and for exposure to unwelcome misfortunes such as sickness, see Prov 11:5; 2 Macc 6:12–13) adversities of various kinds (lit., “multicolored”; ποικίλος, which suggests an intensity and variety added for emphasis, as in 1 Tim 3:6; Titus 3:3; Heb 13:9; but the closest parallel is 1 Pet 1:6). The verb makes it plain that these trials are not such as the brothers would have chosen nor are they simply the ills the human lot is heir to. They are met with because of the believers’ loyalty to God, who permits