# If you'd like to omit non-matching lines from the result; add ';d' to the end of the expression.
sed -E 's/(?:^|\n)(\nsecond thing:\s*[^\n]+\n)|(first thing:\s*[^\n]+\n(?!second thing:))|(second thing:\s*[^\n]+\n(?!third thing:))|(third thing:\s*[^\n]+\n\n)/\3third thing: NA\n/gs;t' <<< "first thing: content 1
second thing: content 2
fourth thing: content 4
"
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for SED, please visit: https://www.gnu.org/software/sed/manual/html_node/The-_0022s_0022-Command.html