus they were looking for Jesus, ¹  and saying to one another as they stood in the temple courts, ²  “What do you think? That he won’t come to the feast?”

Jesus replied, ¹  “The one who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, ²  but is completely ³  clean. ⁴  And you disciples ⁵  are clean, but not every one of you.”

the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, ¹  because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides ²  with you and will be ³  in you.

“Peace I leave with you; ¹  my peace I give to you; I do not give it ²  to you as the world does. ³  Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage. ⁴ 

They have been informed about you – that you teach all the Jews now living ¹  among the Gentiles to abandon ²  Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children ³  or live ⁴  according to our customs.

The crowd ¹  was listening to him until he said this. ²  Then ³  they raised their voices and shouted, ⁴  “Away with this man ⁵  from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!” ⁶ 

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under ¹  the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree?

But the man who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not do so from faith, and whatever is not from faith is sin. ¹ 

For who concedes you any superiority? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as though you did not?

But if the unbeliever wants a divorce, let it take place. In these circumstances the brother or sister is not bound. ¹  God has called you in peace.

For if someone weak sees you who possess knowledge dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience be “strengthened” ¹  to eat food offered to idols?

Who ever serves in the army at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not consume its milk?

Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread that we break a sharing in the body of Christ?

If an unbeliever invites you to dinner and you want to go, eat whatever is served without asking questions of conscience.

But if someone says to you, “This is from a sacrifice,” do not eat, because of the one who told you and because of conscience ¹  –

Have you been thinking all this time ¹  that we have been defending ourselves to you? We are speaking in Christ before God, and everything we do, dear friends, is to build you up. ² 

But from those who were influential ¹  (whatever they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism between people ² ) – those influential leaders ³  added ⁴  nothing to my message. ⁵