^13 (A)You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and ^(B)bless you. And ^(C)it shall be righteousness for you before the Lord your God.

²⁷ Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by ^(A)practicing righteousness, ^(B)and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, ^(C)that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

²⁵ And ^(A)it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’

^26 (A)If ever you take your neighbor's cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, ²⁷ for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he ^(B)cries to me, I will hear, for I am ^(C)compassionate.

^15 (A)You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), ^(B)lest he cry against you to the Lord, and you be guilty of sin.

¹³ For ^(A)judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith ^(B)but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ^15 (C)If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, ^16 (D)and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good^[a] is that? ¹⁷ So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith ^(E)apart from your works, and I will show you my faith ^(F)by my works. ^19 (G)You believe that God is one; you do well. Even ^(H)the demons believe—and shudder! ²⁰ Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? ^21 (I)Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that ^(J)faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed ^(K)by his works; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ^(L)“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a ^(M)friend of God.

²⁷ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: ^(A)to visit ^(B)orphans and widows in their affliction, and ^(C)to keep oneself ^(D)unstained from the world.

¹⁶ May the Lord grant mercy to ^(A)the household of Onesiphorus, for he often ^(B)refreshed me and was not ashamed of ^(C)my chains, ¹⁷ but when he arrived in Rome ^(D)he searched for me earnestly and found me— ¹⁸ may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on ^(E)that day!—and you well know all the service he ^(F)rendered at Ephesus.

^26 (A)Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,