“‘But I said to their children ¹  in the wilderness, “Do not follow the practices of your fathers; do not observe their regulations, ²  nor defile yourselves with their idols.

Realize ¹  that to them you are like a sensual song, a beautiful voice and skilled musician. ²  They hear your words, but they do not obey them. ³ 

They will bear their shame for all their unfaithful acts against me, when they live securely on their land with no one to make them afraid.

Say to the rebellious, ¹  to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Enough of all your abominable practices, O house of Israel!

Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, ¹  those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. ²  As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, ³  because they have the power to do so.

Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’ ¹ 

“Everyone ¹  who hears these words of mine and does them is like ²  a wise man ³  who built his house on rock.

“Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them into practice ¹  – I will show you what he is like:

For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed.

For circumcision ¹  has its value if you practice the law, but ²  if you break the law, ³  your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.” ¹ 

And indeed you are practicing it toward all the brothers and sisters ¹  in all of Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, ² 

sexually immoral people, practicing homosexuals, ¹  kidnappers, liars, perjurers – in fact, for any who live contrary to sound teaching.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, ¹  make every effort to be sure of your calling and election. ²  For by doing this ³  you will never ⁴  stumble into sin. ⁵ 

Their eyes, ¹  full of adultery, ²  never stop sinning; ³  they entice ⁴  unstable people. ⁵  They have trained their hearts for greed, these cursed children! ⁶ 

Now when these things had been completed, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the local residents ¹  who practice detestable things similar to those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

“Therefore, as surely as I live, says the sovereign Lord, because you defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable idols and with all your abominable practices, I will withdraw; my eye will not pity you, nor will I spare ¹  you.

“But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing according to all the abominable practices the wicked carry out, will he live? All his righteous acts will not be remembered; because of the unfaithful acts he has done and the sin he has committed, he will die. ¹ 

But we have rejected ¹  shameful hidden deeds, ²  not behaving ³  with deceptiveness ⁴  or distorting the word of God, but by open proclamation of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience before God.

But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam, ¹  who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block ²  before the people ³  of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. ⁴