The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness that, behold, the days are coming upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks.
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits[4] to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.