And Paul said, "Whether in a short or a long time, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I amexcept for these chains."

When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cohort named Julius.

The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape.

Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.

For this people's heart has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and their eyes they have closed; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them."'

The promise to Abraham and his descendants, that he would be heir of the world, was not through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed, I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "You shall not covet."

And as Isaiah said: "Unless the Lord of hosts had left us children, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah."

And if it is by grace, then it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.

so that no one would say you were baptized in my name.

None of the rulers of this age understood it; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

not at all meaning the immoral people of this world, or with the greedy and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.

For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy.

This is my defense to those who would examine me.

But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting.

But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.

If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason be any less a part of the body.

And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason be any less a part of the body.

If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?

If they were all one member, where would the body be?

Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than he who speaks in tongues, unless some one interprets, so that the church may be edified.

but in the church I would rather speak five words with my mind, to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Now I would remind you, brethren, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,

1 So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you.

And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I had confidence in all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all.

We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of the radiance that was fading away.

We are confident, I say, and would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, he would also complete in you this work of grace.

But I am sending the brethren so that our boasting about you may not prove vain in this case, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be;

lest if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, wenot to say anything about you would be ashamed of having been so confident.

I do not wish to seem as if I would terrify you by my letters.

I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me.

What I am saying I am not saying as the Lord would, but as a fool, in this confidence of boasting.

Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you will all the nations be blessed."

Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made.

Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given which could impart life, then righteousness would indeed have come by the law.

What has become of the satisfaction you felt? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me.

I wish that those who are troubling you would mutilate themselves!

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you would.

But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before him. In love

in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of his glory.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we would walk in them.

so that no one would be unsettled by these afflictions. You yourselves know that we have been destined for this.

For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.

nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life.

So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their homes, and give the enemy no occasion for reproach.

I would have been glad to keep him with me, so that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel;

but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will.

So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.

And to whom did he swear that they would never enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later of another day.

so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no place sought for a second.

For then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But now, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered? If the worshipers had once been cleansed, they would no longer have any consciousness of sins.

And if they had been thinking of that country from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.

By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch them.

Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account. Let them do this with joy, and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.

As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you inquired and searched carefully,

For, "He who would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.

and if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly thereafter;

For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that it might be plain that none of them were of us.

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind would blow on the earth or the sea or on any tree.

And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast should even speak, and to cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any more, until the thousand years were ended. After these things he must be released for a short time.