“Blessed are you when people ¹  hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject you as evil ²  on account of the Son of Man!

Now at one point ¹  the Pharisees ²  asked Jesus ³  when the kingdom of God ⁴  was coming, so he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs ⁵  to be observed,

So then from now on we acknowledge ¹  no one from an outward human point of view. ²  Even though we have known Christ from such a human point of view, ³  now we do not know him in that way any longer.

Now I, Paul, appeal to you ¹  personally ²  by the meekness and gentleness ³  of Christ (I who am meek ⁴  when present among ⁵  you, but am full of courage ⁶  toward you when away!) –

Even though they have the appearance of wisdom ¹  with their self-imposed worship and false humility ²  achieved by an ³  unsparing treatment of the body – a wisdom with no true value – they in reality result in fleshly indulgence. ⁴ 

Pure and undefiled religion before ¹  God the Father ²  is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

And this prefigured baptism, which now saves you ¹  – not the washing off of physical dirt ²  but the pledge ³  of a good conscience to God – through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, ¹  who is the Spirit of God, ²  rests ³  on you.

“You must measure ¹  from outside the wall of the town on the east 1,000 yards, ²  and on the south side 1,000 yards, and on the west side 1,000 yards, and on the north side 1,000 yards, with the town in the middle. ³  This territory must belong to them as grazing land for the towns.

Then the king said, “Who is that in the courtyard?” Now Haman had come to the outer courtyard of the palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had constructed for him.