⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word [the message, the basis] of faith which we preach—^(A)

¹⁷ So faith comes from hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ.

²³ But this thing I did command them: ‘Listen to and obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, so that it may be well with you.’

⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and obeys them, I will show you whom he is like:^{(A) 48} he is like a [far-sighted, practical, and sensible] man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and yet could not shake it, because it had been securely built and founded on the rock.