⁵ and ^(A)have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,

³ if indeed you have ^(A)tasted that the Lord is good.

¹³ And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it ^(A)with joy. But these have no root; they ^(B)believe for a while, and in time of testing ^(C)fall away.

²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately ^(A)receives it with joy, ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but ^(B)endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^(C)he falls away.^[a]

²⁰ For if, ^(A)after they have escaped the defilements of the world ^(B)through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, ^(C)the last state has become worse for them than the first.

The Founder of Salvation

⁵ For it was not to angels that God subjected the world ^(A)to come, of which we are speaking.

¹⁶ And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it ^(A)with joy. ¹⁷ And they have no root in themselves, but ^(B)endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^(C)they fall away.^[a]

²⁰ for Herod ^(A)feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he ^(B)heard him gladly.