(My little children, ¹  I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. ² ) But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate ³  with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous One, ⁴ 

not like Cain ¹  who was of the evil one and brutally ²  murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, but his brother’s were righteous.

but ¹  every spirit that does not confess ²  Jesus ³  is not from God, and this is the spirit ⁴  of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now is already in the world.

If we accept the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, because ¹  this ²  is the testimony of God that ³  he has testified concerning his Son.

But now ¹  I ask you, lady (not as if I were ²  writing a new commandment ³  to you, but the one ⁴  we have had from the beginning), ⁵  that ⁶  we love one another.

Dear friends, although I have been eager to write to you ¹  about our common salvation, I now feel compelled ²  instead to write to encourage ³  you to contend earnestly ⁴  for the faith ⁵  that was once for all ⁶  entrusted to the saints. ⁷ 

The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, ¹  I will permit ²  him to eat from the tree of life that is ³  in the paradise of God.’ ⁴ 

They ¹  were told ²  not to damage the grass of the earth, or any green plant or tree, but only those people ³  who did not have the seal of God on their ⁴  forehead.

If ¹  anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths ²  and completely consumes ³  their enemies. If ⁴  anyone wants to harm them, they must be killed this way.

So I am legally informing you: ¹  Acquire it before those sitting here and before the leaders of my people! ²  If you want to exercise your right to redeem it, then do so. ³  But if not, then tell me ⁴  so I will know. ⁵  For you possess the first option to redeem it; I am next in line after you.” ⁶  He replied, “I will redeem it.”

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 

And the Lord God said, “Now ¹  that the man has become like one of us, ²  knowing ³  good and evil, he must not be allowed ⁴  to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears ¹  – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, ²  and he rebuked you last night.”

Reuben continued, ¹  “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” ²  (Reuben said this ³  so he could rescue Joseph ⁴  from them ⁵  and take him back to his father.)

Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought, ¹  “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.” ²  So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

Tell him, ‘Your servants have taken care of cattle ¹  from our youth until now, both we and our fathers,’ so that you may live in the land of Goshen, ²  for everyone who takes care of sheep is disgusting ³  to the Egyptians.”

If any household is too small ¹  for a lamb, ²  the man ³  and his next-door neighbor ⁴  are to take ⁵  a lamb according to the number of people – you will make your count for the lamb according to how much each one can eat. ⁶ 

You are to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; seven days ¹  you must eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you, at the appointed time of the month of Abib, for at that time ²  you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before ³  me empty-handed.

If some of the meat of his peace offering sacrifice is ever eaten on the third day it will not be accepted; it will not be accounted to the one who presented it, since it is spoiled, ¹  and the person who eats from it will bear his punishment for iniquity. ² 

Then Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his other two sons, “Do not ¹  dishevel the hair of your heads ²  and do not tear your garments, so that you do not die and so that wrath does not come on the whole congregation. Your brothers, all the house of Israel, are to mourn the burning which the Lord has caused, ³