But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – and these men ¹  have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don’t serve your gods and they don’t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

Shortly after his rise to power, ¹  his kingdom will be broken up and distributed toward the four winds of the sky ²  – but not to his posterity or with the authority he exercised, for his kingdom will be uprooted and distributed to others besides these.

His intention ¹  will be to come with the strength of his entire kingdom, and he will form alliances. ²  He will give the king of the south ³  a daughter ⁴  in marriage in order to destroy the kingdom, but it will not turn out to his advantage.

He will rouse his strength and enthusiasm ¹  against the king of the south ²  with a large army. The king of the south will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to prevail because of the plans devised against him.

They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord; they will not please him with their sacrifices. Their sacrifices will be like bread eaten while in mourning; all those who eat them will make themselves ritually unclean. For their bread will be only to satisfy their appetite; it will not come into the temple of the Lord.

Her ¹  leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, ²  her priests proclaim rulings for profit, and her prophets read omens for pay. Yet they claim to trust ³  the Lord and say, “The Lord is among us. ⁴  Disaster will not overtake ⁵  us!”

“Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse ¹  so that there may be food in my temple. Test me in this matter,” says the Lord who rules over all, “to see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until there is no room for it all.

and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ ¹  and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” ² 

You did not choose me, but I chose you ¹  and appointed you to go and bear ²  fruit, fruit that remains, ³  so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

But when he, ¹  the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide ²  you into all truth. ³  For he will not speak on his own authority, ⁴  but will speak whatever he hears, and will tell you ⁵  what is to come. ⁶ 

Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is the meaning of what he is saying, ¹  ‘In a little while you ²  will not see me; again after a little while, you ³  will see me,’ and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” ⁴ 

Jesus could see ¹  that they wanted to ask him about these things, ²  so ³  he said to them, “Are you asking ⁴  each other about this – that I said, ‘In a little while you ⁵  will not see me; again after a little while, you ⁶  will see me’?

Now Herod ¹  was having an angry quarrel ²  with the people of Tyre ³  and Sidon. ⁴  So they joined together ⁵  and presented themselves before him. And after convincing ⁶  Blastus, the king’s personal assistant, ⁷  to help them, ⁸  they asked for peace, ⁹  because their country’s food supply was provided by the king’s country.

So now you and the council ¹  request the commanding officer ²  to bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine ³  his case ⁴  by conducting a more thorough inquiry. ⁵  We are ready to kill him ⁶  before he comes near this place.” ⁷ 

The one who observes the day does it for the Lord. The ¹  one who eats, eats for the Lord because he gives thanks to God, and the one who abstains from eating abstains for the Lord, and he gives thanks to God.

I urge you, brothers and sisters, ¹  by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to agree together, ²  to end your divisions, ³  and to be united by the same mind and purpose. ⁴ 

I have applied these things to myself and Apollos because of you, brothers and sisters, ¹  so that through us you may learn “not to go beyond what is written,” so that none of you will be puffed up in favor of the one against the other.

Do not deprive each other, except by mutual agreement for a specified time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. ¹  Then resume your relationship, ²  so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

For even if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I would be telling ¹  the truth, but I refrain from this so that no one may regard ²  me beyond what he sees in me or what he hears from me,

Look, for the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you, because I do not want your possessions, but you. For children should not have ¹  to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.