Because of this I am writing these things while absent, so that when I arrive ¹  I may not have to deal harshly with you ²  by using my authority – the Lord gave it to me for building up, not for tearing down!

“Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” ¹ 

The artisans ¹  are to use ²  the gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine linen.

“As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, ¹  you will not quote this proverb in Israel anymore!

Live ¹  as free people, not using your freedom as a pretext for evil, but as God’s slaves. ² 

“With it you are to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony,

I said of partying, ¹  “It is folly,” and of self-indulgent pleasure, ²  “It accomplishes nothing!” ³ 

Therefore, since we have such a hope, we behave with great boldness, ¹ 

See what big letters I make as I write to you with my own hand!

Conduct yourselves ¹  with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities.

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.

He will take your male and female servants, as well as your best cattle and your donkeys, and assign them for his own use.

In ¹  Lystra ²  sat a man who could not use his feet, ³  lame from birth, ⁴  who had never walked.

But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil.

Now in a wealthy home ¹  there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also ones made of wood and of clay, and some are for honorable use, but others for ignoble use. ² 

So if someone cleanses himself of such behavior, ¹  he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart, useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

“The remainder, one and two-thirds miles ¹  in width and eight and a quarter miles ²  in length, will be for common use by the city, for houses and for open space. The city will be in the middle of it;

Give, and it will be given to you: A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, ¹  will be poured ²  into your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive.” ³ 

So ¹  he said to the worker who tended the vineyard, ‘For ²  three years ³  now, I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and each time I inspect it ⁴  I find none. Cut ⁵  it down! Why ⁶  should it continue to deplete ⁷  the soil?’

If others receive this right from you, are we not more deserving? But we have not made use of this right. Instead we endure everything so that we may not be a hindrance to the gospel of Christ.