Ephesians -1 Timothy Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus,

MNT⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus, ² grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. ⁴ Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish in his sight. ⁵ For in his love he predestined us (such was the good pleasure of his will) to adoption for himself as sons through Jesus Christ, ⁶ and to the praise of his glorious grace which he graciously bestowed upon us in the Beloved. ⁷ It is in him we have deliverance, the forgiveness of our trespasses, through his blood; ⁸ so abundantly did he lavish upon us the riches of his grace in all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ when he made known to us, I say, that good pleasure which he purposed in himself ¹⁰ for the government of the fulness of the ages, that all things in heaven and earth are alike should be gathered up in Christ, as Head. ¹¹ It is he in whom we Jews also have our inheritance, having been chosen beforehand according to the purpose of Him who executes all things according to the counsel of his will, ¹² that we who first hoped in Christ should be for the praise of his glory. ¹³ And in him, because you listened to the proclamation of the truth, the evangel of your salvation, and trusted it, you Gentiles too were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who for the praise of his glory is the pledge of our common heritage, unto the complete redemption of his purchased property. ¹⁵ For this reason I also, from the time when I heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which prevails among you, and your love to all the saints, ¹⁶ do not cease to praise God for you, whenever I mention you in my prayers. ¹⁷ I am praying that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father most glorious, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, through an intimate knowledge of himself; ¹⁸ and that the eyes of your heart may be flooded with light so that you may understand what is the hope of his calling, what the wealth of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what the surpassing greatness of his might in us who believe, as seen in the energy of that resistless might ²⁰ which he exercised in raising Christ from the dead, and in seating him at his right hand in the heavenly heights, ²¹ far above all hierarchies and authorities and powers and dominions and every name that is named, not only in this age but in that which is to come. ²² God has put all things under Christ's feet, and placed him as Head over all in the church, ²³ which is his body, the fulness of Him who fills the universe. ² ¹ And so God has given life to you Gentiles also, who were once dead in your trespasses and sins, ² in which you passed your lives after the way of this world, under the sway of the Prince of the Powers of the Air, the spirit who is now working among the sons of disobedience. ³ And among them we all once passed our lives, indulging the passions of our flesh, carrying out the dictates of our senses and temperament, and were by nature the children of wrath like all the rest. ⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even while we were dead in our trespasses, made us live together with Christ (it is by grace you have been saved). ⁶ together with him He raised us from the dead, and together with Christ Jesus seated us in the heavenly realm, ⁷ in order that he might show to the ages to come the amazing riches of his grace by his goodness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is God's gift. ⁹ It is not of works, so that any one can boast of it; ¹⁰ for we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good deeds, which God predestined us to make our daily way of life. ¹¹ Do not forget then, that you Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "uncircumcision" by the "circumcision" made in flesh by man's hand, ¹² were once upon a time without Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of the Promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near in the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he is our Peace, who has made the two of us Jew and Gentile one, and has broken down the party-wall of partition between us. ¹⁵ In his own body he abolished the cause of our enmity, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, in order to make the two into one new man in himself, so making peace. ¹⁶ Thus he reconciled us both in one body to God by his cross, on which he slew our enmity. ¹⁷ So he came preaching "Peace" to you Gentiles who were afar off, and "Peace" to us Jews who were near; ¹⁸ because it is through him that we both have access in one spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ Take notice then that no longer are you strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household. ²⁰ You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone. ²¹ In him the whole building, fitly framed together, rises into a holy temple in the Lord; ²² and in him you, too, are continuously built together for a dwelling-place of God through his Spirit. ³ ¹ For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— ² for surely you have heard of the stewardship of the grace of God entrusted to me for you? ³ You have heard how by direct revelation the secret truth was made known to me, as I have already briefly written you. ⁴ By reading what I have written, you can judge of my insight into that secret truth of Christ ⁵ which was not disclosed to the sons of men in former generations, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets, ⁶ namely, that in Christ Jesus the Gentiles form one body with us the Jews, and are coheirs and copartners in the promise, through the gospel. ⁷ It is of this gospel I became a minister according to the gift of the power of the grace of God, bestowed on me by the energy of his power. ⁸ To me, who am less than the least of all saints, has this grace been given, that I should proclaim among the Gentiles the gospel of the unsearchable riches of Christ; ⁹ and should make all men see the new dispensation of that secret purpose, hidden from eternity in the God who founded the universe, ¹⁰ in order that now his manifold wisdom should, through the church, be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly sphere, ¹¹ according to his eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² In him we have this fearless confidence and boldness of access through our faith in him. ¹³ So I beg you not to lose heart over my tribulations in your behalf; they are your glory. ¹⁴ For this cause I bend my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every fatherhood in heaven and earth is named, ¹⁶ praying him to grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in your inmost being; ¹⁷ that Christ may make his home in your hearts through your faith; that you may be so deeply rooted and so firmly grounded in love, ¹⁸ that you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is "the breadth," "the length," "the depth," and "the height," ¹⁹ and may know the love of Christ which transcends all knowing, so that you may be filled with all the "plenitude" of God. ²⁰ Now unto him who, according to his might that is at work within us, is able to do infinitely more than all we ask or even think, ²¹ to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus, to all generations, world without end, Amen. ⁴ ¹ I summon you then, I the prisoner in the Lord, to live lives worthy of the calling to which you were called. ² With all humility and gentleness and long-suffering forbear with one another in love; ³ and endeavor to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling. ⁵ There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all. ⁷ And to each one of us was grace given according to the measure of the munificence of Christ. ⁸ Thus it is said, When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. ⁹ Now surely this "he ascended" implies that he also descended into the lower part of the earth. ¹⁰ He who descended is he who ascended above the highest heaven, that he might fill the universe. ¹¹ It is he who made some men apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² in order to equip the saints for the work of serving, for the building up of the Body of Christ— ¹³ till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to the maturity of manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. ¹⁴ So we shall no longer be children, tossed up and down, and blown about by every wind of teaching, tricked by the craft of men in the snares of misleading error; ¹⁵ but holding the truth in love we shall grow up in every part into him who is our Head, even Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body (knit together and compacted by all its joints) makes continual growth of the body so as to build itself up in love, through the energy of his bounteous provision, according to the need of each several part. ¹⁷ This then I tell you and implore you in the Master's name, to pass your lives no longer as the Gentiles do in the perverseness of their minds; ¹⁸ having their understanding darkened, alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their hearts. ¹⁹ These being past feeling have given themselves over to sensuality, in order to practise every form of impurity with greedy zest. ²⁰ But you have not so learned Christ, ²¹ if indeed you have listened to him, and in him been taught the truth as it is in Jesus. ²² You have learned to lay aside, with your former manner of living, the old self who was on his way to ruin, as he followed the desires which deceive; ²³ and to be made new in the spirit of your mind, ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created after God's likeness, in the uprightness and holiness of the truth. ²⁵ So then put away falseness and speak every man the truth to his neighbor, for we are members one of another. ²⁶ "Be angry and sin not"; let not the sun go down upon your anger. ²⁷ Give the devil no place. ²⁸ Let him who stole steal no more, but let him work, and in honest industry toil with his hands, so that he may have something to give to the needy. ²⁹ From your lips let no evil words come forth, but such as occasion warrants, such as are good for upbuilding and give a blessing to the hearers. ³⁰ And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you have been sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Banish from among you all bitterness and passion and anger and clamor and slander, as well as all malice; ³² and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ has forgiven you. ⁵ ¹ Learn then to imitate God as his beloved children, ² and to lead lives of love, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for you, an offering and sacrifice unto God, for you, an offering and sacrifice unto God, for "an odor of sweetness." ³ As for sexual vice and every kind of impurity or lust, it is unbecoming for you as Christians even to mention them; ⁴ so too with vulgarity and buffoonery and foolish jesting. Such words become you not, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵ For be well assured that no one guilty of fornication or impurity or covetousness which is idolatry, has any heritage in the kingdom of Christ and of God. ⁶ Let no man deceive you with empty arguments, for it is these vices that bring down the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience; ⁷ therefore do not become sharers with them. ⁸ For you were once darkness, but are now in the Lord. ⁹ Lead the life of children of light, for the fruit of the light consists in every kind of goodness and uprightness and truth. ¹⁰ Examine carefully what is well pleasing to the Lord, ¹¹ and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of the darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² For it is a shame even to speak of the things that are done by such men in secret; ¹³ but all these things, when exposed, are by the light made manifest, and what is made manifest is light. ¹⁴ For this reason it is said, "Awake, thou sleeper! Arise from the dead; And Christ shall shine upon thee!" ¹⁵ See to it, then, that you carry on your life carefully; not as foolish, but as wise men. ¹⁶ Buy up opportunity, for the times are evil. ¹⁷ For this reason do not be thoughtless, but learn to know what the Lord's will is. ¹⁸ Do not be drunk with wine, in which is riotous living, but drink deep in the Spirit, ¹⁹ when you talk together; with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and with all your hearts making music unto the Lord; ²⁰ and at all times for all things give thanks to God, the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹ Submit yourselves one to another out of reverence for Christ. ²² Wives likewise to their husbands as to the Lord, ²³ because a husband is the head of his wife even as Christ is head of the church, his body, which he saves. ²⁴ But as the church submits itself to Christ, so also wives to their husbands in everything. ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her, ²⁶ in order that after cleansing her in the bath of baptism, he might sanctify her by his word, ²⁷ so as to present her to himself, the church glorified, without spot or wrinkle or any such blemish; but on the contrary holy and faultless. ²⁸ That is how husbands ought to love their wives, as they love their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it as Christ does the church; ³⁰ for we are members of his body. ³¹ For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. ³² There is a deep mystery here—I am speaking of Christ and his church. ³³ But as for you individually, you must each one of you love his own wife exactly as if she were yourself; and the wife, on her part, should reverence her husband. ⁶ ¹ Children, obey your parents in the Lord; for this is right. ² Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise attached), ³ that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth. ⁴ And you fathers, do not irritate your children, but bring them up in the nature and admonition of the Lord. ⁵ Slaves, be obedient to those who are your earthly masters, with reverence and humility, in singleness of heart as if to Christ himself; ⁶ not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but as the slaves of Christ, doing the will of God; ⁷ slaving with good-will from your heart, as for the Lord and not for men; ⁸ because you know that whatever good any man does, the same shall he receive from the Lord, whether he be slave or free man. ⁹ And you masters, show the same spirit to your slaves, and stop threatening them; for you know that your masters and theirs is in heaven, and that there is no respect of persons with him. ¹⁰ Finally, my brothers, let your hearts be strengthened in the Lord, and in the power of his might. ¹¹ Put on all the panoply of God, so that you may be able to stand your ground against the stratagems of the devil. ¹² For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the despotisms, the empires, the rulers of this present darkness, the spirit-hosts of evil in the heavenly realm. ¹³ Therefore take up the panoply of God, so that when the evil day comes you may be able to withstand them, and having overthrown them all, to stand your ground. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, girt about with the belt of truth, and wearing the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having your feet shod with the stability of the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ And take up to cover you the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the Evil One. ¹⁷ Take likewise the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸ Continue to pray at all times, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching for it with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; ¹⁹ and for me, that utterance may be given me to open my mouth boldly, and to make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador, ²⁰ and in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it boldly as I ought to speak. ²¹ But that you also may know my affairs and how I do, Tychicus, my beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you. ²² I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about us, and that he may cheer your hearts. ²³ Peace to the brothers and love, with faith from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ May grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with sincerity.

Philippians

¹ ¹ Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, and to the elders and deacons. ² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ³ Upon every remembrance of you I am ever thanking my God for you all; ⁴ in every petition of mine in your behalf I am offering my prayer with joy for your fellowship in forwarding the gospel, ⁵ from the first day you heard it until now. ⁶ Of this I am fully persuaded, that He who has begun a good work in you will go on completing it until the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷ It is but just that I should be thus mindful of you all, because I have you in my heart, and because in these fetters of mine and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel you are all my fellow partners in the privilege. ⁸ God is my witness how I yearn for you all in the tenderness of Christ Jesus. ⁹ And it is my prayer that your love may abound yet more and more in intelligence and insight ¹⁰ for testing things that differ, so that you may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, ¹¹ being filled with the fruit of righteousness through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. ¹² I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has turned out rather to help than to the hindrance of the gospel. ¹³ Throughout the whole Praetorian guard and among all the others it has become plain that these chains of mine are for the sake of Christ; ¹⁴ and most of the brothers in the Lord, made confident in the Lord through my imprisonment, are much emboldened to speak God's message with free and fearless confidence. ¹⁵ Some indeed are preaching Christ out of envy and contentiousness, but others from good-will. ¹⁶ but the former preach Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely, because they think they are adding bitterness to my bonds. ¹⁷ These latter out of their love, because they know that I am set here for the defense of the gospel; ¹⁸ What of it? In any case, whether in pretence or in honest truth, Christ is still preached, and in that I am rejoicing, yes, and will rejoice. ¹⁹ For I know that these things will turn out to my salvation through your prayers and a rich supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. ²⁰ So it is my keen expectation and hope that I shall never feel ashamed, but that with fearless courage, now as hither to, Christ may be magnified in my body, whether by my life or by my death. ²¹ For, with me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ²² But now, if life in the flesh, if this be the fruit of my toil—what to choose I do not know, ²³ but am in a quandary between the two. I am perplexed. I have a strong desire to break camp and to be with Christ, which is far better; ²⁴ but for your sakes it is more necessary that I should still live on in the body. ²⁵ And because I am convinced of this, I know that I shall live, and go on working side by side with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that you may find me fresh cause of exultation in Christ Jesus, because of my presence among you once more. ²⁷ Only do lead lives worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come to see you or hear reports concerning you in my absence, I may know that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one soul, enlisted in a common struggle for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸ and in no way terrorized by its enemies. For you fearlessness is a clear indication of coming ruin for them, but of salvation for you at the hands of God. ²⁹ For it has been granted you in Christ's behalf, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake, ³⁰ while you wage the same conflict which you once saw in me, and now hear that I maintain. ² ¹ If then there is any comfort in Christ, if there is any persuasive power in love, if there is any companionship of the Spirit, if there is any tenderness or pity, ² I entreat you to make my joy overflow by living in harmony; possessing the same love, and with one soul united in one purpose. ³ Do nothing out of strife, nothing out of vanity, but let each one in true humility consider the others to be of more account than himself. ⁴ Let each have an eye not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. ⁵ Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though from the beginning he had the nature of God, did not reckon equality with God something to be forcibly retained, ⁷ but emptied himself of his glory by taking the form of a slave, when he was born in the likeness of men. ⁸ More than this, after he had shone himself in human form, he humbled himself in his obedience even to death; yes, and to death on a cross. ⁹ And for this God highly exalted him, and graciously bestowed upon him the name which is above every name; ¹⁰ that in the name of Jesus every knee in heaven, on earth, and under the earth should bend, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that "Jesus Christ is Lord," to the glory of God the Father. ¹² And so, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, with reverence and self-distrust work out your own salvation; ¹³ for it is God who, in his good-will is ever working in you both will and deed. ¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling and disputes, ¹⁵ that you may become blameless and innocent, the sons of God, without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like stars in a dark world, ¹⁶ holding out a message of life. Thus it will be my boast at the day of Christ that I have not run in vain, or toiled for nothing. ¹⁷ Nay, even if my life is to be poured out as a libation upon the sacrifice and service of you faith, ¹⁸ I will rejoice and congratulate you all; and in the same way you must rejoice and congratulate me. ¹⁹ Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you before long, so that I may be of good comfort when I learn the news concerning you. ²⁰ For I have no other like him with a genuine concern for your welfare, ²¹ for they are all seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. ²² And you know Timothy's worth, how he has shared my servitude in furtherance of the gospel, like a son helping his father. ²³ So I hope to send him, as soon as ever I see how it will go with me; ²⁴ but I trust in the Lord that I also shall come shortly. ²⁵ Epaphroditus, my brother and coworker and fellow soldier, who is your messenger and minister to my needs, I have thought it necessary to send to you; ²⁶ for he has been homesick for you all, and distressed at your having heard of his illness. ²⁷ And indeed he was sick nigh unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on me also so that I should not have sorrow upon sorrow. ²⁸ Therefore I have been the more eager to send him, in order that you may rejoice in seeing him again, and that I may have one sorrow less. ²⁹ Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold in honor men like him; ³⁰ for it was through the work of the Lord that he came near to death; for he hazarded his very life to supply what was lacking in the help you sent me. ³ ¹ Finally, my brothers, continue to rejoice in the Lord. To write the same thing is not indeed wearisome to me, and it is safe for you. ² Beware of "these dogs," these mischievous workers, beware of the concision! ³ For we are the true circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, and make our boast in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in outward rites, ⁴ although I myself might have confidence in outward rites. If any one else claims a right to trust in them, far more may I; ⁵ circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew sprung from the Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which comes through law, blameless. ⁷ But what was once gain to me, that I have counted loss for Christ. ⁸ In very truth I count all things but loss compared to the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and esteem them but refuse that I may gain Christ, ⁹ and be found in him; not having my own righteousness of the Law, but that alone which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which comes from God, founded upon faith. ¹⁰ I long to know him in the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, by sharing the likeness of his death; ¹¹ if by any means I might attain to the resurrection from the dead! ¹² I do not say that I have already won, or am already perfect, but I am passing on to lay hold on the prize for which also Christ has laid hold of me. ¹³ Brothers, I do not regard myself to have yet laid hold of it; but this one thing I do, forgetting what is behind me, but straining every nerve toward that which lies ahead, ¹⁴ I am ever pressing on toward the goal, for the prize of God's heavenward call in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Let us all then, who are mature Christians, strive for this! God will make this clear to any of you who are striving for other goals; ¹⁶ if only we guide our steps by the standards we have already attained. ¹⁷ Brothers, be comrades in imitating me, and study those whose life and walk is according to the pattern I have set you. ¹⁸ For there are many—as I used often to tell you, and am now telling you even with tears—who live and walk as the enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their end is destruction, their belly is their god, their glory is in their shame, and their minds are set on earthly things. ²⁰ But commonwealth is in heaven; and it is from heaven also that we are anxiously awaiting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who will change the fashion of the body of our abasement into the likeness of his glorious body by the energy with which he is able even to subject all things to himself. ⁴ ¹ Stand fast then, brothers, dearly loved and longed for, my joy and my crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved! ² Euodia I entreat, and I entreat Syntyche, to be of the same mind of the Lord; ³ yes, and I beg you also, my true yokefellow, to help them; for these women shared my toil in the furtherance of the gospel, together with Clement, and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life. ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again will I say, rejoice! ⁵ Let your reasonableness be recognized by every one. The Lord is near you. ⁶ Do not worry about anything; but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will stand guard over your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. ⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if virtue is anything, if honor is anything, be always thinking about these. ⁹ Put in practise also what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me; and the God of peace shall be with you. ¹⁰ Moreover, I greatly rejoiced in the Lord that now once more your care for me blossomed afresh; though indeed you did take thought in this matter, but you lacked the opportunity of expression. ¹¹ Not that I speak as if I were in want, for at least have learned how to be content, whatever happens. ¹² I know how to live humbly, and I also know how to bear prosperity. In every place and under all circumstances I have been initiated into the secret of fulness and of hunger, of prosperity and of want. ¹³ I am strong for everything in Him who gives me strength. ¹⁴ Notwithstanding, you have acted nobly in making yourselves comrades in my trouble. ¹⁵ And you very well know, Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I had left Macedonia, no church but yourselves had fellowship with me in the matter of giving and receiving. ¹⁶ For even while I was still in Thessalonica, you sent once and again for my needs. ¹⁷ It is not your gifts I am eager for, but I am eager for the abundant profit that accrues to your divine account. ¹⁸ But I give you a receipt in full for all things abound. I am amply supplied with what you sent by Epaphroditus—an odor of sweet fragrance, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God. ¹⁹ All your own needs my God will fully supply, according to his riches in glory, in Christ Jesus. ²⁰ Now unto our God and Father be the glory, forever and ever. Amen. ²¹ Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me salute you. ²² All the saints salute you, and especially the slaves of the Emperor's household. ²³ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirits.

Colossians

¹ ¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, ² to the holy and believing brothers in Christ who are in Colosse. Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father. ³ Whenever I pray for you I am continually thanking God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ⁴ (since I heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love to all the saints) ⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Long ago you heard of this hope in the message which came to you of the truth of the gospel. ⁶ And just as it is spreading through the whole world, bearing fruit and increasing, so also is it among you, from the day in which you heard it, and came truly to know the grace of God, ⁷ as you learned it from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow slave. He is a faithful minister of Jesus Christ in your behalf, ⁸ and it is he who has told me of your love for me in the spirit. ⁹ For this reason from the day I heard of it I have never ceased to pray for you, asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will with every kind of wisdom and spiritual insight; ¹⁰ that you may walk worthy of the Lord in every kind of pleasing; that you may be fruitful in every kind of good work, and may increase in the knowledge of God; ¹¹ that you may be strengthened in every kind of strength by the might of his glory for every kind of patience and fortitude with good cheer. ¹² I ask that you may give thanks to the Father who has made us fit to receive our share of the heritage of the saints in the light. ¹³ For he has delivered us out of the dominion of the darkness, and transplanted us into the kingdom of his dear Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins. ¹⁵ He is a visible image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; ¹⁶ for in him was the universe created, things in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen, thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; by him and for him all have been created; ¹⁷ and HE IS before all, and in him all things subsist. ¹⁸ He is the head of his Body, the Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, in order that in all things he may become preeminent. ¹⁹ For in him all the divine fulness chose to dwell; ²⁰ and by him it chose to reconcile all things alike on earth or in heaven to himself; making peace by him, through the blood of his cross. ²¹ And you, alienated as you once were, hostile at heart in your evil deeds, ²² he has now in his human body reconciled to God by his death, in order that he may bring you into his presence, holy and unblemished and irreproachable. ²³ And this he will do if, indeed, you continue in the faith, firmly founded and stedfast, and never moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, and which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, that gospel of which I, Paul, was made a minister. ²⁴ I am now rejoicing in my sufferings on your behalf; and I am filling up in my own body what is yet lacking of the sufferings of Christ in behalf of the church, his Body. ²⁵ It is of this I was made a minister, according to the stewardship entrusted to me by God for you, fully to declare God's message; ²⁶ that secret truth, which, although hidden from ages and generations of old, has now been made manifest to his saints. ²⁷ To them God willed to make known among the Gentiles how glorious are the riches of that secret truth, which is "Christ in you, the hope of glory." ²⁸ Him I am ever proclaiming, warning every one and teaching every one, in all wisdom; that I may bring every man into his presence, full grown in Christ. ²⁹ For that end I am ever toiling, wrestling with all that energy of his which is mightily at work within me. ² ¹ For I would have you know how great a contest I am waging for you and the brethren in Laodicea, and for all who have never seen my face. ² May their hearts be comforted! May they be knit together in love! May they gain in all its riches the full assurance of their understanding! May they come to a perfect knowledge of the secret truth of God, which is Christ himself. ³ In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge! ⁴ And this I say, lest any one should mislead you with enticing words. ⁵ For though I am absent from you in body, I am with you in spirit, happy to note your discipline and the solid front of your faith in Christ. ⁶ As then you have received Jesus Christ, your Lord, in him live your lives; ⁷ since you are rooted in him, and in him continually built up. Be firmly established in the faith as you were taught it, and continually abound in it with thanksgiving. ⁸ Take care lest any man drag you away captive by his philosophy which is a vain deceit, following the traditions of men and the world's crude notions, and not Christ. ⁹ For it is in Christ that all the fullness of deity dwells bodily, ¹⁰ and in him you have your fulness, and he is the Lord of all the principalities and powers. ¹¹ In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands; even in putting off your sensual nature in Christ's own circumcision, ¹² when you were buried with him in baptism. In baptism also you were raised with him, through your faith in the energy of that God who raised him from the dead. ¹³ And you also, at one time dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sensual nature, he has made alive together with himself. For he forgave us all our transgressions, ¹⁴ blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that stood against us and was hostile to us, and took it out of our way, nailing it to his cross. ¹⁵ Principalities and powers he disarmed, and openly displayed them as his trophies, when he triumphed over them in the cross. ¹⁶ Therefore do not permit any one to sit in judgment on you in regard to what you may eat or drink, or in regard to feast-days or new moons or sabbaths. ¹⁷ These were a shadow of things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. ¹⁸ Let no man at his will defraud you of your prize through his false humility and worship of the angels, taking his stand on the visions he has seen, and vainly puffed up by his material mind; ¹⁹ instead of keeping connection with the Head from the whole body draws nourishment for all its needs by the joints which bind it; and is knit together, and grows with a divine growth. ²⁰ If you died with Christ to the world's rudimentary notions, why, as if you still lived in the world, do you submit yourselves to dogmatisms found on teachings and doctrines of men— ²¹ such as "Do not handle this," "You must not taste that," "Do not touch this"— ²² all things which are intended to perish in the using? ²³ For these precepts, although they have a show of wisdom with their self-imposed devotions and fastings and bodily austerities, are of no real value against the indulgence of the carnal appetites. ³ ¹ If you then are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ abides, seated on the right hand of God. ² Set your heart on things above, not on earthly things; ³ for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is our life, appears, then will you also appear with him in glory. ⁵ So slay your baser inclinations. fornication, impurity, appetite, unnatural desires, and the greed which is idolatry. ⁶ These things are ever bringing down the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience, ⁷ among whom you once led your daily life when you lived in them. ⁸ But now you also must renounce them all. Anger, passion, and ill-will must be put away; slander, too, and foul talk, so that they may never soil your lips. ⁹ Lie not one to another, but strip off the old self with its doings, ¹⁰ and put on that new self which is continually made over according to the likeness of its Creator, into full understanding. ¹¹ In it that new creation there is no "Greek and Jew," "circumcised and uncircumcised," "barbarian," "Scythian," "slave," "free man," but Christ is all, and in us all. ¹² Therefore, as God's chosen people, consecrated and beloved, clothe yourselves with tenderness of heart, kindness, humility, gentleness, good temper; ¹³ bearing with one another and forgiving each other, if any one has a grievance against another. Just as Christ the Lord forgave you, so must you forgive. ¹⁴ Over them all bind on love, which is the girdle of completeness. ¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ, to which also you were called in one body, rule in your hearts, and show yourselves thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ have its home in you richly, in all wisdom. Teach and admonish one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, ever singing with grace in your hearts unto God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word of in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God our Father through him. ¹⁸ Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting for Christians. ¹⁹ Husbands, be loving to your wives, and be not cross or surly with them. ²⁰ Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is well pleasing in Christians. ²¹ Fathers, do not harass your children, lest you make them spiritless. ²² Slaves, obey in all things your earthly masters, not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of purpose, out of reverence for your Lord. ²³ And whatever you do, do it heartily as for the Lord, and not for men. ²⁴ You know that from the Lord you will receive reward of the inheritance, for you are the Lord Christ's slaves. ²⁵ For he who wrongs another will be paid back for his wrong-doing, and there will be no favoritism. ⁴ ¹ Masters, deal justly and fairly with your slaves, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. ² Be unwearied in prayer, and keep awake in it when giving thanks. ³ Keep on praying for me, too, that God may open for me a door of utterance to speak the secret truth of Christ, for which I am a prisoner. ⁴ Pray that I may unfold it as I ought to speak. ⁵ Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward those without, buying up your opportunities. ⁶ Let your speech be always gracious, with a savor of salt, and learn how to give every man a fitting answer. ⁷ Tychicus, my beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow slave in the Lord, will make known to you all that concerns me. ⁸ I have sent him with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, one of your own number, for this very purpose, to let you know how I am, and to cheer your hearts. ⁹ They will inform you of all that goes on here. ¹⁰ Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, salutes you, and Marcus, the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, make him welcome), and Jesus surnamed Justas. ¹¹ These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God, belonging to the circumcision, who have been any comfort to me. ¹² Epaphras, one of yourselves, salutes you, a slave of Christ who is always agonizing for you in his prayers, that you may stand firm, mature, and fully assured in all the will of God. ¹³ For I can testify to his deep interest in you and in those in Laodicea and Hierapolis. ¹⁴ Luke, the beloved physician, salutes you, and so does Demas. ¹⁵ Salute the brothers in Laodicea; Nympha also, and the church which meets at her house. ¹⁶ And when this letter has been read to you, see that it is read also in the church of Laodiceans, and that you also read the letter from Laodicea. ¹⁷ And tell Archippas to take heed to the ministry which he has received in the Lord, that he may fulfill it. ¹⁸ I, Paul, add this farewell in my own handwriting. Do not forget these chains of mine. Grace be with you.

1 Thessalonians

¹ ¹ Paul and Silas and Timothy. To the church of the Thessalonians which is in God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be to you, and peace. ² I am continually thanking God for all, always making mention of you in my prayers, ³ as I call to mind your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the presence of our God and Father. ⁴ For I know, O brothers, beloved of God, that he has chosen you; ⁵ for my gospel did not come to you in word only, but in power also, and in the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction. For you know also the manner in which I behaved myself among you for your sakes. ⁶ Moreover, you began to follow the pattern I set you, and the Lord's also, receiving the word with joy in the Holy Spirit, although amid severe persecution. ⁷ Thus you became a pattern to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. ⁸ For the word of the Lord has been sounded forth from you, and its sound has been heard not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place where the tidings of your faith toward God have been spread abroad, so that I have no need to speak of it. ⁹ For others, of their own accord, tell about the welcome I had from you, and how you turned to God from your idols, to be slaved of a true and living God, ¹⁰ and to await for the coming of his Son from the heavens, the Son whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, our Deliverer from the wrath to come. ² ¹ For you yourselves know, brothers, that my visit to you did not fail of its purpose; ² for you remember that although I had already borne ill-treatment and insult at Philippi, I took courage in my God to tell you the gospel of God, in the face of much opposition. ³ For my preaching was not grounded on a delusion, or on impure motives, on in deceit. ⁴ But as my fitness to be entrusted with the gospel has been tested and approved by God, I so speak, not to please men, but to please God, who is testing my motives. ⁵ For as you well know, I never resorted to flattery, nor to any pretext for enriching myself. God is my witness! ⁶ Now was I seeking glory from men, either yourselves or others, although I might have exercised authority as Christ's apostle. ⁷ On the contrary I showed myself among you as gentle as a mother, when she tenderly nurses her own children. ⁸ So in my fond affection it was my joy to give you, not only the gospel of God, but my very life also, because you had become dear to me. ⁹ You recall, brothers, my labor and toil; how, while working at my trade day and night, so as not to become a burden to any of you, I proclaimed to you the gospel of God. ¹⁰ You are witnesses—and so is God—how pure and just and blameless was my behavior among you believers. ¹¹ You know how I was wont to treat each of you as a father treats his children, ¹² exhorting and imploring and adjuring each one among you to lead a life worthy of the God who called you into his own kingdom and glory. ¹³ For this reason also I am giving continual thanks to God, because when you heard from me the spoken word of God, you received it not as the word of men, but as the word of God (which in truth it is), who himself is effectually at work in you believe. ¹⁴ For you, brothers, began to follow the example of the churches of God in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus; and you in your turn suffered at the hands of your fellow citizens persecutions like to those which they endured from the Jews— ¹⁵ The men who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out—they are displeasing to God, and are the enemies of all mankind. ¹⁶ They forbid me to speak to the Gentiles with a view to their salvation. They continue always to fill up the measure of their sins; but the wrath of God is come upon them to the full! ¹⁷ But I, my brothers, although torn from you for a short season (in presence, not in heart), made eager efforts to behold you face to face with strong longing. ¹⁸ For that reason I would fain have visited you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered me. ¹⁹ For what is my hope, or joy? What is the victor's wreath in which I exult? What but your own selves in the presence of our Lord Jesus, at his coming! ²⁰ For you are my pride and my delight. ³ ¹ And so, when I could no longer bear it, I made up my mind to be left behind at Athens, all alone. ² I sent Timothy, my brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and to hearten you in your faith. ³ So that no one should be shaken by these troubles—for you know well that we are appointed to troubles. ⁴ For even when I was with you I used to tell you beforehand that I was to suffer affliction; and so it proved, as you know. ⁵ So, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to find out about your faith, fearing that the tempter had tempted you and that my labor had been in vain. ⁶ But now that Timothy has returned from you to me, and has brought good news of your faith and love, and that you are still holding me in affectionate remembrance, always longing to see me as I also am longing to see you. ⁷ I have been comforted, my brothers, in regard to you, in spite of all my distress and affliction over your faith. ⁸ For now I am really living, if you are standing firm in the Lord. ⁹ For what thanksgiving can I render again to God in your behalf, in return for all the joy which you cause me in the presence of my God? ¹⁰ Night and day I am praying earnestly that I may see you face to face, and may perfect whatever is yet lacking in your faith. ¹¹ Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct my path to you. ¹² Meanwhile, may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love toward one another and toward all men, even as I do toward you. ¹³ And so may he establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus, with all his saints. ⁴ ¹ Finally then, my brothers, I continue to beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as you learned of me how to walk so as to please God—and you are actually doing so—that you abound in it yet more and more. ² For you know what charges I laid upon you through the Lord Jesus. ³ For this is God's will, even your sanctification; that you should abstain from sexual vice. ⁴ That each one should learn how to take a wife in purity and honor. ⁵ Not in the passion of lust, like the Gentiles who know not God. ⁶ That no man overreach or take advantage of his brother in such matters, because "the Lord takes vengeance" in all these things, as also I repeatedly forewarned you and testified to you. ⁷ For God has not called us for uncleanness, but in holiness. ⁸ So that he who rejects this is not rejecting man, but the God who gave you his Holy Spirit. ⁹ It is not needed that I should write to you about brotherly love; for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. ¹⁰ As indeed you do love all the brothers in Macedonia. But I exhort you, brothers, to abound in this yet more. ¹¹ Also, that you endeavor to live quietly and to mind your own business, and to work with your hands (as I charged you). ¹² So that your conduct may be seemly toward those that are without, and that you may not need help from any man. ¹³ But I would not have you ignorant, brothers, about those who are falling asleep. You must not sorrow like other men, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For if we really believe that Jesus died and rose again, so even so will God through Jesus bring with him those also who have fallen asleep. ¹⁵ For this I tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are living, who survive unto the coming of the Lord, will in no wise precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God will descend from heaven. Then the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ And afterwards we who are alive, who remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. ¹⁸ So comfort one another with these words. ⁵ ¹ Now as to the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that anything be written to you. ² You yourselves know perfectly that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. ³ While men are saying "Peace and safety," then, like birth-pangs upon a woman with child, destruction will come upon them suddenly. In no wise will they escape. ⁴ But you, brothers, are not in darkness, that "the Day" should come upon you like a bandit. ⁵ For you are all sons of light, and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness. ⁶ So then let us not be sleeping as do the rest, but let us be watchful and self-controlled. ⁷ For those who are sleeping, sleep in the night, and those who are drunken, are drunken in the night. ⁸ But let us who are of the day be self-controlled, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. ⁹ For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to win salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁰ He died for us, in order that whether we are keeping vigil in life or sleeping in death we may ever be living together with him. ¹¹ So comfort one another, and try to build one another up, as indeed you are doing. ¹² I entreat you, brothers, to acknowledge those who are toiling among you and are your leaders in the Lord, and give you counsel. ¹³ Esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Live in peace among yourselves. ¹⁴ And, brothers, we urge you to admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, sustain the weak, lose patience with none. ¹⁵ Take care that none of you ever return evil for evil, but always pursue what is kind to one another and to all. ¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Pray without ceasing. ¹⁸ Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. ¹⁹ Quench not the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not despise prophesyings. ²¹ But try all, holding fast to the good. ²² Hold aloof from every form of evil. ²³ May the God of peace consecrate you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept altogether faultless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ He who calls you is faithful; he will fulfil my prayer. ²⁵ Brothers, pray for me. ²⁶ Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. ²⁷ I adjure you, in the name of the Lord, to have this letter read to all the brothers. ²⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

2 Thessalonians

¹ ¹ Paul and Silvanus and Timothy. To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ² Grace to you, and peace from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. ³ I ought always to thank God for you, brothers, as is fitting because of the abundant growth of your faith and of the overflowing love with which every one of you is filled toward one another. ⁴ So that I myself am boasting about you among the churches of God, boasting of the stedfastness and faith which you are displaying in all the troubles and afflictions which you are enduring. ⁵ They are an evidence of the righteous judgment of God, who will count you worthy of his kingdom, in behalf of which you are even now suffering. ⁶ For truly God's justice must render back trouble to those who are troubling you, ⁷ and give to you, who are now troubled, rest, along with me at the unveiling "apocalypse" of the Lord Jesus from heaven, with his mighty angels, ⁸ in flaming fire. Then shall he take vengeance on those who know not God, even on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They shall suffer punishment, even an eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the brightness of his glorious majesty, ¹⁰ when he comes to be glorified in his saints, and to be wondered at in all believers, on that Day; (for you also believed our testimony). ¹¹ To this end I am making my constant prayer for you, beseeching God to make you worthy of your calling, and to fulfil mightily every desire of goodness and effort of faith; ¹² so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in him, according to the grace of our God and of our Lord Jesus Christ. ² ¹ Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to meet him, I entreat you, brothers, ² not to be "quickly shaken out of your wits" and not to be agitated either by a spirit or by a message, or by an epistle purporting to be from me, saying, "The Day of the Lord is at hand." ³ Let no one deceive you by any means. For it will not come until after the Great Apostasy, and the revealing of the Man of Sin, the son of perdition, ⁴ the adversary, who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God, or is an object of worship; so that he takes his seat in the Temple of God, and vaunts himself as God. ⁵ Do you not recall that I often told you this, when I was with you? ⁶ And now you know what is holding him back, to the end that he may be revealed in his appointed time. ⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only there is one who is hindering and will continue to hinder till he be removed; ⁸ and then the lawless one will be revealed. Him the Lord will consume with the breath of his lips, and destroy with the brightness of his appearing; ⁹ even he whose coming is according to the energy of Satan, in every power and sign and lying wonder, ¹⁰ and with all deceit of unrighteousness for those who are perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth for their salvation. ¹¹ For this reason God is sending on them an energy of delusion, that they should put faith in a falsehood; ¹² so that they all should be condemned, who are faithless to the truth, but take pleasure in evil. ¹³ But for you, brothers, whom the Lord loves, I ought to give thanks to God continually, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation in consecration of the Spirit and belief of the truth. ¹⁴ For this he called you through my gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ So, brothers, stand fast, and hold fast the teachings which you have been taught by me, whether by word of mouth or by letter. ¹⁶ And may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and a good hope in grace, ¹⁷ comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good work and word. ³ ¹ Finally, brothers, pray on for me, that God's word may run swiftly, and be glorified as in your own case, ² and that I may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for all do not hold the faith. ³ But the Lord is faithful; he will stablish you and guard you from the Evil One. ⁴ Now we have fully fixed our faith on you in the Lord, that you are doing and will continue to do what we enjoin. ⁵ May the Lord incline your hearts to the love of God and to the stedfastness of Christ. ⁶ I summon you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to shun any brother who leads an idle and disorderly life, which is not according to the rule you received from me. ⁷ For you know well how you must imitate me. For I did not lead an idle or disorderly life among you; ⁸ I did not eat my food as a gift from any man, but in toil and travail, night and day, I worked, so that I might not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ Not that I have no right to such support; it was simply to give you an example for you to imitate. ¹⁰ For indeed when I was with you, I used to charge you, "If any man will not work, he shall not eat." ¹¹ But I hear that there are those of your number who are leading idle and disorderly lives, who are not busy, but mere busybodies. ¹² Now all such I command and entreat, by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, to work in quietness. and to earn their own living. ¹³ But you, brothers, must not grow weary in well-doing. ¹⁴ If any man does not give heed to what I have said in this letter, mark that man; do not associate with him, so as to make him feel ashamed; ¹⁵ and yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. ¹⁶ And may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all. ¹⁷ I, Paul, add this greeting in my own handwriting, which is my token in every letter. Thus I write— ¹⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

1 Timothy

¹ ¹ Paul, and apostle of Jesus Christ by command of God our Saviour and Jesus Christ our Hope, ² to Timothy, my true son in the faith; Grace, mercy and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. ³ As I begged you when I was setting out for Macedonia, stay where you are at Ephesus, and instruct certain individuals there not to be teaching heterodoxy, ⁴ nor to be paying attention to myths and interminable genealogies, which tend to promote discussions rather than a stewardship entrusted by God, a stewardship which is in faith. ⁵ Now the end of the exhortation is love, out of a pure heart and a good conscience and an undissembled faith. ⁶ Some have failed here, and have turned aside to empty argument. ⁷ Although they desire to be teachers of the law, they understand neither the words they use nor the subjects they talk about. ⁸ I know well that "the Law is good" if a man use it lawfully; ⁹ but he must remember that the Law is not enacted for a good man, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the irreligious and sinful, for the godless and profane, for parricides and murderers, ¹⁰ for the immoral, for sexual perverts, for slave dealers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, ¹¹ as laid down in the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which has been entrusted to me. ¹² And I am thankful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has thus enabled me, that he accounted me faithful, and appointed me to his service, ¹³ although I had formerly been a blasphemer and a persecutor and a doer of outrage. But I obtained mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief. ¹⁴ And the grace of our Lord overflowed with faith and love that is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners"! And there is no greater sinner than I! ¹⁶ Yet for this very cause I obtained mercy, so that in me, the chief of sinners, Jesus Christ might display all his boundless patience as an illustration for those who should later believe in him, and so gain life eternal. ¹⁷ Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be glory and honor forever and ever. Amen! ¹⁸ This charge then, I am laying upon you, Timothy, my son, according to the predictions formerly made concerning you. Fight the good fight in the spirit of these predictions, ¹⁹ keeping fast hold of faith and a good conscience; which certain individuals have cast aside, and so made shipwreck of their faith. ²⁰ Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have given over to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme. ² ¹ First of all then, I am urging that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be offered regularly for all men; ² for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and peaceful life in all godliness an gravity. ³ For this is good and pleasing in the eyes of our Saviour God, ⁴ whose will it is that all men should be saved, and come into full knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For God is one; and one is mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom in behalf of all, to be attested in due time. ⁷ It was for this testimony that I myself was appointed a herald and apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), to be a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. ⁸ My wish, then, is that in every place the men should offer prayer, lifting up holy hands, free from anger and disputation; ⁹ in like manner also the women. I desire women to clothe themselves in suitable apparel, adorning themselves with reverence and self-restraint; not with hair plaited with gold or pearls, or with expensive clothes, ¹⁰ but (as becomes women proclaiming godliness) with the ornament of good deeds. ¹¹ Let a woman learn quietly in entire submission. ¹² I allow no woman to teach, or to exercise authority over a man; but let her keep quiet. ¹³ It was Adam who was first formed, then Eve. ¹⁴ And it was not Adam who was deceived; but it was the woman who was thoroughly deceived, and who became involved in transgression. ¹⁵ Notwithstanding she will be saved by the Child-bearing; (so will they all), if they live in faith and love and holiness, with self-restraint. ³ ¹ This is a faithful saying, "If any man is seeking the office of a minister he is aspiring to a noble task." ² The minister should be a man of blameless character; he should be husband of but one wife; he should live a sober, self-restrained, orderly life; he should be hospitable, skilled in teaching; ³ no drinker or brawler; but forbearing, peaceable, and no money-lover; ⁴ he should be a man who rules his own household well, and keeps his children ever under control and thoroughly well behaved. ⁵ For if a man does not know how to rule his own household, how shall he take charge of a church of God? ⁶ He must not be a recent convert, lest he be blinded with pride, and incur the doom of the devil. ⁷ He should also have a good reputation among outsiders, lest he fall into reproach, and into a snare of the devil. ⁸ Deacons, likewise, must be serious, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of gain, ⁹ holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. ¹⁰ They should first be tested, and after that, if they are found irreproachable, let them serve as deacons. ¹¹ Deaconesses likewise must be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. ¹² Let deacons be the husband of but one wife, men who rule their children and their household properly. ¹³ For those who have well discharged the duties of a deacon are gaining an honorable position for themselves, as well as much fearless confidence in the faith of Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Although I am hoping to come to you before long, ¹⁵ I am writing this to you in case I should be detained, to let you see how you ought to behave in the household of God—the Church of the everliving God, the pillar and mainstay of the truth. ¹⁶ Yes! without contradiction, great is the mystery of godliness! ⁴ ¹ Now the Spirit distinctly declares that in latter days there will be some who will fall away from the faith, by listening to spirits of error, and to teachings of demons ² speaking lies in hypocrisy. These are men whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron, ³ who discourage marriage, and enjoin abstinence from foods which God created to be received with thankfulness, by those who believe, and have a clear knowledge of the truth. ⁴ For everything that God has created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if only it is received with thankfulness. ⁵ For it is sanctified by the Word of God and by prayer. ⁶ As you lay all these things before the brothers, you will be a noble minister of Christ Jesus, nourishing yourself in the precepts of the faith and that noble teaching which you have followed. ⁷ Ever reject these profane and old womanish myths; and continually train yourself for the contest of godliness. ⁸ For physical training is of some small service, but godliness is of service in everything; since it carries with it a promise of life, both here and hereafter. ⁹ Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation. ¹⁰ "We toil and agonize because our hopes are set on the ever-living God, who is the Saviour of all men,—of believers in particular. ¹¹ Keep preaching and teaching these things. ¹² Let no one despise you on account of your youth, but become an example for the faithful in word, in life, in love, in faith, in purity. ¹³ Be applying yourself until I come to public reading, preaching, and teaching. ¹⁴ Never neglect the gift within you, which was given in fulfilment of prophecy at the time of the laying on of hands by the elders. ¹⁵ Let these things be your care, give yourself wholly to them, so that your progress may be manifest to all. ¹⁶ Give heed to yourself and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers. ⁵ ¹ Do not reprimand an aged man, but continue pleading with him as if he were your father. Treat the young men as brothers, ² the older women as mothers, the younger women as sisters in all purity. ³ Ever honor widows who are really widows; ⁴ but if any widow has children or grandchildren, let these learn to show their piety first toward their own household, and to make some return to their parents, for that is pleasing in God's sight. ⁵ Now she who is a widow indeed, and desolate, has fixed her hope on God, and devotes herself to supplications and prayers, day and night. ⁶ But she who lives in wantonness is dead even while she still lives. ⁷ Keep admonishing them regarding these things, so that they may be irreproachable. ⁸ But if any one fails to provide for his own, and especially for his kindred, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel. ⁹ A widow, to be placed upon the list, must be not less than sixty years old, and one who has been the wife of but one husband. ¹⁰ She must be well reputed for good works, as one who has brought up a family, received strangers with hospitality, washed the feet of the saints, relieved the distressed, and diligently followed every good work. ¹¹ But exclude from the list the younger widows; for where they have become wanton against Christ, they desire to marry, ¹² and incur condemnation because they have broken their first troth. ¹³ Moreover, they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and are not only idlers, but gossips also, and busybodies, repeating things they ought not. ¹⁴ It is my wish, then, that the younger widows marry, bear children, rule their houses, and give no occasion to our adversary for railing. ¹⁵ For already some widows have gone astray after Satan. ¹⁶ Any believing woman, who has widowed relatives, ought to relieve them and not let the church be burdened with them; so that the church may relieve the really destitute widows. ¹⁷ Let the elders who fill their offices well, be held worthy of twofold honor; especially those who have the task of preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ For the Scripture says, You must not muzzle an ox when he is treading out the grain, and The worker is worth his wages. ¹⁹ Do not receive an accusation against an elder, except on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁰ Rebuke offenders publicly, so that others also may take warning. ²¹ I charge you solemnly in the presence of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the elect angels, that you observe these things without prejudice against any man, and do nothing out of partiality. ²² Never ordain any one hastily, nor take part in the wrong-doing of others. Keep yourself pure. ²³ Do not continue to drink nothing but water, but take a little wine for your stomach's sake, and your frequent attacks of illness. ²⁴ Some men's sins are notorious, and lead them straight on the way to condemnation; but others' sins follow them up. ²⁵ So also noble deeds are conspicuous, and even if otherwise, they cannot be kept hidden. ⁶ ¹ Let those who are under the yoke as slaves esteem their masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teachings be not blasphemed. ² Those whose masters are Christian believers must not treat them with disrespect, because they are brothers; nay, rather slave for them the better because those who get the benefit of their services are believing and beloved. Continue to teach and preach this. ³ If any one teaches heterodoxy, and refuses to consent to the wholesome words of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to the teachings of religion, ⁴ he is puffed up with conceit and knows nothing, but is doting about disputations and a strife of words. These give rise to envy, quarrels, railings, evil suspicions, ⁵ and wrangling between men whose minds are corrupt and destitute of the truth; who suppose that godliness is a source of gain. ⁶ Now godliness with contentment is truly gainful; ⁷ for we have brought nothing into the world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out! ⁸ So if we have food and shelter, let us be content with that. ⁹ Those who desire to be rich fall into the snares of temptation and many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil; and in their eager desire to be rich some have been led astray form the faith, and have pierced themselves with many sorrows. ¹¹ But you, O servant of God, flee from these things, and run after integrity, piety, faith, love, stedfastness, gentleness. ¹² Keep contending in the noble contest of the faith; seize hold on eternal life, to which you were called when you confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ In the presence of God who gives life to all, and of Christ Jesus who bore witness to the good confession before Pontius Pilate, ¹⁴ I charge you, keep your commission spotless and irreproachable until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ For in his own good time this will be brought about by that blessed and only potentate, King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone possesses immortality, who dwells in light that none can approach, whom no man has ever seen or can see; to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen. ¹⁷ Charge the rich of this world not to be supercilious, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in God, who provides all things richly for our use. ¹⁸ Charge them to practise benevolence, to be rich in good works, to be open-handed and generous, ¹⁹ laying up right good treasure for themselves in the world to come, in order that they may obtain the Life which is life indeed. ²⁰ O, Timothy, guard the treasure which is committed to you. Shun the profane babblings and contradictions of the falsely called "knowledge" ²¹ which some professing have erred from the faith. Grace be with you.