while God confirmed their witness ¹  with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed ²  according to his will.

and to Jesus, the mediator ¹  of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does. ² 

By his sovereign plan he gave us birth ¹  through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone ¹  who gazes at his own face ²  in a mirror.

and a stumbling-stone ¹  and a rock to trip over. ²  They stumble ³  because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. ⁴ 

If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

But whoever obeys his ¹  word, truly in this person ²  the love of God has been perfected. By this we know that we are in him.

They ¹  have testified to your love before the church. ²  You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. ³ 

“To ¹  the angel of the church in Smyrna write the following: ²  “This is the solemn pronouncement of ³  the one who is the first and the last, the one who was dead, but ⁴  came to life:

“To ¹  the angel of the church in Pergamum write the following: ²  “This is the solemn pronouncement of ³  the one who has the sharp double-edged sword: ⁴ 

Then ¹  he shouted in a loud voice like a lion roaring, and when he shouted, the seven thunders sounded their voices.

whenever a prophet speaks in my ¹  name and the prediction ²  is not fulfilled, ³  then I have ⁴  not spoken it; ⁵  the prophet has presumed to speak it, so you need not fear him.”

He said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt and I delivered you from the power ¹  of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.

He took a pair ¹  of oxen and cut them up. Then he sent the pieces throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, who said, “Whoever does not go out after Saul and after Samuel should expect this to be done to his oxen!” Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they went out as one army. ² 

They said to the messengers who had come, “Here’s what you should say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow deliverance will come to you when the sun is fully up.’” When the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh Gilead, they were happy.

Absalom said to Joab, “Look, I sent a message to you saying, ‘Come here so that I can send you to the king with this message: ¹  “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there.”’ Let me now see the face of the king. If I am at fault, let him put me to death!”

The old prophet then said, ¹  “I too am a prophet like you. An angel told me with the Lord’s authority, ²  ‘Bring him back with you to your house so he can eat and drink.’” ³  But he was lying to him. ⁴ 

The prophet Jehu son of Hanani received from the Lord the message predicting the downfall of Baasha and his family because of all the evil Baasha had done in the sight of the Lord. ¹  His actions angered the Lord (including the way he had destroyed Jeroboam’s dynasty), so that his family ended up like Jeroboam’s. ² 

Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your dependent. ¹  March up and rescue me from the power ²  of the king of Syria and the king of Israel, who have attacked ³  me.”

The king of Assyria was told, ¹  “The nations whom you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land, so he has sent lions among them. They are killing the people ²  because they do not know the requirements of the God of the land.”