The Lord is a zealous ¹  and avenging ²  God; the Lord is avenging and very angry. ³  The Lord takes vengeance ⁴  against his foes; he sustains his rage ⁵  against his enemies.

You are too just ¹  to tolerate ²  evil; you are unable to condone ³  wrongdoing. So why do you put up with such treacherous people? ⁴  Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour ⁵  those more righteous than they are? ⁶ 

You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God. How have we been helped ¹  by keeping his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord who rules over all? ² 

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ ¹  will enter into the kingdom of heaven – only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. ¹  But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’

But he answered them, ¹  “You ²  give them something to eat.” And they said, “Should we go and buy bread for two hundred silver coins ³  and give it to them to eat?”

He ¹  saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. As the night was ending, ²  he came to them walking on the sea, ³  for ⁴  he wanted to pass by them. ⁵ 

One of them, named Agabus, got up ¹  and predicted ²  by the Spirit that a severe ³  famine ⁴  was about to come over the whole inhabited world. ⁵  (This ⁶  took place during the reign of Claudius.) ⁷ 

These Jews ¹  were more open-minded ²  than those in Thessalonica, ³  for they eagerly ⁴  received ⁵  the message, examining ⁶  the scriptures carefully every day ⁷  to see if these things were so.

For ¹  we are in danger of being charged with rioting ²  today, since there is no cause we can give to explain ³  this disorderly gathering.” ⁴ 

if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.

So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, ¹ 

Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

So as your fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings and as one who shares in the glory that will be revealed, I urge the elders among you:

“When someone has ¹  a swelling ²  or a scab ³  or a bright spot ⁴  on the skin of his body ⁵  that may become a diseased infection, ⁶  he must be brought to Aaron the priest or one of his sons, the priests. ⁷ 

The priest must then examine the infection ¹  on the skin of the body, and if the hair ²  in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of the body, ³  then it is a diseased infection, ⁴  so when the priest examines it ⁵  he must pronounce the person unclean. ⁶ 

The priest will then examine it, ¹  and if ²  it appears to be deeper than the skin ³  and its hair has turned white, then the priest is to pronounce the person unclean. ⁴  It is a diseased infection that has broken out in the boil. ⁵ 

He must then examine the infection on the seventh day. If the infection has spread in the garment, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in the leather – whatever the article into which the leather was made ¹  – the infection is a malignant disease. It is unclean.

The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to choose ¹  me as your king, then come along, find safety under my branches! ²  Otherwise ³  may fire blaze from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’

But they must make sure you learn to follow the religious practices of my people. ¹  Once they taught my people to swear their oaths using the name of the god Baal. ²  But then, they must swear oaths using my name, saying, “As surely as the Lord lives, I swear.” ³  If they do these things, ⁴  then they will be included among the people I call my own. ⁵