When Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Then no one dared any longer to question him.

So ¹  Jesus went with them. When ²  he was not far from the house, the centurion ³  sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, ⁴  for I am not worthy ⁵  to have you come under my roof.

The brothers from there, ¹  when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius ²  and Three Taverns ³  to meet us. When he saw them, ⁴  Paul thanked God and took courage.

For we were not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach as far as you, because we were the first to reach as far as you with the gospel about Christ. ¹ 

Are they servants of Christ? (I am talking like I am out of my mind!) I am even more so: with much greater labors, with far more imprisonments, with more severe beatings, facing death many times.

Then, during the night, ¹  Abram ²  divided his forces ³  against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north ⁴  of Damascus.

But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do this! The man in whose hand the cup was found will become my slave, but the rest of ¹  you may go back ²  to your father in peace.”

So the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country swooped ¹  down and attacked them ²  as far as Hormah. ³ 

They came to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land. Make a treaty with us.”

They invaded the land ¹  and devoured ²  its crops ³  all the way to Gaza. They left nothing for the Israelites to eat, ⁴  and they took away ⁵  the sheep, oxen, and donkeys.

Jonathan said, “Far be it from you to suggest this! If I were at all aware that my father had decided to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you about it?”

King David went in, sat before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, ¹  that you should have brought me to this point?

“Foreigners, who do not belong to your people Israel, will come from a distant land because of your reputation. ¹ 

In the east they settled as far as the entrance to the desert that stretches to the Euphrates River, for their cattle had increased in numbers in the land of Gilead.

They come from a distant land, from the horizon. ¹  It is the Lord with his instruments of judgment, ²  coming to destroy the whole earth. ³ 

Then say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the judgments ¹  I am ready to bring upon her; they will grow faint.’” The prophecies of Jeremiah end here. ² 

Then ¹  Jesus ²  led them out as far as Bethany, ³  and lifting up his hands, he blessed them.

Those who accompanied Paul escorted him as far as Athens, ¹  and after receiving an order for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left. ² 

The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them and chased them from in front of the city gate all the way to the fissures ¹  and defeated them on the steep slope. ²  The people’s ³  courage melted away like water. ⁴ 

The sovereign master ¹  says, “These people say they are loyal to me; ²  they say wonderful things about me, ³  but they are not really loyal to me. ⁴  Their worship consists of nothing but man-made ritual. ⁵