²¹ for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.’^(A)

²⁴ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter,^{(A) 25} so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’

¹⁵ to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly^[a] of all the deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.

¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.^(A)

⁷ for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.^(A)

¹⁵ For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba!^[a] Father!”^(A)

⁷ For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed, it cannot,^(A)

¹⁴ You have said, “It is vain to serve God. What do we profit by keeping his command or by going about as mourners before the Lord of hosts?^{(A) 15} Now we count the arrogant happy; evildoers not only prosper, but when they put God to the test they escape.”^(B)

²⁵ Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is unfair.” Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair?^{(A) 26} When the righteous turn away from their righteousness and commit iniquity, they shall die for it; for the iniquity that they have committed, they shall die. ²⁷ Again, when the wicked turn away from the wickedness they have committed and do what is lawful and right, they shall save their life. ²⁸ Because they considered and turned away from all the transgressions that they had committed, they shall surely live; they shall not die. ²⁹ Yet the house of Israel says, “The way of the Lord is unfair.” O house of Israel, are my ways unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair?