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 

But be that as it may, I have not burdened you. Yet because I was a crafty person, I took you in by deceit!

I ¹  have had great joy and encouragement because ²  of your love, for the hearts ³  of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

Remember those in prison as though you were in prison with them, ¹  and those ill-treated as though you too felt their torment. ² 

We know that ¹  we have crossed over ²  from death to life ³  because ⁴  we love our fellow Christians. ⁵  The one who does not love remains in death. ⁶ 

We have come to know love by this: ¹  that Jesus ²  laid down ³  his life for us; thus we ought to lay down our lives for our fellow Christians.

“‘You must not steal, you must not tell lies, and you must not deal falsely with your fellow citizen. ¹ 

“‘If a man beats any person to death, ¹  he must be put to death.

This is the nature of the cancellation: Every creditor must remit what he has loaned to another person; ¹  he must not force payment from his fellow Israelite, ²  for it is to be recognized as “the Lord’s cancellation of debts.”

Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak ¹  and his priestly colleagues ²  and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his colleagues ³  started to build ⁴  the altar of the God of Israel so they could offer burnt offerings on it as required by ⁵  the law of Moses the man of God.

They were banished from the community ¹  – people ²  shouted at them like they would shout at thieves ³  –

“Every seven years each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you for six years, you shall set them free.” ¹  But your ancestors did not obey me or pay any attention to me.

So the Jewish leaders ¹  were looking for him at the feast, asking, “Where is he?” ² 

But the leaders of the Philistines became angry with him and said ¹  to him, “Send the man back! Let him return to the place that you assigned him! Don’t let him go down with us into the battle, for he might become ²  our adversary in the battle. What better way to please his lord than with the heads of these men? ³ 

For your lifeblood ¹  I will surely exact punishment, ²  from ³  every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person ⁴  I will exact punishment for the life of the individual ⁵  since the man was his relative. ⁶ 

They said to me, ‘Make us gods that will go before us, for as for this fellow Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’

“When a person sins and commits a trespass ¹  against the Lord by deceiving his fellow citizen ²  in regard to something held in trust, or a pledge, or something stolen, or by extorting something from his fellow citizen, ³ 

You may give them as inheritance to your children after you to possess as property. You may enslave them perpetually. However, as for your brothers the Israelites, no man may rule over his brother harshly. ¹ 

If your fellow Hebrew ¹  – whether male or female ²  – is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let that servant ³  go free. ⁴ 

I will raise up a prophet like you for them from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them whatever I command.