Be strong and act like men, you Philistines, or else you will wind up serving the Hebrews the way they have served you! Act like men and fight!”

They say, ¹  “We speak persuasively; ²  we know how to flatter and boast. ³  Who is our master?” ⁴ 

If the Lord who commands armies ¹  had not left us a few survivors, we would have quickly become like Sodom, ²  we would have become like Gomorrah.

Look! The enemy is approaching like gathering clouds. ¹  The roar of his chariots is like that of a whirlwind. ²  His horses move more swiftly than eagles.” I cry out, ³  “We are doomed, ⁴  for we will be destroyed!”

You are happy because you conquered Lo-Debar. ¹  You say, “Did we not conquer Karnaim ²  by our own power?”

Now this is what I am saying, brothers and sisters: ¹  Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

For just as the sufferings ¹  of Christ ²  overflow ³  toward us, so also our comfort through Christ overflows to you. ⁴ 

I do not mean that we rule over your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy, because by faith you stand firm. ¹ 

always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus, ¹  so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible ²  in our body.

Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves ¹  from everything that could defile the body ²  and the spirit, and thus accomplish ³  holiness out of reverence for God. ⁴ 

For even when we came into Macedonia, our body ¹  had no rest at all, but we were troubled in every way – struggles from the outside, fears from within.

And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you,

Here is another way that our people ¹  can learn ²  to engage in good works to meet pressing needs and so not be unfruitful.

I pray ¹  that the faith you share with us may deepen your understanding of every blessing ²  that belongs to you ³  in Christ. ⁴ 

Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, ¹  partners in a heavenly calling, take note of Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess, ² 

And if we know ¹  that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, then we know that we have the requests that we have asked from him.

but as a reminder to us and you, ¹  and to our descendants who follow us, that we will honor the Lord in his very presence ²  with burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace. ³  Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, ‘You have no right to worship the Lord.’ ⁴ 

If we go into the city, we’ll die of starvation, ¹  and if we stay here we’ll die! So come on, let’s defect ²  to the Syrian camp! If they spare us, ³  we’ll live; if they kill us – well, we were going to die anyway.” ⁴ 

For God achieved what the law could not do because ¹  it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,

“Listen, sir, ¹  you are a mighty prince ²  among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you ³  from burying your dead.”