2 Timothy 3 Cross References - Goodspeed

¹ Understand this, that in the last days there are going to be hard times. ² People will be selfish, avaricious, boastful, arrogant, abusive, undutiful, ungrateful, irreverent, ³ unfeeling, irreconcilable, slanderous, with no self-control, brutal, with no love for what is good, ⁴ treacherous, reckless, conceited, caring more for pleasure than for God, ⁵ keeping up the forms of religion, but resisting its influence. Avoid such people. ⁶ They are the kind of men who make their way into people's houses and make captives of poor, weak women, loaded down with their sins and under the control of all sorts of impulses, ⁷ always ready to learn but never able to comprehend the truth. ⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, these people in turn oppose the truth; they are men of depraved minds and counterfeit faith. ⁹ But they will not make much progress, for everyone will perceive their folly, just as they did that of those others. ¹⁰ But you have closely followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, ¹¹ my persecutions, my sufferings—the things that happened to me at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, the persecutions I endured; yet the Lord brought me safely out of them all. ¹² But everyone who wants to live a godly life as a follower of Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³ and bad men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving others and deceived themselves. ¹⁴ But you must stand by what you have learned and been convinced of, and remember from whom you learned it, ¹⁵ and how from childhood you have known the Scriptures which can give you the wisdom that through faith in Christ Jesus leads to salvation. ¹⁶ All Scripture is divinely inspired, and useful in teaching, in reproof, in correcting faults, and in training in uprightness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God will be adequate, and equipped for any good work.

¹ Then Jesus was guided by the Spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil.

¹⁰ "Blessed are those who have endured persecution for their uprightness, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them! ¹¹ "Blessed are you when people abuse you, and persecute you, and falsely say everything bad of you, on my account. ¹² Be glad and exult over it, for you will be richly rewarded in heaven, for that is the way they persecuted the prophets who went before you!

¹⁵ "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you disguised as sheep but are ravenous wolves underneath.

²¹ One brother will give up another to death, and a father his child, and children will turn against their parents, and have them put to death. ²² You will be hated by everybody on my account, but the man who holds out to the very end will be saved. ²³ But when they persecute you in one town, make your escape to another, for I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man arrives. ²⁴ A pupil is not better than his teacher, nor a slave better than his master. ²⁵ A pupil should be satisfied to come to be like his teacher, or a slave, to come to be like his master. If men have called the head of the house Beelzebub, how much worse names will they give to the members of his household!

²⁸ Come to me, all of you who toil and are burdened, and I will let you rest.

¹¹ He answered, "You are permitted to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but they are not.

⁵² He said to them, "Then remember that every scribe who has become a disciple of the Kingdom of Heaven must be like a householder who can supply from his storeroom new things as well as old."

⁶ does not have to provide for his father.' So you have nullified what God has said, for the sake of what has been handed down to you.

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wants to go with me, he must disregard himself and take his cross and follow me.

⁴² Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, " 'That stone which the builders rejected Has become the cornerstone; This came from the Lord, And seems marvelous to us'?

²⁹ Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you do not understand the Scriptures nor the power of God.

³¹ But as to the resurrection of the dead, did you never read what was said to you by God, ³² 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of dead men but of living!"

⁴³ He said to them, "How is it then that David under the Spirit's influence calls him lord, and says,

¹³ "But alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you lock the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven in men's faces, for you will neither go in yourselves nor let those enter who are trying to do so.

²⁷ Alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for you are like white-washed tombs! They look well on the outside, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead, and all that is unclean. ²⁸ So you outwardly appear to men to be upright, but within you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

³⁴ This is why I am going to send you prophets, wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and hunt from one town to another;

⁵⁴ But then how are the Scriptures to be fulfilled, which say that this must happen?"

⁵⁶ But this has all taken place in fulfilment of the writings of the prophets." Then all the disciples left him and made their escape.

¹⁹ but the worries of the time and the pleasure of being rich and passions for other things creep in and choke the message out and it yields nothing.

¹¹ But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Anything of mine that might have been of use to you is Korban," ' that is, consecrated to God, ¹² you let him off from doing anything more for his father or mother,

³⁰ but will receive now in this life a hundred times as much in homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and lands, though not without persecution—and in the coming age eternal life.

²⁴ Jesus said to them, "Does not this show that you are wrong, and do not understand either the Scriptures or the power of God?

³⁶ David himself, under the influence of the holy Spirit, said, " 'The Lord has said to my lord, "Sit at my right hand Until I put your enemies under your feet." '

³ For that reason, Theophilus, and because I have investigated it all carefully from the beginning, I have determined to write a connected account of it for Your Excellency,

¹⁵ For he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink no wine or strong drink, but he will be filled with the holy Spirit from his very birth,

⁴⁰ And the child grew up and became strong and thoughtful, with God's blessing resting on him.

¹⁶ Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever disregards you disregards me, and whoever disregards me disregards him who sent me."

¹⁵ And he said to them, "Take care! You must be on your guard against any form of greed, for a man's life does not belong to him, no matter how rich he is."

²⁶ "If anyone comes to me without hating his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and his very life too, he cannot be a disciple of mine. ²⁷ For no one who does not take up his own cross and come after me can be a disciple of mine.

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who were avaricious, heard all this, and they ridiculed him.

²⁷ And he began with Moses and all the prophets and explained to them the passages all through the Scriptures that referred to himself.

³² And they said to each other, "Did not our hearts glow when he was talking to us on the road, and was explaining the Scriptures to us?"

⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to the understanding of the Scriptures,

²⁰ For everyone who does wrong hates the light and will not come to it, for fear his actions will be exposed.

²⁰ For everyone who does wrong hates the light and will not come to it, for fear his actions will be exposed. ²¹ But everyone who is living the truth will come to the light, to show that his actions have been performed in dependence upon God.

³⁹ You pore over the Scriptures, for you think that you will find eternal life in them, and these very Scriptures testify to me, ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to me for life.

⁴⁴ Yet how can you believe in me, when you accept honor from one another, instead of seeking the honor that comes from the one God?

⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, "Did I not myself select all twelve of you? And even of you, one is an informer."

³⁵ If those to whom God's message was addressed were called gods—and the Scripture cannot be set aside—

⁴² Yet for all that, even among the leading men, many came to believe in him, but on account of the Pharisees they would not acknowledge it, for fear of being excluded from the synagogues, ⁴³ for they cared more for the approval of men than for the approval of God.

¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, the world would love what was its own. But it is because you do not belong to the world, but I have selected you from the world, that the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember what I said to you: No slave is greater than his master. If they have persecuted me they will persecute you too. If they have observed my teaching, they will observe yours too. ²¹ But they will do all this to you on my account, because they do not understand him who sent me.

² They will exclude you from their synagogues; why, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is doing religious service to God.

³³ I have told you all this, so that through me you may find peace. In the world you have trouble; but take courage! I have conquered the world."

¹⁴ I have given them your message, and the world has come to hate them, for they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.

¹⁶ "Brothers, the prediction of the Scriptures had to come true that the holy Spirit uttered by the lips of David, about Judas, who acted as guide for the men that arrested Jesus—

⁴² And they devoted themselves to the teaching and the society of the apostles, the breaking of bread, and prayer.

³⁶ For some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be a person of importance, and a group of men numbering some four hundred joined him. But he was killed and all his followers were dispersed and disappeared.

²¹ You have no share or part in this movement, for your heart is not honest in the sight of God. ²² So repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord, to see if you may not be forgiven for thinking of such a thing.

¹⁶ For I am going to show him what he will have to endure for my sake."

²³ After some time had passed, the Jews made a plot to kill him, ²⁴ but Saul found out about the plot. They watched the city gates day and night, in order to kill him, ²⁵ but his disciples took him one night and let him down over the wall, lowering him in a basket.

³⁶ Among the disciples at Joppa there was a woman named Tabitha, which is in Greek Dorcas, that is, gazelle. She had devoted herself to doing good and to acts of charity.

⁴³ It is of him that all the prophets bear witness that everyone that believes in him will have his sins forgiven in his name."

²³ When he reached there and saw the favor God had shown them, he was delighted, and encouraged them all to be resolute and steadfast in their devotion to the Lord,

⁸ But Elymas the magician—for that is the meaning of his name—opposed them, and tried to keep the governor from accepting the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, was filled with the holy Spirit, and looked at him ¹⁰ and said, "You monster of underhandedness and cunning! You son of the devil! You enemy of all that is right! Will you never stop trying to make the Lord's straight paths crooked? ¹¹ The Lord's hand is right upon you, and you will be blind and unable even to see the sun for a time." Instantly a mist of darkness fell upon him, and he groped about for someone to lead him by the hand.

¹¹ The Lord's hand is right upon you, and you will be blind and unable even to see the sun for a time." Instantly a mist of darkness fell upon him, and he groped about for someone to lead him by the hand.

¹⁴ but they went on from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue there and took seats.

²⁹ When they had carried out everything that had been said about him in the Scriptures, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb.

³⁸ You must understand therefore, my brothers, that through him the forgiveness of your sins is announced to you, ³⁹ and that through union with him everyone who believes is cleared of every charge of which the Law of Moses could not clear you.

⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the crowd, they were very jealous, and they contradicted what Paul said and abused him.

⁵⁰ But the Jews stirred up the well-to-do religious women and the leading men of the town, and they started a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. ⁵¹ They shook off the dust from their feet in protest, and went to Iconium.

¹ At Iconium in the same way, they went to the Jewish synagogue and spoke with such power that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. ² But the Jews who refused their message stirred up the heathen and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

⁵ And when there was a movement on the part of both the heathen and the Jews with the authorities to insult and stone them, ⁶ and they became aware of it, they made their escape to the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe and the country around,

¹⁹ But some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and won the people over, and they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the town, thinking that he was dead. ²⁰ But the brothers gathered about him, and he got up and re-entered the town. The next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. ²¹ They proclaimed the good news in that town and made a number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, ²² reassuring the disciples and encouraging them to stand by the faith and reminding them that we have to undergo many hardships to get into the Kingdom of God.

²⁴ As we have heard that some of our number, without any instructions from us, have disturbed you by their teaching and unsettled your minds,

² Paul went to it as he was accustomed to do, and for three Sabbaths he discussed the Scriptures with them,

³¹ since he has fixed a day on which he will justly judge the world through a man whom he has appointed, and whom he has guaranteed to all men by raising him from the dead."

²⁵ He had had some instruction about the Way of the Lord, and he talked with burning zeal and taught painstakingly about Jesus, though he knew of no baptism but John's.

¹⁵ But the evil spirit answered, "I know Jesus, and I know of Paul, but who are you?" ¹⁶ And the man in whom the evil spirit was sprang at them, and overpowered them all, with such violence that they ran out of the house tattered and bruised. ¹⁷ This came to be known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, Greeks as well as Jews, and great awe came over them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus came to be held in high honor.

¹⁸ When they came, he said to them, "You know well enough how I lived among you all the time from the first day I set foot in Asia, ¹⁹ and how I served the Lord most humbly and with tears, through all the trials that I encountered because of the plots of the Jews. ²⁰ I never shrank from telling you anything that was for your good, nor from teaching you in public or at your houses,

²³ except that in every town I visit, the holy Spirit warns me that imprisonment and persecution are awaiting me. ²⁴ But my life does not matter, if I can only finish my race and do the service intrusted to me by the Lord Jesus, of declaring the good news of God's favor.

²⁷ for I have not shrunk from letting you know God's purpose without reserve.

³² He immediately got some officers and men and hurried down among them, and when they saw the colonel and the soldiers they stopped beating Paul. ³³ Then the colonel came up and seized him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains, and then inquired who he was and what he had been doing.

¹⁰ As the dispute was becoming violent, the colonel began to be afraid that they would tear Paul in pieces, and ordered the soldiers to go down and get him away from them and bring him into the barracks.

¹² In the morning, the Jews made a conspiracy and took an oath not to eat or drink till they had killed Paul. ¹³ There were more than forty of them involved in this plot, ¹⁴ and they went to the high priests and elders and said to them, "We have taken a solemn oath not to touch anything to eat till we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ Now you and the council must suggest to the colonel that he should have Paul brought down to you, as you mean to look into his case more carefully, and we will be ready to kill him before he gets down." ¹⁶ But Paul's nephew heard of the plot, and he came and got into the barracks, and told Paul. ¹⁷ Paul called one of the officers and said to him, "Take this young man to the colonel, for he has something to tell him." ¹⁸ So he took him to the colonel, and said, "The prisoner Paul called me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you." ¹⁹ So the colonel took him by the arm and stepping aside where they could be alone, asked, "What is it that you have to tell me?" ²⁰ "The Jews," he answered, "have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, on the ground that you mean to have a fuller inquiry made into his case. ²¹ But do not let them persuade you, for more than forty of them are lying in wait for him, and they have taken an oath not to eat or drink till they have killed him. They are all ready now, and are only waiting to get your promise." ²² So the colonel sent the youth away, directing him not to tell anyone that he had given him this information. ²³ Then he called in two of his officers and said to them, "Get two hundred men ready to march to Caesarea, with seventy mounted men and two hundred spear-men, by nine o'clock tonight." ²⁴ They were also to provide horses for Paul to ride, so that they might take him in safety to Felix, the governor,

³ and begged him as a favor to order Paul to come to Jerusalem, plotting to kill him on the way. ⁴ Festus answered that Paul was being kept in custody at Caesarea, and that he himself was going there soon.

⁴ The way I lived from my youth up, spending my early life among my own nation and at Jerusalem, is well known to all Jews,

¹⁷ I will save you from your people and from the heathen, to whom I will send you

²² To this day I have had God's help and I stand here to testify to high and low alike, without adding a thing to what Moses and the prophets declared would happen,

²⁵ As they could not agree among themselves, they started to leave, when Paul added one last word. "The holy Spirit put it finely," he said, "when it said to your forefathers through the prophet Isaiah,

² which he promised long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,

²⁸ And just as they refused to recognize God any longer, God has abandoned them to unworthy impulses and indecent conduct. ²⁹ They revel in every kind of wrongdoing, wickedness, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, quarreling, deceit, and ill-nature. ³⁰ They are gossips, slanderers, abhorrent to God, insolent, overbearing, boastful, ingenious in evil, undutiful, ³¹ conscienceless, treacherous, unloving, and unpitying.

³¹ conscienceless, treacherous, unloving, and unpitying.

²⁰ train the foolish, teach the young, since you have knowledge and truth formulated in the Law—

²⁰ train the foolish, teach the young, since you have knowledge and truth formulated in the Law— ²¹ why, then, will you teach others and refuse to teach yourself? Will you preach against stealing, and yet steal yourself? ²² Will you warn men against adultery, and yet practice it yourself? Will you pretend to detest idols, and yet rob their temples? ²³ Will you boast of the Law and yet dishonor God by breaking it? ²⁴ For, as the Scripture says, the very name of God is abused among the heathen, because of you!

² A great deal, from every point of view. In the first place, the Jews were intrusted with the utterances of God.

²³ It was not on his account alone that these words, "it was credited to him," were written,

³⁵ Who can separate us from Christ's love? Can trouble or misfortune or persecution or hunger or destitution or danger or the sword? ³⁶ As the Scripture says, "For your sake we are being put to death all day long, We are treated like sheep to be slaughtered." ³⁷ But in all these things we are more than victorious through him who loved us.

¹⁸ you must not look down upon the branches. If you do, remember that you do not support the root; the root supports you.

²⁰ That is true; but it was for their want of faith that they were broken off, and it is through your faith that you stand where you do. You ought not to feel proud; you ought to be afraid,

⁵ One man thinks one day better than another, while another thinks them all alike. Everybody must be fully convinced in his own mind.

¹ It is the duty of us who are strong to put up with the weaknesses of those who are immature, and not just suit ourselves. ² Everyone of us must try to please his neighbor, to do him good, and help in his development. ³ Christ did not please himself, but as the Scripture says, "The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me." ⁴ For everything that was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that by being steadfast and through the encouragement the Scriptures give, we might hold our hope fast.

¹⁷ I beg you, brothers, to be on the watch for those who introduce divisions and difficulties, in opposition to the instruction that you were given, and to avoid them.

¹⁷ I beg you, brothers, to be on the watch for those who introduce divisions and difficulties, in opposition to the instruction that you were given, and to avoid them. ¹⁸ Such men are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own base passions, and with their plausible and flattering talk they deceive simple-minded people.

¹⁸ Such men are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own base passions, and with their plausible and flattering talk they deceive simple-minded people.

²⁶ and at the command of the eternal God made known through the writings of the prophets to all the heathen, to lead them to obedience and faith—

¹ So, for my part, brothers, I could not treat you as spiritual persons; I had to treat you just as creatures of flesh and blood, as babies in Christian living. ² I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. Why, you are not ready for it now, ³ for you are still worldly. For when there are still jealousy and quarrels among you, are you not worldly and living on a merely human level? ⁴ For when one man says, "I am a follower of Paul," and another, "I am a follower of Apollos," are you not simply human?

⁹ For it seems to me, God has exhibited us apostles at the very end of the procession, like the men condemned to die in the arena. For we have become a spectacle to the whole universe, angels as well as men. ¹⁰ We are made fools of, for the sake of Christ, while you are men of sense, through being united with him. We are weak, you are strong. You are distinguished, we are despised. ¹¹ To this day we have gone hungry, thirsty, and ill-clad; we have had rough usage, we have had no home,

⁵ You must not refuse each other what is due, unless you agree to do so for a while, to devote yourselves to prayer, and then to come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you through your lack of self-control.

⁹ But if they cannot control themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to be on fire with passion.

² You know that when you were heathen you would stray off, as impulse directed, to idols that could not speak.

⁷ Each one is given his spiritual illumination for the common good.

³ For I passed on to you, as of first importance, the account I had received, that Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures foretold, ⁴ that he was buried, that on the third day he was raised from the dead, as the Scriptures foretold,

¹⁹ If we have centered our hopes on Christ in this life, and that is all, we are the most pitiable people in the world.

⁸ For I do not want you, brothers, to misunderstand the distress that I experienced in Asia, for I was so utterly and unendurably crushed, that I actually despaired of life itself. ⁹ Why, I felt in my heart that the end must be death. That was to keep me from relying on myself instead of on God, who can even raise the dead. ¹⁰ So deadly was the peril from which he saved me, as he will save me again! It is on him that I have set my hope that he will save me again.

¹² For my boast is what my conscience tells me, that my relations to the world and still more to you have been marked by pure motives and godly sincerity, not by worldly shrewdness but by the favor of God.

¹⁷ Was it vacillating of me to want to do that? Do I make my plans like a worldly man, ready to say "Yes" and "No" in the same breath?

⁸ I am hard pressed on every side, but never cut off: perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹ routed, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰ never free from the danger of being put to death like Jesus, so that in my body the life of Jesus also may be seen. ¹¹ For every day I live I am being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be visible in my mortal nature.

¹⁵ and he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again.

⁴ On the contrary, as a servant of God I try in every way to commend myself to them, through my great endurance in troubles, difficulties, hardships, ⁵ beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, and hunger, ⁶ through my purity of life, my knowledge, my patience, my kindness, my holiness of spirit, my genuine love, ⁷ the truth of my teaching, and the power of God; with the weapons of uprightness for the right hand and the left, ⁸ in honor or dishonor, in praise or blame; considered an imposter, when I am true, ⁹ obscure, when I am well known, at the point of death, yet here I am alive, punished, but not dead yet, ¹⁰ pained, when I am always glad, poor, when I make many others rich, penniless, when really I own everything.

⁸ God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance so that you will always have enough for every situation, and ample means for every good enterprise:

¹³ Such men are sham apostles, dishonest workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no wonder, for even Satan himself masquerades as a shining angel. ¹⁵ So it is nothing strange if his servants also masquerade as servants of uprightness. But their doom will fit their actions.

²³ If they are Christian workers—I am talking like a madman!—I am a better one! with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, vastly worse beatings, and in frequent danger of death. ²⁴ Five times I have been given one less than forty lashes, by the Jews. ²⁵ I have been beaten three times by the Romans, I have been stoned once, I have been shipwrecked three times, a night and a day I have been adrift at sea; ²⁶ with my frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from the heathen, danger in the city, danger in the desert, danger at sea, danger from false brothers, ²⁷ through toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, through hunger and thirst, often without food, and exposed to cold. ²⁸ And besides everything else, the thing that burdens me every day is my anxiety about all the churches.

⁵ It is yourselves you must test, to see whether you are holding to the faith. It is yourselves you must examine. Do you not know that Jesus Christ is within you? Unless you fail to stand the test! ⁶ I hope you will see that I do not fail to stand it.

⁷ not that there is any other, only that there are some people who are trying to unsettle you and want to turn the good news of the Christ around. ⁸ But even if we or an angel from heaven preach to you good news that contradicts the good news we have preached to you, a curse upon him! ⁹ We have said it before, and I repeat it now—if anyone is preaching to you good news that contradicts the good news you have already received, a curse upon him!

⁴ to gratify the false brothers who had been smuggled in, who sneaked in to spy upon the freedom we enjoy in Christ Jesus, so as to reduce us to slavery again. ⁵ But we did not submit to them for a moment, in order that the truth of the good news might remain yours.

⁸ The Scripture foresaw that God would accept the heathen as upright in consequence of their faith, and preached the good news in advance to Abraham in the words, "All the heathen will be blessed through you."

¹⁰ For he has made us, creating us through our union with Christ Jesus for the life of goodness which God had predestined us to live.

¹¹ And he has given us some men as apostles, some as prophets, some as missionaries, some as pastors and teachers, ¹² in order to fit his people for the work of service, for building the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain unity in faith, and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and reach mature manhood, and that full measure of development found in Christ. ¹⁴ We must not be babies any longer, blown about and swung around by every wind of doctrine through the trickery of men with their ingenuity in inventing error.

¹⁴ We must not be babies any longer, blown about and swung around by every wind of doctrine through the trickery of men with their ingenuity in inventing error. ¹⁵ We must lovingly hold to the truth and grow up into perfect union with him who is the head—Christ himself. ¹⁶ For it is under his control that the whole system, adjusted and united by each ligament of its equipment, develops in proportion to the functioning of each particular part, and so builds itself up through love.

¹¹ Have nothing to do with the profitless doings of the darkness; expose them instead. ¹² For while it is degrading even to mention their secret practices, ¹³ yet when anything is exposed by the light, it is made visible, and anything that is made visible is light.

²¹ For they are all looking out for their own interests, not for those of Jesus Christ. ²² But you know his character, and how like a son helping his father he has worked like a slave with me in preaching the good news.

¹⁸ For there are many who live, as I have often told you, and tell you now with tears, like enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ They are doomed to destruction: their appetites are their god; they glory in their shame; they are absorbed in earthly matters.

² that your hearts may be cheered. I want you to be united by love, and to have all the benefit of assured knowledge in coming to know Christ—

⁵ So treat as dead your physical nature, as far as immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed are concerned; for it is really idolatry.

⁵ for our preaching of the good news did not come to you as mere words but with power and the holy Spirit and full conviction—you know the kind of life we lived among you for your good.

¹³ We for our part constantly thank God for another reason too—because when you received God's message from our lips, you welcomed it not as the message of men but as the message of God, as it really is, which does its work in the hearts of you believers.

³ and encourage you not to be led astray, any of you, in all these troubles. You know yourselves that this is what we must expect, ⁴ for when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were going to have trouble, and it came true, as you know.

⁸ So whoever disregards this is not disregarding man, but God, who gives you his holy Spirit.

³ You must not let anyone deceive you at all. For that is not until the rebellion takes place and the embodiment of disobedience makes his appearance—he who is doomed to destruction, ⁴ the adversary of every being that is called a god or an object of worship, and so overbearing toward them as to enter God's sanctuary and take his seat there, proclaiming himself to be God—

⁴ the adversary of every being that is called a god or an object of worship, and so overbearing toward them as to enter God's sanctuary and take his seat there, proclaiming himself to be God— ⁵ do you not remember that when I was with you, I used to tell you this? ⁶ So now you know what it is that is holding him back from making his appearance before the appointed time arrives.

⁶ So now you know what it is that is holding him back from making his appearance before the appointed time arrives. ⁷ For disobedience is already secretly at work, but only until he who is now holding it in check is gotten out of the way.

⁷ For disobedience is already secretly at work, but only until he who is now holding it in check is gotten out of the way. ⁸ Then the embodiment of disobedience will make his appearance, and the Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth and annihilate him by his appearance and arrival.

⁸ Then the embodiment of disobedience will make his appearance, and the Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth and annihilate him by his appearance and arrival. ⁹ The other's appearance, by the contrivance of Satan, will be full of power and pretended signs and wonders,

⁹ The other's appearance, by the contrivance of Satan, will be full of power and pretended signs and wonders, ¹⁰ and full of wicked deception for men who are going to destruction, because they refused to love the truth and be saved.

¹⁰ and full of wicked deception for men who are going to destruction, because they refused to love the truth and be saved. ¹¹ This is why God sends upon them a misleading influence, to make them believe what is false,

¹¹ This is why God sends upon them a misleading influence, to make them believe what is false, ¹² so that all who have refused to believe the truth but have preferred disobedience may be condemned.

⁶ We charge you, brothers, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who lives in idleness, instead of following the teaching you received from us.

¹⁴ If anyone refuses to obey what we have said in this letter, mark the man and do not have anything to do with him, to make him feel ashamed.

³ As I asked you to do when I was on my way to Macedonia, stay on in Ephesus in order to warn certain people there not to teach strange views

¹⁹ keeping hold of faith and a good conscience. For some people have let that go and have had their faith ruined, ²⁰ like Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I turned over to Satan, to be taught not to blaspheme.

² for emperors and all who are in authority, so that we may live tranquil, quiet lives, with perfect piety and probity.

⁴ who wants all men to be saved and to come to know the truth.

³ not addicted to drink or pugnacious, but a man of moderation and peace, not avaricious,

⁶ He must not be a new convert, or he may grow conceited and incur criticism from slanderous people.

¹¹ Their wives too must be serious, not gossips; they must be temperate, and perfectly trustworthy.

¹⁶ No one can deny the profundity of the divine truth of our religion! "He was revealed in flesh, He was vindicated by the Spirit, He was seen by the angels, He was proclaimed among the heathen, He was believed in throughout the world, He was taken up into glory."

¹ The Spirit distinctly says that in later times some will turn away from the faith, and devote their attention to deceitful spirits and the things that demons teach

¹ The Spirit distinctly says that in later times some will turn away from the faith, and devote their attention to deceitful spirits and the things that demons teach ² through the pretensions of liars—men with seared consciences

² through the pretensions of liars—men with seared consciences ³ who forbid people to marry and insist on abstinence from certain kinds of food that God created for men who believe and understand the truth to enjoy and give thanks for.

⁶ If you point this out to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, living on the principles of the faith and the excellent teaching you have had.

¹² Let no one look down on you because you are young, but set those who believe an example in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. ¹³ Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, preaching, and teaching.

¹⁶ Look out for yourself and for your teaching. Persevere in your work, for if you do you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.

⁶ A widow who gives herself up to pleasure is dead while she is still alive.

⁸ Whoever fails to provide for his own relatives, and particularly for members of his own family, has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

³ Anyone who teaches different views and does not agree with the wholesome instruction which comes from our Lord Jesus Christ, and with religious teaching ⁴ is a conceited, ignorant person, with a morbid craving for speculations and arguments which result only in envy, quarreling, abuse, base suspicions, ⁵ and mutual irritation between people of depraved minds, who are lost to the truth and think of religion only as a means of gain.

⁹ But men who want to get rich fall into temptations and snares and many foolish, harmful cravings, that plunge people into destruction and ruin. ¹⁰ For love of money is the root of all the evils, and in their eagerness to get rich, some men wander away from the faith and pierce themselves to the heart with many a pang. ¹¹ But you, man of God, must fly from these things. Strive for uprightness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

¹⁷ Charge the rich of this world not to be arrogant, nor to set their hopes on such an uncertain thing as riches, but on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

⁵ of being reminded of your genuine faith, a faith that was seen first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice; I am sure it is in you also.

¹³ As your example in wholesome instruction, keep before you what you learned from me, in the faith and love that come through union with Christ Jesus.

² The things you learned from me before many witnesses you must commit to trustworthy men who will be capable of teaching others.

¹⁶ Leave worldly, empty phrases alone, for they lead people deeper and deeper into godlessness,

¹⁶ Leave worldly, empty phrases alone, for they lead people deeper and deeper into godlessness, ¹⁷ and their teaching spreads like a cancer; men like Hymenaeus and Philetus,

²¹ So if a man will cleanse himself from these things, he will be put to great uses, consecrated and used by the master of the house himself, and ready for any good use. ²² Fly from the cravings of youth, and go in pursuit of uprightness, faith, love, and peace, in company with those who call upon the Lord with pure hearts. ²³ Avoid foolish, crude speculations; you know they only lead to quarrels,

²⁵ correcting his opponents with gentleness; for God may possibly let them repent and acknowledge the truth,

⁴ treacherous, reckless, conceited, caring more for pleasure than for God,

⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, these people in turn oppose the truth; they are men of depraved minds and counterfeit faith.

¹⁵ and how from childhood you have known the Scriptures which can give you the wisdom that through faith in Christ Jesus leads to salvation. ¹⁶ All Scripture is divinely inspired, and useful in teaching, in reproof, in correcting faults, and in training in uprightness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God will be adequate, and equipped for any good work.

² preach the message; be at it in season and out of season; convince, reprove, exhort people, with perfect patience and willingness to teach. ³ For a time will come when they will not listen to wholesome instruction, but will overwhelm themselves with teachers to suit their whims and tickle their fancies,

³ For a time will come when they will not listen to wholesome instruction, but will overwhelm themselves with teachers to suit their whims and tickle their fancies, ⁴ and they will turn from listening to the truth and wander off after fictions.

⁷ I have had a part in the great contest, I have run my race, I have preserved my faith.

¹⁵ You too must be on your guard against him, for he vehemently opposed my teaching.

¹⁷ But the Lord stood by me, and gave me strength, so that I might make a full presentation of the message and let all the heathen hear it. So I was saved from the jaws of the lion. ¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from any harm and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹ Paul, a slave of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to arouse faith in those whom God has chosen, and the comprehension of religious truth,

⁸ but hospitable, a lover of goodness, sensible, upright, of holy life, self-controlled,

¹⁰ For there are many undisciplined people, who deceive themselves with their empty talk, especially those of the party of circumcision. ¹¹ They must be silenced, for such men upset whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach, for the sake of dishonest gain.

¹⁶ They profess to know God, but they disown him by what they do; they are detestable, disobedient men, worthless for any good purpose.

³ Teach the older women, too, to be reverent in their behavior, and not to gossip or be slaves of drink, but to be teachers of what is right,

⁷ In every way set them an example of good conduct yourself. Teach with sincerity and seriousness,

¹² training us to renounce godless ways and worldly passions, and live serious, upright, and godly lives in this world,

¹⁴ He gave himself for us, to free us from all wickedness and purify for himself a people of his own, eager to do right.

¹ Remind men to accept and obey the constituted authorities, to be ready for any useful service,

³ For we ourselves were once without understanding, disobedient, deluded, enslaved to all kinds of passions and pleasures. Our minds were full of malice and envy. Men hated us and we hated one another.

¹⁰ If a man is inclined to a sect, after warning him once or twice, have nothing more to do with him.

⁷ Therefore, as the holy Spirit says, "If you hear his voice today,

¹² For the message of God is a living and active force, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing through soul and spirit, and joints and marrow, and keen in judging the thoughts and purposes of the mind.

¹¹ I have much to say to you about this, but it is difficult to make it clear to you, because you have become so slow of apprehension.

¹¹ But we want each of you to exhibit this same earnestness to the very end with regard to your confidence in your hope,

²² let us draw near to God in sincerity of heart and with perfect faith, with our hearts cleansed from the sense of sin, and our bodies washed with clean water.

²⁴ By observing one another, let us arouse ourselves to rival one another's love and good deeds.

³³ sometimes being actually exposed as a public spectacle to insults and violence, and sometimes showing yourselves ready to share the lot of those in that condition. ³⁴ For you showed sympathy with those who were in prison, and you put up with it cheerfully when your property was taken from you, for you knew that you had in yourselves a greater possession that was lasting.

¹ Faith means the assurance of what we hope for; it is our conviction about things that we cannot see.

³² And why should I go on? For my time would fail me if I told of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, ³³ who by their faith conquered kingdoms, attained uprightness, received new promises, shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ put out furious fires, escaped death by the sword, found strength in their time of weakness, proved mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. ³⁵ Women had their dead restored to them by resurrection. Others endured torture, and refused to accept release, that they might rise again to the better life. ³⁶ Still others had to endure taunts and blows, and even fetters and prison. ³⁷ They were stoned to death, they were tortured to death, they were sawed in two, they were killed with the sword. Clothed in the skins of sheep or goats, they were driven from place to place, destitute, persecuted, misused— ³⁸ men of whom the world was not worthy wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and holes in the ground.

⁹ You must not be carried away with strange varieties of teaching. The true way to steadfastness of heart is through God's mercy, not through scruples about food, which have never done their adherents any good.

⁶ But you humiliate the poor. Are not the rich your oppressors? Is it not they who drag you into court?

⁸ If you really obey the supreme law where the Scripture says, "You must love your neighbor as you do yourself," you are doing right,

⁶ But he gives all the greater blessing. As the Scripture says, "God opposes haughty persons, but he blesses humble-minded ones."

¹⁶ But, as it is, you pride yourselves on your pretensions. All such pride is wrong.

¹⁰ About this salvation the prophets who prophesied of the blessing that was destined for you made the most careful investigation, ¹¹ trying to learn for what possible time the spirit of Christ within them in predicting the sufferings destined for Christ intended them and the glories that were to follow them. ¹² It was disclosed to them that they were serving not themselves but you in dealing with these things, which have now been told you by those who through the holy Spirit sent from heaven brought you the good news; things into which angels long to look!

²⁰ for what credit is there in your enduring being beaten for doing wrong? But if you endure suffering for doing what is right, you have God's approval. ²¹ That is the life to which you have been called, for Christ himself suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow his footsteps.

¹⁴ Even if you should suffer for uprightness, you are blessed. But do not be afraid of them, nor be troubled,

¹² Dear friends, do not be surprised that a test of fire is being applied to you, as though a strange thing were happening to you, ¹³ but be glad that you are in a measure sharing the sufferings of the Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may be triumphantly happy. ¹⁴ If you are being abused for the sake of Christ, you are blessed, because the glorious Spirit of God is resting upon you. ¹⁵ For no one of you must suffer as a murderer or thief or criminal or revolutionist, ¹⁶ but if a man suffers for being a Christian, he must not be ashamed of it, but must do honor to God through that name.

⁵ You younger men must show deference to the elders. And you must all clothe yourselves in humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud, but shows mercy to the humble.

⁹ Resist him and be strong in the faith, for you know that your brotherhood all over the world is having the same experience of suffering. ¹⁰ And God, the giver of all mercy, who through your union with Christ has called you to his eternal glory, after you have suffered a little while will himself make you perfect, steadfast, and strong.

⁵ For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, ⁶ knowledge with self-control, self-control with steadfastness, steadfastness with piety, ⁷ piety with a spirit of brotherhood, and the spirit of brotherhood with love.

¹⁹ So we have the message of the prophets more fully guaranteed. Please pay attention to that message as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ You must understand this in the first place, that no prophecy in Scripture can be understood through one's own powers, ²¹ for no prophecy ever originated in the human will, but under the influence of the holy Spirit men spoke for God.

¹ There were false prophets too among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will introduce destructive sects and deny the Master who has bought them, thus bringing on themselves swift destruction. ² Many people will follow their immoral ways, and they will cause the true way to be maligned. ³ In their greed they will exploit you with pretended arguments. From of old their condemnation has not been idle, and their destruction has not slumbered.

³ In their greed they will exploit you with pretended arguments. From of old their condemnation has not been idle, and their destruction has not slumbered.

⁹ then the Lord knows how to rescue God-fearing people from trial and to punish wrongdoers while they are being kept for the Day of Judgment, ¹⁰ especially those who yield to their physical nature and indulge in passions that defile them, and despise authority. Rash, headstrong men! They stand in no awe of majesty, but deride beings ¹¹ against whom even angels far superior to these beings in strength and power bring no abusive charge before the Lord. ¹² These men, like unreasoning animals, mere creatures of instinct created to be caught and killed, abuse what they do not understand and will be destroyed like animals,

¹² These men, like unreasoning animals, mere creatures of instinct created to be caught and killed, abuse what they do not understand and will be destroyed like animals, ¹³ suffering wrong as the reward for their wrongdoing. They find pleasure in the indulgence of the moment; they are a stain and a disgrace, and they revel in their deceit while they join in your religious meals. ¹⁴ They have eyes for nobody but adulterous women—eyes insatiable in sin. They lure unsteadfast souls. Their hearts are trained in greed. They are accursed!

¹⁴ They have eyes for nobody but adulterous women—eyes insatiable in sin. They lure unsteadfast souls. Their hearts are trained in greed. They are accursed!

¹⁴ They have eyes for nobody but adulterous women—eyes insatiable in sin. They lure unsteadfast souls. Their hearts are trained in greed. They are accursed! ¹⁵ They have left the straight path and gone astray. They have followed the path of Balaam, the son of Beor, who set his heart on dishonest gain,

¹⁵ They have left the straight path and gone astray. They have followed the path of Balaam, the son of Beor, who set his heart on dishonest gain, ¹⁶ but he was rebuked for his offense; a dumb animal spoke with a human voice and checked the prophet's madness. ¹⁷ Such men are dried-up springs, clouds driven before the storm, and they are doomed to utter darkness. ¹⁸ They utter arrogant nonsense and use physical cravings to lure into immorality men who are just escaping from among those who live in error;

¹⁸ They utter arrogant nonsense and use physical cravings to lure into immorality men who are just escaping from among those who live in error; ¹⁹ promising them freedom when they are themselves slaves of destruction; for a man is the slave of whatever overcomes him.

¹⁹ promising them freedom when they are themselves slaves of destruction; for a man is the slave of whatever overcomes him. ²⁰ For if after men have escaped the corrupting influences of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they again become entangled in them and are overcome by them, their final condition is worse than their former one.

²⁰ For if after men have escaped the corrupting influences of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they again become entangled in them and are overcome by them, their final condition is worse than their former one. ²¹ For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of uprightness than after knowing it to have turned their backs upon the sacred command with which they had been intrusted. ²² What has happened to them shows the truth of the proverb, "A dog returns to what he has vomited up, and a sow that has washed goes back to wallow in the mire."

³ First of all, you must understand this, that in the last days mockers will come with their mockeries, going where their passions lead

¹¹ If all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what holy and pious lives you ought to lead,

¹⁶ speaking of it as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which ignorant, unsteadfast people twist to their own ruin, just as they do the rest of the Scriptures. ¹⁷ So you, dear friends, now that you are forewarned, must be on your guard against being led away by the errors of unprincipled men and losing your present firmness.

¹⁸ Children, it is the last hour. You have heard that Antichrist is coming, and many Antichrists have indeed appeared. So we may be sure that it is the last hour.

¹ Dear friends, do not believe every inspired utterance, but test the utterances to see whether they come from God, for many false prophets have come out into the world.

¹¹ And that testimony is that God has given us eternal life, and that this life is found in his Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever has not the Son has not life.

⁹ Anyone who goes too far and does not keep to the teaching of Christ has not God. It is the man who holds to the teaching who has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If anyone comes to you without bringing this teaching, do not let him come into the house or bid him good morning.

¹⁰ If anyone comes to you without bringing this teaching, do not let him come into the house or bid him good morning. ¹¹ For anyone who bids him good morning shares in his wicked work. ¹² Though I have a great deal to write to you, I would rather not write it with paper and ink, but I hope to come to see you, and talk with you face to face, so that your happiness may be complete.

⁴ For some people have sneaked in among us—their doom was foretold long ago—godless persons, who turn the mercy of our God into an excuse for immorality, and disown our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

⁸ In that same way these dreamers defile the body, make light of authority, and deride majesty. ⁹ The archangel Michael himself, when he had the dispute with the devil about Moses' body, did not venture to condemn him for blasphemy; he only said, "May the Lord rebuke you!" ¹⁰ But these people deride anything they do not understand, and the things they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, they use for their own destruction. ¹¹ Alas for them, for they follow Cain's path, they plunge into Balaam's error for gain, and they perish in rebelliousness like Korah's.

¹⁶ These men are grumblers, dissatisfied with life. They go where their passions lead, their talk is arrogant and they cultivate people in the hope of gain. ¹⁷ But you, dear friends, must remember what was foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁸ for they said to you, "In the last times there will be mockers who will go where their own godless passions lead."

¹⁸ for they said to you, "In the last times there will be mockers who will go where their own godless passions lead." ¹⁹ These are the men who create division; they are animal and devoid of the Spirit.

¹⁹ These are the men who create division; they are animal and devoid of the Spirit.

⁹ I, John, your brother and companion in the distress, the kingdom, and the endurance that Jesus brings, found myself on the island called Patmos, for uttering God's message and testifying to Jesus. ¹⁰ On the Lord's day I fell into a trance, and I heard a loud voice like a trumpet behind me

⁶ But it is in your favor that you hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, as I do.

¹⁴ Yet I hold it somewhat against you that you have among you some adherents of the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entrap the children of Israel into eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols, and into immoral practices. ¹⁵ So you also have among you some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

²⁰ But I hold it against you that you tolerate that Jezebel of a woman who claims to be inspired and who is misleading my slaves and teaching them to practice immorality and to eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols.

¹⁴ I said to him, "You know, my lord." He said to me, "They are the people who come through the great persecution, who have washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹ When he broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ² Then I saw the seven angels who stood before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. ³ Then another angel with a gold censer came and stood at the altar, and he was given a great quantity of incense so that he might mingle it with the prayers of all the saints on the altar of gold that stood before the throne. ⁴ So the smoke of the incense went up before God from the angel's hand for the prayers of his people. ⁵ Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar, and emptied it upon the earth, and there followed peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. ⁶ Then the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. ⁷ The first blew his trumpet, and there was a storm of hail and fire mixed with blood, and it fell upon the earth, and one third of the earth was burned up, and one third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. ⁸ Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and what looked like a great mountain ablaze with fire was thrown into the sea, and one third of the sea turned into blood, ⁹ and one third of all the live creatures in the sea perished, and one third of the ships were destroyed. ¹⁰ Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and there fell from the sky a great star blazing like a torch, and it fell upon one third of the streams and the springs of water. ¹¹ The star is called Apsinthus, that is, Wormwood. Then one third of the waters turned to wormwood, and numbers of people died of the waters, for they had turned bitter. ¹² Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one third of the sun was blasted, and one third of the moon and one third of the stars, so that one third of them were darkened, and there was no light for one third of the day and of the night. ¹³ Then in my vision I heard an eagle flying in midair say in a loud voice, "Alas! Alas! Alas for the inhabitants of the earth, because of the other blasts of the three angels who are going to blow their trumpets!"

⁴ His tail swept away one third of the stars of heaven and flung them down upon the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth to a child in order to devour her child as soon as it was born.

⁷ Then war broke out in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting with the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought ⁸ but they were defeated, and there was no place for them any longer in heaven. ⁹ So the great dragon, the ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world, was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.

⁹ So the great dragon, the ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world, was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. ¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, "The deliverance and power and reign of our God, and the authority of his Christ have now come, for the accuser of our brothers, who kept bringing charges against them day and night before our God, has been hurled down.

¹ Then I stood on the sand of the seashore, and I saw an animal come up out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads, and with ten diadems on its horns, and blasphemous titles on its heads.

⁵ It was allowed to utter great boasts and blasphemies, and to exert authority for forty-two months. ⁶ It opened its mouth in blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling-place, that is, those who live in heaven.

¹⁴ It leads the inhabitants of the earth astray by the wonders it is allowed to do on behalf of the animal, telling the inhabitants of the earth to erect a statue to the animal that bears the mark of the sword-thrust and yet lives. ¹⁵ It is also allowed to impart life to the animal's statue so that the animal's statue can speak, and to have all who do not worship the animal's statue killed.

¹⁷ and permits no one to buy or sell anything unless he bears the mark, that is, the animal's name or the number corresponding to its name.

⁶ for they shed the blood of your people and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink, as they deserve."

⁹ and they were dreadfully scorched, but they reviled the name of God who had control of these plagues, and would not repent and give him glory.

¹¹ and reviled the God of heaven for their sufferings and sores, but they would not repent of what they had done.

²¹ huge hailstones of immense weight fell on mankind from heaven, and men reviled God because of the plague of hail, the plague of it was so terrible.

⁶ I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God's people, and the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her I was perfectly amazed,

¹² cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet, all kinds of citron wood, all kinds of objects of ivory and costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble, ¹³ and cinnamon, spices, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, carriages, slaves—and human lives!

²³ no light of any lamp will ever shine in you again; no voice of bride or bridegroom will ever be heard in you again. For your merchants were the great men of the earth; by your magic all the heathen have been led astray,

¹⁰ I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, "You must not do that. I am only a fellow-slave of yours and of your brothers who have accepted the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is what inspires prophecy."