He must manage his own household well and keep his children in control without losing his dignity. ¹ 

Do not lay hands on anyone ¹  hastily and so identify with the sins of others. ²  Keep yourself pure.

But keep away from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace, in company with others ¹  who call on the Lord from a pure heart. ² 

Instead he must be hospitable, devoted to what is good, sensible, upright, devout, and self-controlled.

Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, ¹  bear with my message of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you briefly.

So as your fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings and as one who shares in the glory that will be revealed, I urge the elders among you:

Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, ¹  is on the prowl looking for someone ²  to devour.

“When someone has ¹  a swelling ²  or a scab ³  or a bright spot ⁴  on the skin of his body ⁵  that may become a diseased infection, ⁶  he must be brought to Aaron the priest or one of his sons, the priests. ⁷ 

The priest will then examine it, ¹  and if ²  it appears to be deeper than the skin ³  and its hair has turned white, then the priest is to pronounce the person unclean. ⁴  It is a diseased infection that has broken out in the boil. ⁵ 

“As for the diseased person who has the infection, ¹  his clothes must be torn, the hair of his head must be unbound, he must cover his mustache, ²  and he must call out ‘Unclean! Unclean!’

He must then examine the infection on the seventh day. If the infection has spread in the garment, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in the leather – whatever the article into which the leather was made ¹  – the infection is a malignant disease. It is unclean.

“When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses ¹  I have set before you, you will reflect upon them ²  in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you.

The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to choose ¹  me as your king, then come along, find safety under my branches! ²  Otherwise ³  may fire blaze from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’

He said to his men, “May the Lord keep me far away from doing such a thing to my lord, who is the Lord’s chosen one, ¹  by extending my hand against him. After all, ²  he is the Lord’s chosen one.” ³ 

David was very upset, for the men ¹  were thinking of stoning him; ²  each man grieved bitterly ³  over his sons and daughters. But David drew strength from the Lord his God.

Messengers ¹  told David what had happened, ²  so he summoned them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho ³  until your beards have grown again; then you may come back.”

Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria ¹  and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, ²  “Go, ask ³  Baal Zebub, ⁴  the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”

He tore Israel away from David’s dynasty, and Jeroboam son of Nebat became their king. ¹  Jeroboam drove Israel away ²  from the Lord and encouraged them to commit a serious sin. ³ 

To this very day they observe their earlier practices. They do not worship ¹  the Lord; they do not obey the rules, regulations, law, and commandments that the Lord gave ²  the descendants of Jacob, whom he renamed Israel.

Messengers ¹  came and told David what had happened to the men, so he summoned them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho ²  until your beards grow again; then you may come back.”