When the members of the prophetic guild in Jericho, ¹  who were standing at a distance, ²  saw him do this, they said, “The spirit that energized Elijah ³  rests upon Elisha.” They went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him.

At that time Menahem came from Tirzah and attacked Tiphsah. He struck down all who lived in the city and the surrounding territory, because they would not surrender. ¹  He even ripped open the pregnant women.

When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she met with his approval. ¹  The king extended to Esther the gold scepter that was in his hand, and Esther approached and touched the end of the scepter.

But may all who take shelter ¹  in you be happy! ²  May they continually ³  shout for joy! ⁴  Shelter them ⁵  so that those who are loyal to you ⁶  may rejoice! ⁷ 

Sheol ¹  below is stirred up about you, ready to meet you when you arrive. It rouses ²  the spirits of the dead for you, all the former leaders of the earth; ³  it makes all the former kings of the nations rise from their thrones. ⁴ 

I commission you ¹  as my spokesman; ²  I cover you with the palm of my hand, ³  to establish ⁴  the sky and to found the earth, to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’” ⁵ 

I will bring them to my holy mountain; I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me. ¹  Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray.” ² 

I want you ¹  to share your food with the hungry and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. ²  When you see someone naked, clothe him! Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! ³ 

You assist ¹  those who delight in doing what is right, ²  who observe your commandments. ³  Look, you were angry because we violated them continually. How then can we be saved? ⁴ 

Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them. He was pretending to cry ¹  as he walked along. When he met them, he said to them, “Come with me to meet Gedaliah son of Ahikam.” ² 

They will demolish you ¹  – you and your children within your walls ²  – and they will not leave within you one stone ³  on top of another, ⁴  because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” ⁵ 

Jesus replied, ¹  “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come from God and am now here. ²  I ³  have not come on my own initiative, ⁴  but he ⁵  sent me.

the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, ¹  because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides ²  with you and will be ³  in you.

The ¹  proposal pleased the entire group, so ²  they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with ³  Philip, ⁴  Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism ⁵  from Antioch. ⁶ 

You, however, are not in ¹  the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him.

Who are you to pass judgment on another’s servant? Before his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord ¹  is able to make him stand.

The unbeliever ¹  does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Therefore we have been encouraged. And in addition to our own encouragement, we rejoiced even more at the joy of Titus, because all of you have refreshed his spirit. ¹ 

For I have received everything, and I have plenty. I have all I need because I received from Epaphroditus what you sent – a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, very pleasing to God.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body – for the sake of his body, the church – what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.