²⁸ Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock^(A) of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.^(B) Be shepherds of the church of God,^[a](C) which he bought^(D) with his own blood.^[b](E)

³ If I give all I possess to the poor^(A) and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[a](B) but do not have love, I gain nothing.

² He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate.^(A) Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.”

¹⁰ Fishermen^(A) will stand along the shore; from En Gedi^(B) to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets.^(C) The fish will be of many kinds^(D)—like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea.^(E)

Breaking Covenant Through Injustice

¹⁷ You have wearied^(A) the Lord with your words.

“How have we wearied him?” you ask.^(B)

By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased^(C) with them” or “Where is the God of justice?^(D)”

⁹ if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials^(A) and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.^(B)