- If the Lord does not build the house,
those who construct it labor in vain.
If the Lord does not guard the city,
those who keep watch over it do so in vain. - You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain, for the Lord will not consider blameless those who take his name in vain.
- Therefore, my beloved brethren, stand firm and immovable, devoting yourselves completely to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
- Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting,
but the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. - And now, brethren, I want to remind you of the gospel I proclaimed to you, which you received and in which you stand firm. Through it you are also being saved, provided that you are holding fast to what I proclaimed to you. If not, then you have believed in vain.
- When you pray do not go on babbling endlessly as the pagans do, for they believe that they are more likely to be heard because of their many words.
- I do not set aside the grace of God, for if justification comes through the Law, then Christ died for nothing.
- Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vanity, but humbly regard others as better than yourselves.
- If anyone thinks that he is religious but does not restrain his tongue, he is deceiving himself, and his religion is worthless.
- For you are aware that you were ransomed from your futile way of life inherited from your ancestors not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
- For the carved images of the nations are powerless;
they are nothing more than wood cut from a forest,
fashioned with a knife by craftsmen
and embellished with silver and gold.
Then they are fastened with hammers and nails
to prevent them from toppling.
Like scarecrows in a cucumber field
they are unable to speak,
and they must be carried from place to place
since they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
for they can do no harm,
nor do they have any power to do good.
May the Lord, our God, be with us, just as he was with our fathers; may he not leave us or abandon us.