Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.’
The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I will answer them. I am the Lord, the God of Israel. I will not abandon them.
Then David said to his son Solomon, ‘Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He won’t leave you or abandon you until all the work for the service of the Lord’s house is finished.
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.
Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’
‘Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Some soldiers also questioned him, ‘What should we do? ’ He said to them, ‘Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’
So my people come to you in crowds, sit in front of you, and hear your words, but they don’t obey them. Their mouths go on passionately, but their hearts pursue dishonest profit.
For know and recognise this: Every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
But actually, I wrote you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister and is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or verbally abusive, a drunkard or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person.
As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit.
Do not covet your neighbour’s house. Do not covet your neighbour’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.
When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Babylon, two and a half kilograms of silver, and a bar of gold weighing half a kilogram, I coveted them and took them. You can see for yourself. They are concealed in the ground inside my tent, with the silver under the cloak.’
He will not leave you, destroy you, or forget the covenant with your ancestors that he swore to them by oath, because the Lord your God is a compassionate God.
I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on paths they have not known. I will turn darkness to light in front of them and rough places into level ground. This is what I will do for them, and I will not abandon them.
Laban asked, ‘What should I give you? ’ And Jacob said, ‘You don’t need to give me anything. If you do this one thing for me, I will continue to shepherd and keep your flock.