¹⁵ Because it is God's pleasure that foolish and narrow-minded men may be put to shame by your good behaviour:

¹² Being of good behaviour among the Gentiles; so that though they say now that you are evil-doers, they may see your good works and give glory to God when he comes to be their judge.

³ For the purpose of God for you is this: that you may be holy, and may keep yourselves from the desires of the flesh;

¹⁷ Because if it is God's purpose for you to undergo pain, it is better to do so for well-doing than for evil-doing.

⁸ Saying true and right words, against which no protest may be made, so that he who is not on our side may be put to shame, unable to say any evil of us.

¹⁸ In everything give praise: for this is the purpose of God in Christ Jesus for you.

²¹ Because, having the knowledge of God, they did not give glory to God as God, and did not give praise, but their minds were full of foolish things, and their hearts, being without sense, were made dark.

⁶ Not only under your master's eye, as pleasers of men; but as servants of Christ, doing the pleasure of God from the heart;

⁷ Doing your work readily, as to the Lord, and not to men:

² So that you may give the rest of your lives in the flesh, not to the desires of men, but to the purpose of God.

¹² But these men, like beasts without reason, whose natural use is to be taken and put to death, crying out against things of which they have no knowledge, will undergo that same destruction which they are designing for others;

¹⁰ But these men say evil about such things as they have no knowledge of; and the things of which they have natural knowledge, like beasts without reason, are the cause of their destruction.

²⁶ And everyone to whom my words come and who does them not, will be like a foolish man who made his house on sand;

²² For my people are foolish, they have no knowledge of me; they are evil-minded children, without sense, all of them: they are wise in evil-doing, but have no knowledge of doing good.

⁶ Give up the simple ones and have life, and go in the way of knowledge.

⁴² The upright see it and are glad: the mouth of the sinner is stopped.

¹⁰ And he said to her, You are talking like one of the foolish women. If we take the good God sends us, are we not to take the evil when it comes? In all this Job kept his lips from sin.

² And five of them were foolish, and five were wise.

¹ O foolish Galatians, by what strange powers have you been tricked, to whom it was made clear that Jesus Christ was put to death on the cross?

¹³ Though I had said violent words against God, and done cruel acts, causing great trouble: but I was given mercy, because I did it without knowledge, not having faith;

³ For in the past we were foolish, hard in heart, turned from the true way, servants of evil desires and pleasures, living in bad feeling and envy, hated and hating one another.

⁵ The sons of pride have no place before you; you are a hater of all workers of evil.

¹⁶ So the poor man has hope, and the mouth of the evil-doer is stopped.

⁶ Is this your answer to the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? Is he not your father who has given you life? He has made you and given you your place.