Mat 5:10-12, Luk 6:22-23, Act 5:41, Rom 8:35-37, 2Cor 11:23-30, 12:9-10 | ESV | STEP | Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness ’ sake , for theirs is the kingdom of heaven .

10 ^a“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for ^btheirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 ^c“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely ^don my account. 12 ^eRejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for ^fso they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Luke 6:22-23

22 “Blessed are you when ^gpeople hate you and when they ^hexclude you and revile you and ⁱspurn your name as evil, ^jon account of the Son of Man! 23 ^kRejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for ^lso their fathers did to the prophets.

Acts 5:41

41 Then they left the presence of the council, ^mrejoicing that they were counted worthy ⁿto suffer dishonor for ^othe name.

Romans 8:35-37

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

^p“For your sake ^qwe are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than ^rconquerors through ^shim who loved us.

2 Corinthians 11:23-30

23 Are they ^tservants of Christ? ^uI am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, ^vfar more imprisonments, ^wwith countless beatings, and ^xoften near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the ^yforty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was ^zbeaten with rods. ^aaOnce I was stoned. Three times I ^abwas shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, ^acdanger from my own people, ^addanger from Gentiles, ^aedanger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 ^afin toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, ^agin hunger and thirst, often without food, ^{▼▼Or often in fasting} in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for ^aiall the churches. 29 ^ajWho is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

30 ^akIf I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

9 But he said to me, ^al“My grace is sufficient for you, for ^ammy power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that ^anthe power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 ^aoFor the sake of Christ, then, ^apI am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For ^aqwhen I am weak, then I am strong.