¹⁵ He blessed Joseph and said,

The Sign of the Covenant

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty;^[a] walk before me, and be blameless.^(A)

Fullness of Life in Christ

⁶ As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to walk in him,

²¹ By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, “bowing in worship over the top of his staff.”^(A)

⁶ Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment,^{(A) 7} for we brought nothing into the world, so that^[a] we can take nothing out of it, ⁸ but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. ⁹ But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.^{(B) 10} For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

¹² urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.^(A)

The Postponement of Paul’s Visit

¹² Indeed, this is our boast, the testimony of our conscience: we have behaved in the world with holiness^[a] and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God—and all the more toward you.^(A)

³¹ So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.^(A)

⁶ Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord.^(A)

Do Not Worry

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,^[a] or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?^{(A) 26} Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?^{(B) 27} And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life?^{[b] 28} And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³² For it is the gentiles who seek all these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God^[c] and his^[d] righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.^(C)

³⁴ “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.