Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I excel them: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.

Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;

He may beat him forty times and no more, lest he should exceed this and beat him with many stripes above these, and your brother be degraded in your eyes.

But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.

And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.

and say, Thus says the king: Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I come in peace.

Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in the prison house, for he was enraged at him for this; and Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.

And the Word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard, saying,

And the rulers were angry with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison, the house of Jonathan the scribe. For they had made that the prison.

When Jeremiah had entered into the dungeon and the cell, and Jeremiah had remained there many days,

And they took Jeremiah and threw him into the pit of Malchijah the son of Hammelech, which was in the court of the guard. And they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And there was no water in the pit, only mud. So Jeremiah sank into the mud.

For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.

So he sent and had John beheaded in prison.

and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.

So when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after Passover.

Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.

Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined by scourging, so that he might know for what reason they shouted so against him.

he said, I will fully hear you when your accusers also have come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's Praetorium.

But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.

This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.

And Paul said, I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these bonds.

And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard; but Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him.

And it came to pass after three days that Paul called those being chief of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them: Men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans,

And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him,

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles;

so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my bonds are in Christ;

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but partake in the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God,

for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of bonds; but the Word of God is not bound.

Still others had trial of mockings and floggings, yes, and of bonds and imprisonment.

Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly.

Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have affliction ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened exceedingly, beyond strength, so that we despaired even of life.

who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us, in whom we hope that He will still deliver us,

Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to have died.

But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the baser sort from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and came upon the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

And when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat,

And when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, If it were a matter of wrongdoing or wicked crimes, O Jews, there would be reason why I should bear with you.

And he drove them from the judgment seat.

And about that time there was no small disturbance about the Way;

He assembled them with the workers of similar occupation, and said: Men, you know that we have our wealth by this trade.

So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world revere.

So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul's travel companions.

Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater.

And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people.

Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him,

(For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

Now as they were seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

Then the commander came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done.

And when he reached the stairs, it happened that he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd.

Then, as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air,

And when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.

Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I excel them: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than every one of them, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.

For to this end we both labor and are reproached, because we trust in the living God, who is the preserver of all men, especially of those who believe.

in hardship and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness;

Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear the Word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me:

It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.

that, coming suddenly, he not find you sleeping.

Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.

But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Obey those in authority over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

And Jesus said to them, Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.

So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord into whom they believed.

Do not deprive one another except by agreement for a time, that you may be free for fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.