But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing these things so that something will be done for me. ¹  In fact, it would be better for me to die than – no one will deprive me of my reason for boasting! ² 

So then, dear brothers and sisters, ¹  be firm. Do not be moved! Always be outstanding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are ¹  the temple of the living God, just as God said, “I will live in them ²  and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” ³ 

When ¹  I was with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia fully supplied my needs. ²  I ³  kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so.

But ¹  he said to me, “My grace is enough ²  for you, for my ³  power is made perfect ⁴  in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly ⁵  about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in ⁶  me.

More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things – indeed, I regard them as dung! ¹  – that I may gain Christ,

Yes, I say also to you, true companion, ¹  help them. They have struggled together in the gospel ministry ²  along with me and Clement and my other coworkers, whose names are in the book of life.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body – for the sake of his body, the church – what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.

I am thankful to God, whom I have served with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, ¹  when I remember you in my prayers as I do constantly night and day. ² 

Because of this, in fact, I suffer as I do. ¹  But I am not ashamed, because I know the one in whom my faith is set ²  and I am convinced that he is able to protect what has been entrusted to me ³  until that day. ⁴ 

For to which of the angels did God ¹  ever say, “You are my son! Today I have fathered you”? ²  And in another place ³  he says, ⁴  “I will be his father and he will be my son.” ⁵ 

“This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put ¹  my laws on their hearts and I will inscribe them on their minds,” ² 

do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, ¹  “You sit here in a good place,” ²  and to the poor person, “You stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor”? ³ 

Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! ¹  Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” ¹  Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by ²  my works.

And above all, my brothers and sisters, ¹  do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall into judgment.

The one who conquers ¹  will be dressed like them ²  in white clothing, ³  and I will never ⁴  erase ⁵  his name from the book of life, but ⁶  will declare ⁷  his name before my Father and before his angels.

Because you have kept ¹  my admonition ²  to endure steadfastly, ³  I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

Listen! ¹  I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home ²  and share a meal with him, and he with me.

Then ¹  I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, so you will not take part in her sins and so you will not receive her plagues,