Or did I commit a sin by humbling myself ¹  so that you could be exalted, because I proclaimed ²  the gospel of God to you free of charge?

For I did not receive it or learn it from any human source; ¹  instead I received it ²  by a revelation of Jesus Christ. ³ 

to reveal his Son in ¹  me so that I could preach him ²  among the Gentiles, I did not go to ask advice from ³  any human being, ⁴ 

nor did I go up to Jerusalem ¹  to see those who were apostles before me, but right away I departed to Arabia, ²  and then returned to Damascus.

But ¹  we did not surrender to them ²  even for a moment, ³  in order that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. ⁴ 

He did this by predestining ¹  us to adoption as his ²  sons ³  through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure ⁴  of his will –

He did this when he revealed ¹  to us the secret ²  of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth ³  in Christ, ⁴ 

when he nullified ¹  in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new man ²  out of two, ³  thus making peace,

when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired ¹  on that day among all who have believed – and you did in fact believe our testimony. ² 

However, ¹  without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your good deed would not be out of compulsion, but from your own willingness.

Therefore it remains for some to enter it, yet those to whom it was previously proclaimed did not enter because of disobedience.

For the one who enters God’s ¹  rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works.

So when he came into the world, he said, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.

When he was maligned, he ¹  did not answer back; when he suffered, he threatened ²  no retaliation, ³  but committed himself to God ⁴  who judges justly.

(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished.) ¹  This is the first resurrection.

But the one who did not know his master’s will ¹  and did things worthy of punishment ²  will receive a light beating. ³  From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, ⁴  and from the one who has been entrusted with much, ⁵  even more will be asked. ⁶ 

And that is what I did in Jerusalem: Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received ¹  from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote ²  against them when they were sentenced to death. ³ 

Therefore when I was planning to do this, I did not do so without thinking about what I was doing, did I? ¹  Or do I make my plans ²  according to mere human standards ³  so that I would be saying ⁴  both “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time?

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.

While they were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness ¹  to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ²