¹⁸ But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive^(A) in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.^(B)

¹² We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate^(A) those who through faith and patience^(B) inherit what has been promised.^(C)

²⁰ “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth.

¹⁰ “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors,^(A) so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased^(B) with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept^(C) no offering^(D) from your hands.

² This is what the Lord Almighty^(A) says: “These people^(B) say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.^(C)’”

³ Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai:^{(D) 4} “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses,^(E) while this house remains a ruin?^(F)”