I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch that does not bear fruit, and every branch that does he prunes to make it bear even more.
What god can compare with you, the God who takes away guilt and forgives the transgressions of the remnant of your people? You will not allow your anger to fester forever, for your delight is in bestowing mercy.
Do not envy a violent man or choose to emulate any of his ways. For the perverse man is an abomination to the Lord whose friendship is bestowed only upon the upright.
Preferable is the little that the righteous possess than the great wealth of the wicked. For the power of the wicked will be overcome, but the Lord protects the righteous.
Let no one deceive you in any way. That Day cannot come before the final rebellion occurs and the lawless one is revealed, the son of destruction. He is the adversary who sets himself in opposition to, and exalts himself above, every so-called god or object of worship, and who even seats himself in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God.
If a man has recently been married, he is not to go off to battle nor have any other duty laid on him. He will be free to stay at home for one year so that he can bring happiness to the wife whom he has married.
Love is patient; love is charitable. Love is not envious; it does not have an inflated opinion of itself; it is not filled with its own importance. Love is never rude; it does not seek its own advantage. It is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over setbacks.
The one who leads a blameless life and does what is right, who speaks the truth from the heart and does not slander anyone, who does not harm a friend and does not scorn a neighbor.
For this reason, I rejoice when I endure weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and distress for the sake of Christ. For it is when I am weak that I am strong.