The king said to him, “Why keep on speaking about these matters of yours? I hereby declare: you and Ziba are to divide the land.”

“Note that Amariah, the chief priest, is over you in all matters related to the Lord, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all matters related to the king, and the Levites are officers in your presence. Be strong; may the Lord be with those who do what is good.”

This is the text of the letter King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest and scribe, an expert in matters of the Lord’s commands and statutes for Israel:

Didn’t King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations. He was loved by his God and God made him king over all Israel, yet foreign women drew him into sin.

They have become fat and sleek.They have also excelled in evil matters.They have not taken up cases,such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper,and they have not defended the rights of the needy.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. These things should have been done without neglecting the others.

As they were leaving, the people begged that these matters be presented to them the following Sabbath.

I found out that the accusations were about disputed matters in their law, and that there was no charge that merited death or chains.

Since I was at a loss in a dispute over such things, I asked him if he wished to go to Jerusalem and be tried there concerning these matters.

For the king knows about these matters. It is to him I am actually speaking boldly. For I am convinced that none of these things escapes his notice, since this was not done in a corner.

If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you gather together you will not come under judgment. And I will give instructions about the other matters whenever I come.

Now concerning what comes from the Spirit: brothers, I do not want you to be unaware.

So also you—since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek to excel in building up the church.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love.

For both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing; what matters instead is a new creation.

so that you can approve the things that are superior and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ,

He speaks about these things in all his letters in which there are some matters that are hard to understand. The untaught and unstable twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.