^16 (A)I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.

¹³ And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: ^(A)Blessed are the dead ^(B)who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, ^(C)“that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

⁶ For ^(A)I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my ^(B)departure has come. ^7 (C)I have fought the good fight, ^(D)I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Henceforth there is ^(E)laid up for me ^(F)the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, ^(G)the righteous judge, will award to me on ^(H)that day, and not only to me but also to all ^(I)who have loved his appearing.

Our Heavenly Dwelling

5 For we know that if ^(A)the tent that is ^(B)our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, ^(C)a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Israel's Futile Idolatry

⁵³ For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and ^(A)this mortal body must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and ^(D)the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, ^(E)who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.