Now it was reported to Saul, “Look, the army is sinning against the Lord by eating even the blood.” He said, “All of you have broken the covenant! ¹  Roll a large stone over here to me.”

“They will go out and observe the corpses of those who rebelled against me, for the maggots that eat them will not die, ¹  and the fire that consumes them will not die out. ²  All people will find the sight abhorrent.” ³ 

In that day you ¹  will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me, ²  for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast, ³  and you will never again be arrogant on my holy hill.

In this matter no one should violate the rights of his brother or take advantage of him, ¹  because the Lord is the avenger in all these cases, ²  as we also told you earlier and warned you solemnly.

‘Tell Joseph this: Please forgive the sin of your brothers and the wrong they did when they treated you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father.” When this message was reported to him, Joseph wept. ¹ 

However, you must confess that you have done wrong, ¹  and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God. You must confess ²  that you have given yourself to ³  foreign gods under every green tree, and have not obeyed my commands,’ says the Lord.

But the gracious gift is not like the transgression. ¹  For if the many died through the transgression of the one man, ²  how much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ multiply to the many!

The Lord humiliated ¹  Judah because of King Ahaz of Israel, ²  for he encouraged Judah to sin and was very ³  unfaithful to the Lord.

Everyone who held the words of the God of Israel in awe ¹  gathered around me because of the unfaithful acts of the people of the exile. ²  Devastated, I continued to sit there until the evening offering.

Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have behaved in an unfaithful manner by taking foreign wives! This has contributed to the guilt of Israel.

Please recall the word you commanded your servant Moses: ‘If you act unfaithfully, I will scatter you among the nations. ¹ 

Should we then in your case hear that you do all this great evil, thereby being unfaithful to our God by marrying ¹  foreign wives?”

Woe to them! For they have fled from me! Destruction to them! For they have rebelled against me! I want to deliver ¹  them, but they have lied to me.

to assume the task ¹  of this service ²  and apostleship from which Judas turned aside ³  to go to his own place.” ⁴ 

And will not the physically uncircumcised man ¹  who keeps the law judge you who, despite ²  the written code ³  and circumcision, transgress the law?

Now the law came in ¹  so that the transgression ²  may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more,

“Indeed, ¹  long ago you threw off my authority and refused to be subject to me. ²  You said, ‘I will not serve you.’ ³  Instead, you gave yourself to other gods on every high hill and under every green tree, like a prostitute sprawls out before her lovers. ⁴ 

So how can you console me with your futile words? Nothing is left of your answers but deception!” ¹ 

But they do not realize ¹  that the dead ²  are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave. ³ 

“For if you forgive others ¹  their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.