²⁷ for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.^(A)

²⁰ I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house,^(A)

Sorrow for a Doomed Nation

Taming the Tongue

3 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will face stricter judgment.^(A)

Hearing and Doing the Word

¹⁹ You must understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger,^(A)

¹⁷ For we are not peddlers of God’s word like so many,^[a] but as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God, we are speaking in Christ before God.^(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)

God’s Election of Israel

9 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit^(A)— ² I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³ For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood.^(B)

¹⁴ Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am^[a] no prophet nor a prophet’s son, but I am^[b] a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees,^{(A) 15} and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’^(B)