¹⁸ But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for

¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for ^(A)signs and for ^(B)seasons,^[a] and for days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ And God ^(C)made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. ¹⁷ And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to ^(D)rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

² But for you ^(A)who fear my name, ^(B)the sun ^(C)of righteousness shall rise ^(D)with healing in its wings. You shall go out ^(E)leaping like calves from the stall.

¹³ But we will not boast ^(A)beyond limits, but will ^(B)boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, ^(C)to reach even to you. ¹⁴ For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. ^(D)For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. ¹⁵ We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that ^(E)as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be ^(F)greatly enlarged, ¹⁶ so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another's area of influence.