But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires. ¹  For apart from the law, sin is dead.

so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another.

But I will come to you soon, if the Lord is willing, and I will find out not only the talk of these arrogant people, but also their power.

And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you,

For those who have served well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves ¹  and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. ² 

Is it not true ¹  that if you do what is right, you will be fine? ²  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching ³  at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.” ⁴ 

The blessings of your father are greater than ¹  the blessings of the eternal mountains ²  or the desirable things of the age-old hills. They will be on the head of Joseph and on the brow of the prince of his brothers. ³ 

He has filled them with skill ¹  to do all kinds of work ²  as craftsmen, as designers, as embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and in fine linen, and as weavers. They are ³  craftsmen in all the work ⁴  and artistic designers. ⁵ 

They said, “Come on, let’s attack them, ¹  for ²  we saw their land and it is very good. You seem lethargic, ³  but don’t hesitate ⁴  to invade and conquer ⁵  the land.

One of his attendants replied, ¹  “I have seen a son of Jesse in Bethlehem ²  who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave warrior ³  and is articulate ⁴  and handsome, ⁵  for the Lord is with him.”

All these were the descendants of Asher. They were the leaders of their families, the most capable men, who were warriors and served as head chiefs. There were 26,000 warriors listed in their genealogical records as capable of doing battle. ¹ 

I gave instructions ¹  that Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a certain Levite named Pedaiah be put in charge of ²  the storerooms, and that Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, be their assistant, ³  for they were regarded as trustworthy. It was then their responsibility to oversee the distribution to their colleagues. ⁴ 

The king then said to Haman, “Go quickly! Take the clothing and the horse, just as you have described, and do as you just indicated to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king’s gate. Don’t neglect ¹  a single thing of all that you have said.”

Does it make you any more of a king that you outstrip everyone else in ¹  building with cedar? Just think about your father. He was content that he had food and drink. ²  He did what was just and right. ³  So things went well with him.

The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I answered, “I see figs. The good ones look very good. But the bad ones look very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”

The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life. ¹  The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking: “I despise Jacob’s arrogance; I hate their ²  fortresses. I will hand over to their enemies ³  the city of Samaria ⁴  and everything in it.”

And the king ¹  said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful ²  in a very small matter, you will have authority ³  over ten cities.’

He takes away ¹  every branch that does not bear ²  fruit in me. He ³  prunes ⁴  every branch that bears ⁵  fruit so that it will bear more fruit.

a promise ¹  that our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God ²  night and day. Concerning this hope the Jews are accusing me, ³  Your Majesty! ⁴