Romans 12 Cross References - Goodspeed

¹ I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by this mercy of God, to offer your bodies in a living sacrifice that will be holy and acceptable to God; that is your rational worship. ² You must not adopt the customs of this world but by your new attitude of mind be transformed so that you can find out what God's will is—what is good, pleasing, and perfect. ³ By the favor that God has shown me, I would tell every one of you not to think too highly of himself, but to think reasonably, judging himself by the degree of faith God has allowed him. ⁴ For just as there are many parts united in our human bodies, and the parts do not all have the same function, ⁵ so, many as we are, we form one body through union with Christ, and we are individually parts of one another. ⁶ We have gifts that differ with the favor that God has shown us, whether it is that of preaching, differing with the measure of our faith, ⁷ or of practical service, differing in the field of service, or the teacher who exercises his gift in teaching, ⁸ the speaker, in his exhortation, the giver of charity, with generosity, the office-holder, with devotion, the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. ⁹ Your love must be genuine. You must hate what is wrong, and hold to what is right. ¹⁰ Be affectionate in your love for the brotherhood, eager to show one another honor, ¹¹ not wanting in devotion, but on fire with the Spirit. Serve the Lord. ¹² Be happy in your hope, steadfast in time of trouble, persistent in prayer. ¹³ Supply the needs of God's people, be unfailing in hospitality. ¹⁴ Bless your persecutors; bless them; do not curse them. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be too ambitious, but accept humble tasks. Do not be conceited. ¹⁷ Do not pay anyone back with evil for evil. See that you are above reproach in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If possible, for your part, live peaceably with everybody. ¹⁹ Do not take your revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God's anger, for the Scripture says, "Vengeance belongs to me; I will pay them back, says the Lord." ²⁰ No! If your enemy is hungry, feed him! If he is thirsty, give him something to drink! For if you do, you will heap burning coals upon his head! ²¹ Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

⁵ "Blessed are the humble-minded, for they will possess the land!

⁹ "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called God's sons!

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!

³⁹ But I tell you not to resist injury, but if anyone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other to him too;

⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for your persecutors,

² So when you are going to give to charity, do not blow a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues and the streets, to make people praise them. I tell you, that is all the reward they will get! ³ But when you give to charity, your own left hand must not know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your charity may be secret, and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you.

²⁵ Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about life, wondering what you will have to eat or drink, or about your body, wondering what you will have to wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the wild birds. They do not sow or reap, or store their food in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more account than they?

⁵ The blind are regaining their sight and the lame can walk, the lepers are being cured and the deaf can hear, the dead are being raised and good news is being preached to the poor.

¹ Just at that time the disciples came up and asked Jesus, "Who is really greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?" ² He called a child to him and had him stand among them, ³ and he said, "I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven at all. ⁴ Anyone, therefore, who is as unassuming as this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven,

²¹ He said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Give orders that these two sons of mine sit one at your right and one at your left, when you are king!" ²² But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking for! Can you drink what I am going to drink?" They answered, "Yes, we can." ²³ He said to them, "Then what I drink you shall drink, but as for sitting at my right or my left, that is not mine to give, but belongs to those for whom it is destined by my Father." ²⁴ When the other ten heard of this, they were very indignant at the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the heathen lord it over them, and their great men tyrannize over them. ²⁶ It is not to be so among you, but whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant,

²⁶ It is not to be so among you, but whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to hold the first place among you must be your slave, ²⁸ just as the Son of Man has come not to be waited on, but to wait on other people, and to give his life to ransom many others."

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;

¹² and because of the increase of wickedness, most men's love will grow cold.

⁴⁵ "Who then will be the faithful, thoughtful slave whom his master put in charge of his household, to give the members of it their supplies at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that slave if his master when he returns finds him doing it. ⁴⁷ I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his property.

²⁶ His master answered, 'You wicked, idle slave! You knew that I reaped where I had not sown and gathered where I had not threshed?

³⁵ For when I was hungry, you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me something to drink, when I was a stranger, you invited me to your homes,

⁴⁰ The king will answer, 'I tell you, in so far as you did it to one of the humblest of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.'

¹¹ For you always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.

⁴⁹ And he went straight up to Jesus and said, "Good evening, Master!" and kissed him affectionately.

¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all the heathen, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the holy Spirit,

⁵⁰ Salt is a good thing, but if salt loses its strength, what will you use to season it? You must have salt within you, and live in peace with one another."

⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard of the great mercy the Lord had shown her, and they came and congratulated her.

⁶ And the devil said to him, "I will give you all this power and their splendor, for it has been turned over to me, and I can give it to anyone I please. ⁷ If you will do homage before me, it shall all be yours." ⁸ Jesus answered, "The Scripture says, 'You must do homage before the Lord your God, and worship him alone.' " ⁹ And he took him to Jerusalem, and made him stand on the summit of the Temple, and said to him, "If you are God's son, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰ for the Scripture says, 'He will give his angels orders about you, to protect you,' ¹¹ and, 'They will lift you up with their hands, so that you may never strike your foot against a stone.' "

²⁰ Then he fixed his eyes on his disciples, and said, "Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours!

²⁷ "But I tell you who hear me, love your enemies, treat those who hate you well,

²⁷ "But I tell you who hear me, love your enemies, treat those who hate you well,

²⁷ "But I tell you who hear me, love your enemies, treat those who hate you well, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ²⁹ To the man that strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from the man who takes away your coat, do not keep back your shirt either.

²⁹ To the man that strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from the man who takes away your coat, do not keep back your shirt either. ³⁰ Give to everyone that asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you, her sins, many as they are, are forgiven, for she has loved me so much. But the man with little to be forgiven loves me but little."

¹⁵ But the seed in the good soil means those who listen to the message and keep it in good, true hearts, and yield unfailingly.

⁵⁵ But he turned and reproved them. ⁵⁶ And they went on to another village.

²⁰ But do not be glad that the spirits submit to you, but be glad that your names are enrolled in heaven."

⁵ And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him in the middle of the night, and says to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶ for a friend of mine has just come to my house after a journey, and I have nothing for him to eat,' ⁷ and he answers from inside, 'Do not bother me; the door is now fastened, and my children and I have gone to bed; I cannot get up and give you any.' ⁸ I tell you, even if he will not get up and give him some because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rouse himself and give him all he needs. ⁹ So I tell you, ask, and what you ask will be given you. Search, and you will find what you search for. Knock, and the door will open to you. ¹⁰ For it is always the one who asks who receives, and the one who searches who finds, and the one who knocks to whom the door opens. ¹¹ Which of you fathers, if his son asks him for a fish will give him a snake instead? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ So if you, bad as you are, know enough to give your children what is good, how much more surely will your Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him for it!"

⁴⁹ This is why the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send prophets and apostles to them, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute'—

⁴² And the Master said, "Who then will be the faithful, thoughtful manager, whom his master will put in charge of his household, to give the members of it their supplies at the proper time? ⁴³ Blessed is that slave if his master when he returns finds him doing it. ⁴⁴ I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his property.

¹⁰ But when you are invited anywhere, go and take the poorest place, so that when your host comes in, he will say to you, 'My friend, come to a better place.' So you will be shown consideration before all the other guests.

¹³ But when you give an entertainment, invite people who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind.

⁵ And when he finds it, he puts it on his shoulders with joy, ⁶ and when he reaches home, he calls in his friends and neighbors, and says to them, 'Congratulate me, for I have found my lost sheep!' ⁷ I tell you, in just that way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinful person who repents, than over ninety-nine upright people who do not need any repentance. ⁸ Or what woman who has ten silver coins and loses one, does not light the lamp and sweep the house and look carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she finds it, she calls in her friends and neighbors, and says to them, 'Congratulate me, for I have found the coin that I lost!' ¹⁰ In just that way, I tell you, there is joy among the angels of God over one sinful person who repents!"

¹ He gave them an illustration to show that they must always pray and not give up, ² and he said, "There was once in a city a judge who had no fear of God and no respect for men. ³ There was a widow in the city and she came to him and said, 'Protect me from my opponent.' ⁴ And he would not for a time, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I have no fear of God nor respect for men, ⁵ yet because this widow bothers me, I will protect her, so that she may not finally wear me out with her coming.' " ⁶ And the Master said, "Listen to what this dishonest judge said! ⁷ Then will not God provide protection for his chosen people, who cry out to him day and night? ⁸ I tell you, he will make haste to provide it! But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" ⁹ To some who were confident of their own uprightness, and thought nothing of others, he used this illustration: ¹⁰ "Two men went up to the Temple to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood up and uttered this prayer to himself: 'O God, I thank you that I am not like other men, greedy, dishonest, or adulterous, like that tax-collector.

¹¹ The Pharisee stood up and uttered this prayer to himself: 'O God, I thank you that I am not like other men, greedy, dishonest, or adulterous, like that tax-collector. ¹² I fast two days in the week; I pay tithes on everything I get.' ¹³ But the tax-collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven, but struck his breast, and said, 'O God, have mercy on a sinner like me!' ¹⁴ I tell you, it was he who went back to his house with God's approval, and not the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted." ¹⁵ People brought babies to him to have him touch them, but the disciples, when they saw it, reproved them for it. ¹⁶ But Jesus called them up to him and said, "Let the children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as they. ¹⁷ I tell you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all." ¹⁸ A member of the council asked him, "Good master, what must I do to make sure of eternal life?" ¹⁹ Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God himself. ²⁰ You know the commandments, 'Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.' " ²¹ And he said, "I have obeyed all these commandments ever since I was a child." ²² When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is one thing that you still lack. Sell all that you have, and divide the money among the poor, and then you will have riches in heaven; and come back and be a follower of mine." ²³ But when he heard that, he was much cast down, for he was very rich. ²⁴ And when Jesus saw it, he said, "How hard it will be for those who have money to get into the Kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into the Kingdom of God!" ²⁶ And those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" ²⁷ And he said, "The things that are impossible for men are possible for God!" ²⁸ Peter said, "Here we have left home and followed you." ²⁹ And he said to them, "I tell you, there is no one who has given up home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the Kingdom of God ³⁰ who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the coming age eternal life." ³¹ And he took the Twelve aside and said to them, "See! we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything written in the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. ³² For he will be handed over to the heathen, and ridiculed and insulted and spat upon, ³³ and they will flog him and kill him, and on the third day he will rise again." ³⁴ And they did not understand any of this; the words were obscure to them, and they did not know what he meant. ³⁵ As he approached Jericho, a blind man happened to be sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶ And hearing a crowd going by he asked what it meant. ³⁷ They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was coming by. ³⁸ And he shouted, "Jesus, you Son of David, take pity on me!" ³⁹ And those who were in front reproved him and told him to be quiet, but he cried out all the louder, "You Son of David, take pity on me!" ⁴⁰ And Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came up, Jesus asked him, ⁴¹ "What do you want me to do for you?" He answered, "Master, let me regain my sight!" ⁴² And Jesus said to him, "Regain your sight! Your faith has cured you!" ⁴³ And he regained his sight immediately, and followed Jesus, giving thanks to God. And all the people saw it and praised God.

¹ And looking up, he saw the rich people dropping their gifts into the treasury. ² And he saw a poor widow drop in two coppers. ³ And he said, "I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all the rest. ⁴ For they all gave from what they had to spare, but she in her want has put in all she had to live on."

¹⁹ It is by your endurance that you will win your souls.

²⁴ A dispute also arose among them, as to which one of them ought to be considered the greatest. ²⁵ But he said to them, "The kings of the heathen lord it over them, and their authorities are given the title of Benefactor. ²⁶ But you are not to do so, but whoever is greatest among you must be like the youngest, and the leader like a servant. ²⁷ For which is greater, the man at the table, or the servant who waits on him? Is not the man at the table? Yet I am like a servant among you.

³⁴ And they divided up his clothes among them by drawing lots for them,

² This man went to Jesus one night, and said to him, "Master, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can show the signs that you do, unless God is with him."

³⁴ For he whom God has sent speaks God's words, for God gives him his Spirit without measure.

⁷ It is impossible for the world to hate you, but it does hate me for testifying that its ways are wrong.

¹⁹ and a number of Jews had come out to see Mary and Martha, to condole with them about their brother.

³³ When Jesus saw her weep and the Jews who had come with her weeping too, repressing a groan, and yet showing great agitation, ³⁴ he said, "Where have you laid him?" They answered, "Come and see, Master." ³⁵ Jesus shed tears. ³⁶ So the Jews said, "See how much he loved him!"

⁶ But he did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief and when he had charge of the purse he used to take what was put in it.

³⁴ I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must love one another. ³⁵ By this they will all know that you are my disciples—by your love for one another."

³⁰ I shall not talk much more with you, for the evil genius of the world is coming. He has nothing in common with me,

¹⁷ "What I command you to do is to love one another.

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.

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.

²¹ Let them all be one. Just as you, Father, are in union with me and I am with you, let them be in union with us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.

¹⁴ They were all devoting themselves with one mind to prayer, with the women and Mary, Jesus' mother, and his brothers.

¹⁷ " 'It will come about in the last days, God says, That I will pour out my Spirit upon all mankind; Your sons and daughters will become prophets, Your young men will have visions, And your old men will have dreams.

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

⁴⁴ The believers all shared everything they had with one another, ⁴⁵ and sold their property and belongings, and divided the money with all the rest, according to their special needs. ⁴⁶ Day after day they all went regularly to the Temple, they broke their bread together in their homes, and they ate their food with glad and simple hearts,

³² There was but one heart and soul in the multitude who had become believers, and not one of them claimed anything that belonged to him as his own, but they shared everything they had with one another. ³³ The apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power, and God's favor rested richly upon them. ³⁴ No one among them was in any want, for any who owned lands or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sale ³⁵ and put them at the disposal of the apostles; then they were shared with everyone in proportion to his need.

³⁵ and put them at the disposal of the apostles; then they were shared with everyone in proportion to his need.

¹ In those days, as the number of the disciples was increasing, complaints were made by the Greek-speaking Jews against the native Jews that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.

⁴ while we devote ourselves to prayer and to delivering the message."

⁶⁰ Then falling on his knees, he cried out, "Lord, do not lay this sin up against them!" With these words he fell asleep.

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. ³⁷ Just at that time it happened that she had been taken ill and had died, and they had washed her body and laid her out in a room upstairs. ³⁸ As Joppa was near Lydda, the disciples heard that Peter was there, and they sent two men to him, urging him to come over without delay. ³⁹ Peter went with them at once. When he arrived, they took him up to the room and all the widows stood around him crying and showing him the shirts and coats that Dorcas had made when she was still with them. ⁴⁰ But Peter put them all out of the room. Then he knelt down and prayed, and then turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, stand up!" She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹ He gave her his hand and raised her to her feet, and calling in the believers and the widows, he gave her back to them alive.

⁴ He stared at him in terror, and said, "What is it, sir?" "Your prayers and charities," the angel answered, "have gone up and been remembered before God.

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,

²⁷ About that time some prophets from Jerusalem came down to Antioch, ²⁸ and one of them named Agabus got up and under the influence of the Spirit revealed the fact that there was going to be a great famine all over the world. This was the famine that occurred in the reign of Claudius.

²⁸ and one of them named Agabus got up and under the influence of the Spirit revealed the fact that there was going to be a great famine all over the world. This was the famine that occurred in the reign of Claudius. ²⁹ The disciples determined to make up a contribution, each according to his ability, and send it to the brothers who lived in Judea, ³⁰ and this they did, sending it to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

⁵ So Peter was kept in the jail, but the church was praying earnestly to God for him.

¹ There were at Antioch in the church there a number of prophets and teachers—Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the governor, and Saul.

¹² Then the governor, seeing what had happened, believed, and was thunderstruck at the Lord's teaching.

¹⁵ After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue authorities sent to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any appeal to make to the people, proceed."

³² Judas and Silas were themselves prophets, and gave the brothers much encouragement and strength by their words.

²⁴ A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, skilful in the use of the Scriptures. 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.

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. ²⁶ He spoke very confidently in the synagogue at first, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home and explained the Way of God to him more correctly. ²⁷ As he wanted to cross to Greece, the brothers wrote to the disciples there, urging them to welcome him. On his arrival there he was of great service to those who through God's favor had become believers, ²⁸ for he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, and showed from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

² After traveling through those districts and giving the people a great deal of encouragement, he went on to Greece

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,

²⁸ Take care of yourselves and of the whole flock, of which the holy Spirit has made you guardians, and be shepherds of the church of God, which he got at the cost of his own life.

³⁴ You know well enough that these hands of mine provided for my needs and my companions. ³⁵ I showed you in every way that by hard work like that we must help those who are weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, for he said, 'It makes one happier to give than to be given to.' "

⁹ He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy.

⁵ through whom we have received God's favor and been commissioned in his name to urge obedience and faith upon all the heathen,

¹¹ For I long to see you, to convey to you some spiritual gift that will strengthen you;

⁴ Do you think so lightly of his wealth of kindness, forbearance, and patience, and fail to see that God's kindness ought to induce you to repent?

⁷ Those who by persistently doing right strive for glory, honor, and immortality will have eternal life,

² by whom we have been introduced through faith to the favor of God that we now enjoy, and let us glory in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³ More than that, we ought to glory in our troubles, for we know that trouble produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance, character, and character, hope,

² Certainly not! When we have died to sin, how can we live in it any longer?

¹³ and you must not offer the parts of your bodies to sin as the instruments of wrong, but offer yourselves to God as men brought back from death to life, and offer the parts of your bodies to him as instruments of uprightness.

¹⁶ Do you not know that when you submit to being someone's slaves, and obeying him, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey, whether your slavery is to sin, and leads to death, or is to obedience, and leads to uprightness?

¹⁹ I use these familiar human terms because of the limitations of your nature. For just as you before gave up the parts of your bodies in slavery to vice and greater and greater license, you must now give them up in slavery to uprightness, which leads to consecration.

¹² So the Law itself is holy, and each command is holy, just, and good.

¹⁴ We know that the Law is spiritual, but I am physical, sold into slavery to sin.

²² My inner nature agrees with the divine law,

²⁵ But when we hope for something that we do not see, we wait persistently for it.

²³ so as to show all the wealth of his glory in dealing with the objects of his mercy, whom he has prepared from the beginning to share his glory,

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,

²⁵ For to keep you from thinking too well of yourselves, brothers, I do not want you to miss this secret, that only partial insensibility has come upon Israel, to last until all the heathen have come in,

³⁰ For just as you once disobeyed God, but now have had mercy shown you because they disobeyed, ³¹ so they are now disobedient in order that they in turn may experience the same mercy as you.

¹ I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by this mercy of God, to offer your bodies in a living sacrifice that will be holy and acceptable to God; that is your rational worship. ² You must not adopt the customs of this world but by your new attitude of mind be transformed so that you can find out what God's will is—what is good, pleasing, and perfect. ³ By the favor that God has shown me, I would tell every one of you not to think too highly of himself, but to think reasonably, judging himself by the degree of faith God has allowed him. ⁴ For just as there are many parts united in our human bodies, and the parts do not all have the same function,

⁶ We have gifts that differ with the favor that God has shown us, whether it is that of preaching, differing with the measure of our faith, ⁷ or of practical service, differing in the field of service, or the teacher who exercises his gift in teaching, ⁸ the speaker, in his exhortation, the giver of charity, with generosity, the office-holder, with devotion, the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

⁸ the speaker, in his exhortation, the giver of charity, with generosity, the office-holder, with devotion, the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

¹³ Supply the needs of God's people, be unfailing in hospitality. ¹⁴ Bless your persecutors; bless them; do not curse them.

¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be too ambitious, but accept humble tasks. Do not be conceited. ¹⁷ Do not pay anyone back with evil for evil. See that you are above reproach in the eyes of everyone.

¹⁹ Do not take your revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God's anger, for the Scripture says, "Vengeance belongs to me; I will pay them back, says the Lord."

²¹ Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

⁴ for they are God's agents to do you good. But if you do wrong you may well be afraid, for they do not carry swords for nothing. They are God's servants, to execute his wrath upon wrongdoers.

⁶ just as you pay your taxes; they are God's ministers, devoting themselves to this service. ⁷ Pay them all what is due them—tribute to the man entitled to receive it, taxes to the man entitled to receive them, respect to the man entitled to it, and honor to the man entitled to it.

¹⁴ But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about gratifying your physical cravings.

¹⁶ The thing you have a right to do must not become a cause of reproach. ¹⁷ The Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of uprightness, peace, and happiness through the possession of the holy Spirit.

¹⁹ Let us, therefore, keep before us whatever will contribute to peace and the development of one another.

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. ⁵ May God, from whom steadfastness and encouragement come, give you such harmony with one another, in following the example of Christ Jesus,

¹³ May God, the source of hope, fill you with perfect happiness and peace in your faith, so that you may have overflowing hope through the power of the holy Spirit.

¹⁵ But, just to refresh your memories, I have written you pretty boldly on some points, because of the favor God has shown me ¹⁶ in making me a minister of Christ Jesus among the heathen, to act as a priest of God's good news, to see that the heathen are an acceptable sacrifice, consecrated by the holy Spirit.

¹⁶ in making me a minister of Christ Jesus among the heathen, to act as a priest of God's good news, to see that the heathen are an acceptable sacrifice, consecrated by the holy Spirit.

²⁵ Just now I am starting for Jerusalem, to take help to God's people. ²⁶ For Macedonia and Greece have determined to make a contribution for the poor among God's people in Jerusalem. ²⁷ They determined to do it, and they really are indebted to them, for if the heathen have shared their spiritual blessings, they ought to do them a service in material ways. ²⁸ So when I have finished this matter, and seen this contribution safely into their possession, I will start for Spain, and come to you on the way,

³⁰ I beg you, brothers, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the love that the Spirit inspires, join me in most earnest prayer to God for me.

⁵ For you have grown rich in everything through union with him—in power of expression and in capacity for knowledge. ⁶ So your experience has confirmed the testimony that I bore to Christ, ⁷ and there is no gift that you lack even while you are waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to reappear,

¹⁰ But I urge you all, brothers, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, to agree in what you say, and not to allow factions among you, but to be perfectly united in mind and judgment.

¹⁰ Like an expert builder, I laid a foundation, as God commissioned me to do, and now someone else is building upon it. But let everyone be careful how he does so.

¹⁸ Let no one of you deceive himself. If any one of you imagines that he is wiser than the rest of you, in what this world calls wisdom, he had better become a fool, so as to become really wise. ¹⁹ For this world's wisdom is foolishness to God. For the Scripture says, "He who catches the wise with their own cunning,"

⁶ Now, brothers, for your benefit I have applied all this only to Apollos and myself, by using us as illustrations to teach you the old lesson, "Never go beyond the letter," and to keep any of you from boasting of one teacher at the expense of another. ⁷ For who sees anything special in you? And what have you got that you have not been given? But if it has been given you, why do you boast as though it had not been?

⁷ For who sees anything special in you? And what have you got that you have not been given? But if it has been given you, why do you boast as though it had not been? ⁸ Are you satisfied already? Have you become rich already? Have you entered your kingdom without waiting for us? I wish you had entered it, so that we might share it with you!

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.

¹² we have worked with our hands for a living. When people abuse us, we bless them, when they persecute us, we put up with it, ¹³ when they slander us, we try to conciliate them. We have come to be like the scum of the earth, the dregs of the world, and we are so now.

⁷ You must clean out the old yeast and become fresh dough, free from the old as you really are. For our Passover lamb is already sacrificed; it is Christ himself. ⁸ So let us keep the festival, not with old yeast nor with the yeast of vice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of purity and truth.

⁵ I ask it to shame you. Has it come to this, that there is not a single wise man among you who could settle a disagreement between one brother and another, ⁶ but one Christian has to go to law with another, and before unbelievers too? ⁷ Having lawsuits with one another at all means your utter failure, to begin with. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be robbed?

¹³ It is true, food is meant for the stomach, and the stomach for the food, but God will put an end to both of them. But the body is not meant for immorality, but for the service of the Lord, and the Lord is for the body to serve. ¹⁴ And as God raised the Lord to life, he will raise us also by his power. ¹⁵ Do you not know that your bodies are parts of Christ's body? Am I then to take away from Christ parts of his body, and make them parts of a prostitute's? Never! ¹⁶ Or do you not know that a man who has to do with a prostitute makes one body with her? For "The two," says the Scripture, "shall become physically one." ¹⁷ But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. ¹⁸ Fly from immorality! Any other sin a man commits is something outside his body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. ¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit that is within you, which you have received from God? Besides, you are not your own; ²⁰ you have been bought and paid for. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.

⁷ I should like to have everyone be just as I am myself; but each one has his own special gift from God, one of one kind, and one of another.

¹⁵ But if the one who is not a believer wishes to separate, let the separation take place. In such cases the brother or sister is not a slave; God has called you to live in peace.

¹⁷ Only, everyone must continue in the station which the Lord has appointed for him, and in which he was when God's call came to him. This is the rule I make in all the churches.

²² For a slave who has been called to union with the Lord is a freedman of the Lord, just as a free man who has been called is a slave of Christ.

² If a man thinks he has acquired some knowledge, he does not yet know it as well as he ought to know it.

¹⁷ Because there is one loaf, we, many as we are, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.

³³ just as I for my part try to please everyone in all I do, not aiming at my own advantage, but at that of people generally, in order that they may be saved.

⁴ Endowments vary, but the Spirit is the same,

⁴ Endowments vary, but the Spirit is the same, ⁵ and forms of service vary, but it is the same Lord who is served, ⁶ and activities vary, but God who produces them all in us all is the same. ⁷ Each one is given his spiritual illumination for the common good. ⁸ One man receives through the Spirit the power to speak wisely, another, by the same Spirit, receives the power to express knowledge, ⁹ another, from his union with the same Spirit receives faith, another, by one and the same Spirit, the ability to cure the sick, ¹⁰ another, the working of wonders, another, inspiration in preaching, another, the power of distinguishing the true Spirit from false ones, another, various ecstatic utterances, and another, the ability to explain them. ¹¹ These are all produced by one and the same Spirit, and apportioned to each of us just as the Spirit chooses. ¹² For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts of the body, many as they are, form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For we have all—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free men—been baptized in one spirit to form one body, and we have all been saturated with one Spirit. ¹⁴ For the body does not consist of one part but of many.

²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

²⁶ If one part suffers, all the parts share its sufferings. If a part has honor done it, all the parts enjoy it too. ²⁷ Now you are Christ's body, and individually parts of it.

²⁷ Now you are Christ's body, and individually parts of it. ²⁸ And God has placed people in the church, first as apostles, second as inspired preachers, third as teachers, then wonder-workers; then come ability to cure the sick, helpfulness, administration, ecstatic speaking.

²⁸ And God has placed people in the church, first as apostles, second as inspired preachers, third as teachers, then wonder-workers; then come ability to cure the sick, helpfulness, administration, ecstatic speaking.

²⁸ And God has placed people in the church, first as apostles, second as inspired preachers, third as teachers, then wonder-workers; then come ability to cure the sick, helpfulness, administration, ecstatic speaking. ²⁹ Is everyone an apostle? Is everyone an inspired preacher? Is everyone a teacher? Is everyone a wonder-worker? ³⁰ Is everyone able to cure the sick? Can everyone speak ecstatically? Can everyone explain what it means? ³¹ But you must cultivate the higher endowments.

² If I am inspired to preach and know all the secret truths and possess all knowledge, and if I have such perfect faith that I can move mountains, but have no love, I am nothing.

⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not envious or boastful. It does not put on airs. ⁵ It is not rude. It does not insist on its rights. It does not become angry. It is not resentful.

¹³ So faith, hope, and love endure. These are the great three, and the greatest of them is love.

¹ You must pursue love, while you are cultivating the spiritual endowments, and especially inspired preaching.

³ But the inspired preacher does his fellow-men good and encourages and comforts them.

³ But the inspired preacher does his fellow-men good and encourages and comforts them. ⁴ Anyone who speaks ecstatically does himself good, but the inspired preacher does a congregation good. ⁵ I want you all to speak ecstatically, but I especially want you to be inspired to preach. The man who is inspired to preach is more useful than the one who speaks ecstatically—unless he can explain what he says so that it may do the church some good.

²⁴ But if they are all inspired to preach and some unbeliever or outsider comes in, he is convinced of his sin by them all, he is called to account by them all,

²⁹ And let two or three who are inspired to preach speak, while the rest weigh what is said;

³¹ For in this way you can all preach one after another, as you are inspired to, so that everyone may be instructed and stimulated, ³² for the spirits of prophets will give way to prophets,

¹⁰ But by God's favor I have become what I am, and the favor he showed me has not gone for nothing, but I have worked harder than any of them, although it was not really I but the favor God showed me.

¹ About the collection for God's people, I want you to do as I told the churches of Galatia to do. ² On the first of every week each of you is to put aside and store up whatever he gains, so that money will not have to be collected after I come.

¹⁵ Now I urge you, brothers—you know that the family of Stephanas was the first to be converted in Greece, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of God's people—

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.

³ This is what I said in my letter, so that I might avoid coming and having my feelings hurt by the very people who might have been expected to make me happy, for I felt sure about you all, that what made me happy would make you all happy.

¹ So since by the mercy of God I am engaged in this service, I never lose heart.

⁴ In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep the light of the good news of the glorious Christ, the likeness of God, from dawning upon them.

¹⁶ So I never lose heart. Though my outer nature is wasting away, my inner is being renewed every day.

¹⁴ It is Christ's love that controls me, for I have become convinced that as one has died for all, all have died, 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.

¹⁷ So if anyone is in union with Christ, he is a new being; the old state of things has passed away; there is a new state of things.

²⁰ It is for Christ, therefore, that I am an envoy, seeing that God makes his appeal through me. On Christ's behalf I beg you to be reconciled to God.

¹ As God's fellow-worker, I appeal to you, too, not to accept the favor of God and then waste it.

⁶ through my purity of life, my knowledge, my patience, my kindness, my holiness of spirit, my genuine love,

¹⁴ Do not get into close and incongruous relations with unbelievers. What partnership can uprightness have with iniquity, or what can light have to do with darkness? ¹⁵ How can Christ agree with Belial? Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What bargain can a temple of God make with idols? For we are a temple of the living God, just as God said, "I will live in them and move among them, And I will be their God and they will be my people." ¹⁷ Therefore, "Come out from them, And separate from them, says the Lord, And touch nothing that is unclean. Then I will welcome you,

¹ I must tell you, brothers, how the favor of God has been shown in the churches of Macedonia,

¹ I must tell you, brothers, how the favor of God has been shown in the churches of Macedonia, ² for in spite of a severe ordeal of trouble, their extraordinary gladness, combined with their extreme poverty, has overflowed in a wealth of generosity.

² for in spite of a severe ordeal of trouble, their extraordinary gladness, combined with their extreme poverty, has overflowed in a wealth of generosity. ³ For they have given to the utmost of their ability, as I can bear them witness, and beyond it,

³ For they have given to the utmost of their ability, as I can bear them witness, and beyond it, ⁴ and begged me most earnestly, of their own accord, to let them share in the support of their fellow-Christians.

⁴ and begged me most earnestly, of their own accord, to let them share in the support of their fellow-Christians. ⁵ They did far more than I hoped, for first in obedience to God's will, they gave themselves to the Lord, and to me. ⁶ This has led me to urge Titus to complete the arrangements he had formerly begun among you for this gracious undertaking. ⁷ Just as you excel in everything else—faith, expression, knowledge, perfect devotion, and the love we have awakened in you—you must excel in this generous undertaking too. ⁸ I do not mean this as a command. I only want to test the genuineness of your love by the devotion of others.

⁸ I do not mean this as a command. I only want to test the genuineness of your love by the devotion of others. ⁹ You know how gracious the Lord Jesus Christ was. Though he was rich, he became poor for your sake, in order that by his poverty you might become rich.

¹² If a man is willing to give, the value of his gift is in its proportion to what he has, not to what he has not.

²⁰ I mean to have no one able to find any fault with the way I handle this munificence. ²¹ I intend to do what is right not only in the Lord's sight but in the eyes of men.

¹ It is really unnecessary for me to write to you about this fund for your fellow-Christians,

⁷ Everyone must give what he has made up his mind to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion; God loves a man who is glad to give.

¹¹ You will grow rich in every way, so that through me you can show perfect liberality that will make men thank God for it. ¹² For the rendering of this service does more than supply the wants of God's people; it results in a wealth of thanksgiving to God. ¹³ The way you stand the test of this service must do honor to God, through your fidelity to what you profess as to the good news of Christ, and through the liberality of your contributions for them and for all others;

¹ I appeal to you personally, by the gentleness and forbearance of Christ—the Paul who is so humble when face to face with you, but so bold in dealing with you when he is far away!

³ But I am afraid that just as the serpent by his cunning deceived Eve, your thoughts will be led astray from their single-hearted fidelity to Christ.

²⁹ Who is weak without my being weak? Whose conscience is hurt without my being fired with indignation?

⁷ So to keep me from being too much elated a bitter physical affliction was sent to me, a very messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too much elated. ⁸ Three times I have prayed to the Lord about this, begging that it might leave me,

¹³ For what is there in which the other churches had the better of you, except in the fact that I would not permit myself to be a burden to you? You must forgive me that wrong!

¹¹ Now brothers, goodbye! Be what you ought to be, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace, and God the source of love and peace will be with you.

⁴ who to save us from the present wicked world gave himself for our sins at the will of our God and Father.

⁸ for he who actuated Peter to be an apostle to the Jews also actuated me to be one to the heathen— ⁹ and when they recognized the favor God had shown me, James, Cephas, and John, who were regarded as pillars of the church, pledged Barnabas and me their co-operation, with the understanding that we should work among the heathen and they among the Jews.

⁶ For in union with Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor the want of it counts for anything, but only faith acting through love.

¹³ For you, brothers, have been called to freedom; only do not make your freedom an excuse for the physical, but in love be slaves to one another.

²² But what the Spirit produces is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

²² But what the Spirit produces is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. There is no law against such things!

³ For if anyone thinks he is somebody when he is really nobody, he is deceiving himself.

⁶ Those who are taught the message must share all their goods with their teacher.

¹⁰ So then whenever we have an opportunity, let us do good to all men, especially to those who belong to the family of the faith.

¹⁸ enlightening the eyes of your mind so that you may know what the hope is to which he calls you, and how gloriously rich his inheritance is among God's people,

²³ which is his body, filled by him who fills everything everywhere.

² in the midst of which you once lived under the control of the present age of the world, and the master-spirit of the air, who is still at work among the disobedient.

⁴ But God is so rich in mercy that because of the great love he had for us, ⁵ he made us, dead as we were through our offenses, live again with the Christ. It is by his mercy that you have been saved. ⁶ And he raised us with Christ, and through our union with Christ Jesus made us sit down with him in heaven, ⁷ to show the incomparable wealth of his mercy throughout the ages to come by his goodness to us through Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by his mercy that you have been saved through faith. It is not by your own action, it is the gift of God. ⁹ It has not been earned, so that no one can boast of it. 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.

² if at least you have heard how I dealt with the mercy of God that was given me for you,

⁴ As you read that, you will be able to understand the insight I have into the secret of the Christ ⁵ (which in past ages was not disclosed to mankind as fully as it has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets)

⁷ for which I became a worker by virtue of the gift of God's mercy which by the exercise of his power he has given me. ⁸ To me, the very least of all his people, this favor has been given, of preaching to the heathen the inexhaustible wealth of the Christ,

¹ So I, the prisoner for the Lord's sake, appeal to you to live lives worthy of the summons you have received;

¹ So I, the prisoner for the Lord's sake, appeal to you to live lives worthy of the summons you have received; ² with perfect humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another lovingly. ³ Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the tie of peace.

³ Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the tie of peace. ⁴ There is but one body and one Spirit, just as there is but one hope that belongs to the summons you received.

⁷ But each one of us has been given mercy in Christ's generous measure. ⁸ So it says, "When he went up on high, he led a host of captives, And gave gifts to mankind." ⁹ What does "he went up" mean, except that he had first gone down to the under parts of the earth? ¹⁰ It is he who went down who has also gone up above all the heavens, to fill the universe. ¹¹ And he has given us some men as apostles, some as prophets, some as missionaries, some as pastors and teachers,

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.

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.

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. ¹⁷ So what I mean and insist upon in the Lord's name is this: You must no longer live like the heathen, with their frivolity of mind and darkened understanding. ¹⁸ They are estranged from the life of God because of the ignorance that exists among them and their obstinacy of heart, ¹⁹ for they have become callous, and abandoned themselves to sensuality, greedily practicing every kind of vice. ²⁰ That is not the way you have been taught what Christ means,

²² You must lay aside with your former habits your old self which is going to ruin through its deceptive passions. ²³ You must adopt a new attitude of mind, ²⁴ and put on the new self which has been created in likeness to God, with all the uprightness and holiness that belong to the truth. ²⁵ So you must lay aside falsehood and each tell his neighbor the truth, for we are parts of one another.

²⁸ The man who stole must not steal any more; he must work with his hands at honest toil instead, so as to have something to share with those who are in need.

⁹ for light leads to perfect goodness, uprightness, and truth; ¹⁰ you must make sure what pleases the Lord.

¹⁰ you must make sure what pleases the Lord.

¹⁷ So do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

²³ for a husband is the head of his wife, just as Christ is the head of the church, which is his body, and is saved by him.

³⁰ for we are parts of his body.

⁵ You who are slaves, obey your earthly masters, in reverence and awe, with sincerity of heart, as you would the Christ,

⁵ You who are slaves, obey your earthly masters, in reverence and awe, with sincerity of heart, as you would the Christ, ⁶ not with mere external service, as though you had only men to please, but like slaves of Christ, carrying out the will of God. ⁷ Do your duties heartily and willingly, as though it were for the Lord, not for men, ⁸ for you know that everyone, slave or free, will be rewarded by the Lord for his good conduct.

¹⁸ Use every kind of prayer and entreaty, and at every opportunity pray in the Spirit. Be on the alert about it; devote yourselves constantly to prayer for all God's people ¹⁹ and for me, that when I open my lips I may be given a message, so that I may boldly make known the secret of the good news,

²⁰ for I eagerly and confidently hope that I shall never disgrace myself but that this time as always hitherto, living or dying, I shall do Christ credit by my unfailing courage.

²⁷ Whatever happens, show yourselves citizens worthy of the good news of the Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am kept away and only hear news of you, I may know that you are standing firm with one spirit, one purpose, fighting side by side for faith in the good news.

¹ So by whatever appeal there is in our relation to Christ, by whatever incentive there is in love, by whatever participation there is in the Spirit, whatever affection and sympathy, ² make me perfectly happy by living in harmony, with the same attitude of love, with the same feeling and purpose.

² make me perfectly happy by living in harmony, with the same attitude of love, with the same feeling and purpose. ³ Do not act for selfish ends or from vanity, but modestly treat one another as your superiors.

³ Do not act for selfish ends or from vanity, but modestly treat one another as your superiors.

³ Do not act for selfish ends or from vanity, but modestly treat one another as your superiors.

³ Do not act for selfish ends or from vanity, but modestly treat one another as your superiors. ⁴ Do not take account of your own interests, but of the interests of others as well.

⁴ Do not take account of your own interests, but of the interests of others as well. ⁵ Have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

⁵ Have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. ⁶ Though he possessed the nature of God, he did not grasp at equality with God, ⁷ but laid it aside to take on the nature of a slave and become like other men. ⁸ When he had assumed human form, he still further humbled himself and carried his obedience so far as to die, and to die upon the cross.

¹⁷ Even if my life is to be poured out as a libation as you offer your faith in a service of sacrifice to God, I am glad to have it so, and I congratulate you upon it,

¹⁷ Even if my life is to be poured out as a libation as you offer your faith in a service of sacrifice to God, I am glad to have it so, and I congratulate you upon it, ¹⁸ just as you must be glad and congratulate me.

²⁶ For he has been longing to see you all, and has been greatly distressed because you heard that he was sick.

²⁸ So I am all the more eager to send him, so that you may have the pleasure of seeing him again, and I may feel more relieved.

¹ Now, my brothers, goodbye, and the Lord be with you. I do not mind writing the same thing over and over to you; it is necessary for your safety.

¹⁵ Let as many of us therefore as are mature have this attitude. If you have any different attitude, God will make this clear to you. ¹⁶ Only we must live up to what we have already attained.

² I appeal to Euodia and I appeal to Syntyche to agree together, as Christians.

⁴ Goodbye, and the Lord be with you always. Again I say, goodbye.

⁶ Have no anxiety about anything, but make all your wants known to God in prayer and entreaty, and with thanksgiving. ⁷ Then, through your union with Christ Jesus, the peace of God, so far above any human thought, will guard your minds and thoughts. ⁸ Now, brothers, let your minds dwell on what is true, what is worthy, what is right, what is pure, what is amiable, what is kindly—on everything that is excellent or praiseworthy. ⁹ Do the things that you learned, received, and heard from me, and that you saw me do. Then God who gives peace will be with you.

¹¹ Not that I have anything to complain of, for I have learned how to be contented with the condition I am in. ¹² I know how to live humbly and I know how to enjoy plenty. I have learned the secret, in any and all conditions, of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of going without. ¹³ I can do anything through him who gives me strength.

¹⁸ You have paid me in full, and more too. I am fully supplied with what I have received from you through Epaphroditus. It is like fragrant incense, just such a sacrifice as God welcomes and approves.

⁴ for what we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love you have for all God's people,

¹¹ Then, so mighty is his majesty, he will nerve you perfectly with strength for the cheerful exercise of endurance and forbearance in every situation,

²¹ And it has brought you, who were once estranged from him, hostile in attitude and engaged in doing wrong (though now he has reconciled you ²² through dying in his human body) in holiness, and free from reproach or blame, into God's presence—

²⁴ At present I am glad to be suffering in your interest, and I am making up in my own person what is lacking in Christ's sufferings for the church, which is his body.

²⁷ to whom God has chosen to make known among the heathen how glorious this mystery of Christ in you, the promise of glorification, really is. ²⁸ And in spreading the news of him, we warn everyone and teach everyone all our wisdom, in order to bring everyone to Christian perfection. ²⁹ That is what I am working for, fighting with all the energy with which he so mightily endows me.

²⁹ That is what I am working for, fighting with all the energy with which he so mightily endows me.

¹³ Yes, you who were dead through your misdeeds and physically uncircumcised, God raised to life with Christ. He forgave us all our misdeeds,

¹⁹ Such people lose their connection with the head, from which the whole body through its ligaments and sinews must be governed and united if it is to grow in the divine way.

¹⁰ and have put on that new self newly made in the likeness of its Creator, to know him fully.

¹⁴ And over all these put on love, which completes them and fastens them all together. ¹⁵ Let the ruling principle in your hearts be Christ's peace, for in becoming members of one body you have been called under its sway. And you must be thankful.

²² You who are slaves must always obey your earthly masters, not with mere external service, as though you had only men to please, but with sincerity of heart, because you fear the Lord.

²² You who are slaves must always obey your earthly masters, not with mere external service, as though you had only men to please, but with sincerity of heart, because you fear the Lord. ²³ Work at everything you do with all your hearts, as work done not for men only but for the Lord, ²⁴ for you know that it is from him that you are to receive that inheritance which is to be your reward. Think of Christ as the master you are working for.

¹ You who are masters must treat your slaves justly and fairly, and remember that you have a Master too, in heaven. ² Be persistent in prayer and wide awake about it when you give thanks.

⁵ Use wisdom in dealing with outsiders, making the most of your opportunities.

¹² Epaphras, one of your own number, a slave of Christ Jesus, wishes to be remembered to you. He is always standing up for you in his prayers that you may stand fast, like men of mature convictions, whatever God's will for you may be.

¹² Epaphras, one of your own number, a slave of Christ Jesus, wishes to be remembered to you. He is always standing up for you in his prayers that you may stand fast, like men of mature convictions, whatever God's will for you may be. ¹³ I can testify how anxious he is about you and the brothers in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

¹⁷ And tell Archippus, "See that you perform the Christian service you have been assigned."

³ for we can never forget before our God and Father your energetic faith, your loving service, and your unwavering expectation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

³ For our appeal does not rest on a delusion, nor spring from any impure motive; there is no fraud about it.

⁸ That was the kind of affection we had for you, which made us ready to share with you not only God's good news but our own lives too, because you were so dear to us.

¹ Now, brothers, we ask and entreat you, in the name of the Lord Jesus, to live as you learned from us that you must live, to please God—as indeed you are doing, only do it more and more.

³ It is God's will that you should be consecrated, that you abstain from immorality,

⁶ No one is to wrong or defraud his brother in this matter, for the Lord avenges all such things, as we told you before, in the most solemn terms.

⁹ You do not need to have anyone write to you about brotherly love, for you have yourselves been taught by God to love one another, ¹⁰ and you are doing it to all the brothers all over Macedonia. But we do entreat you, brothers, to surpass yourselves ¹¹ in striving to live quietly and mind your own affairs, and work with your hands, as we directed you, ¹² so that you may have the respect of the outsiders, and not be dependent upon anybody.

¹² so that you may have the respect of the outsiders, and not be dependent upon anybody.

⁸ but we who belong to the day must be composed, wearing faith and love for a coat of mail, and helmeted with the hope of salvation.

¹² We beg you, brothers, to respect those who work with you and who lead you in the service of the Lord, and teach you.

¹² We beg you, brothers, to respect those who work with you and who lead you in the service of the Lord, and teach you. ¹³ Hold them in the highest esteem and affection for what they do. Live at peace with one another.

¹³ Hold them in the highest esteem and affection for what they do. Live at peace with one another. ¹⁴ We beg you, brothers, warn the idlers, cheer up the despondent, keep hold of the weak, be patient with everybody. ¹⁵ Take care that none of you ever pays back evil for evil, but always try to treat one another and everybody with kindness. ¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Never give up praying.

²⁰ Do not disregard the utterances it inspires, ²¹ but test them all, retaining what is good ²² and avoiding every kind of evil.

³ We always have to thank God for you, brothers, as it is right that we should, because your faith is growing so wonderfully and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. ⁴ As a result, we ourselves speak of you with pride in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in the face of all the persecutions and troubles you are having to endure.

¹⁶ May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and kindly given us unfailing encouragement and a well-founded hope, ¹⁷ encourage you and strengthen you to do and say everything that is right.

⁵ May the Lord guide your hearts into a sense of God's love and into a steadfastness like Christ's. 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. ⁷ For you know yourselves what you must do to follow my example, for I was not idle when I was with you; ⁸ I did not eat anybody's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor I worked night and day, in order not to be a burden to any of you. ⁹ Not that I had not a right to my support, but to give you in my own conduct an example to imitate. ¹⁰ When I was with you, I gave you this rule: "If anyone refuses to work, give him nothing to eat!" ¹¹ For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. ¹² Now with the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ we charge and exhort such people to keep quiet and do their work and earn their own living.

⁵ The aim of your instruction must be love that springs from a pure heart and from a good conscience and from a sincere faith.

¹⁴ and the blessing of our Lord has been given me in the greatest abundance, together with faith and love that union with Christ Jesus brings.

³ It is right to do this, and it pleases God our Savior,

⁷ and I was appointed a herald and apostle of it—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—to teach the heathen faith and truth.

⁹ Women for their part are to dress modestly and sensibly in proper clothes, not adorning themselves by braiding their hair or with gold or pearls or expensive clothing,

¹⁵ But they will be saved through motherhood, if they continue to have faith and to be loving and holy, and sensible as well.

² A superintendent must be a man above reproach, only once married, temperate, sensible, a man of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;

⁴ managing his own house well, and keeping his children under control and perfectly respectful— ⁵ for if a man does not know how to conduct his own household, how can he look after a church of God?

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.

⁴ If a widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn first to show piety in the treatment of their own families, and to return the care of those who brought them up, for that is what God approves.

¹⁰ and have a good reputation for Christian service, such as bringing up children, being hospitable to strangers, washing the feet of God's people, helping people in distress, or devoting herself to any form of doing good.

¹³ Besides, as they go about from house to house they learn to be idle, and not only idle but gossips and busybodies, and talk of things they ought not to mention. ¹⁴ So I would have young women marry and have children and keep house and avoid giving our opponents any excuse for abusing us.

¹⁷ Elders who do their duties well should be considered as deserving twice as much as they get, particularly those who work at preaching and teaching.

⁶ And religion with contentment is a great means of gain. ⁷ For we bring nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ If we have food and clothing we will be satisfied. 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.

¹¹ But you, man of God, must fly from these things. Strive for uprightness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

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

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.

²⁴ and a slave of the Lord must not quarrel, but treat everyone kindly; he must be persuasive and unresentful,

¹⁰ But you have closely followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness,

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.

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

² Teach the older men to be temperate, serious, and sensible—men of vigorous faith, love, and steadfastness.

⁴ so as to train the younger women to be loving wives and mothers,

⁴ so as to train the younger women to be loving wives and mothers, ⁵ and to be sensible, pure-minded, domestic, kind, and submissive to their husbands, so as not to bring reproach on God's message. ⁶ Urge the younger men, too, to be sensible.

⁹ Tell slaves always to obey their masters and try to please them, not to oppose them ¹⁰ or steal from them, but to show such perfect good faith as to do credit to the teaching about God our Savior, by everything they do.

¹² training us to renounce godless ways and worldly passions, and live serious, upright, and godly lives in this world, ¹³ while we wait for the fulfilment of our blessed hope in the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus.

⁴ But when the goodness and kindness of God our Savior were revealed, ⁵ he saved us, not for any upright actions we had performed, but from his own mercy, through the bath of regeneration and renewal by the holy Spirit,

⁵ he saved us, not for any upright actions we had performed, but from his own mercy, through the bath of regeneration and renewal by the holy Spirit, ⁶ which he has poured out upon us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that we might be made upright through his mercy and become possessors of eternal life in fulfilment of our hope.

⁷ so that we might be made upright through his mercy and become possessors of eternal life in fulfilment of our hope. ⁸ This is a trustworthy teaching, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who believe in God may make it their business to do good. All this is right and beneficial to mankind.

⁷ I have been greatly pleased and encouraged over your love, for the hearts of God's people have been cheered, my brother, by you.

⁹ You have loved right and hated wrong! That is why God, your God, has anointed you with exhilarating oil beyond all your comrades."

⁶ but Christ's faithfulness was that of a son set over the house of God. And we are that house, if we keep up our courage and our triumphant hope to the very end.

⁷ For Jesus in his life on earth offered prayers and entreaties, crying aloud with tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and because of his piety his prayer was heard.

¹⁰ For God is not so unjust as to forget the work you have done and the love you have showed for his cause, in giving help to your fellow-Christians as you still do.

¹⁰ For God is not so unjust as to forget the work you have done and the love you have showed for his cause, in giving help to your fellow-Christians as you still do. ¹¹ But we want each of you to exhibit this same earnestness to the very end with regard to your confidence in your hope, ¹² so that you may never grow careless, but may learn to follow the example of those who through their faith and endurance are the possessors of God's promises.

¹⁵ And so after waiting patiently, he received what God had promised him.

¹⁷ Therefore, God in his desire to make it perfectly clear to those to whom he made his promise, that his purpose was unalterable, bound himself with an oath, ¹⁸ so that by these two unalterable things, which make it impossible for God to break his promise, we who have taken refuge with him may be greatly encouraged to seize upon the hope that is offered to us. ¹⁹ This hope is like an anchor for our souls. It reaches up secure and strong into the sanctuary behind the heavenly curtain,

²⁰ by the new, living way which he has opened for us, through the curtain, that is, his physical nature, ²¹ and since in him we have a great priest set over the house of God, 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.

²⁵ Let us not neglect meeting together as some do, but let us encourage one another, all the more as you can see that the great Day is coming nearer.

³⁰ For we know who it is that has said, "Vengeance belongs to me! I will pay back!" and in another place, "The Lord will be the judge of his people!"

³² But you must remember those early days when after you had received the light you had to go through a great struggle with persecution,

³⁶ but you will need endurance if you are to carry out God's will and receive the blessing he has promised.

¹ Therefore, let us too, with such a crowd of witnesses about us, throw off every impediment and the entanglement of sin, and run with determination the race for which we are entered,

¹⁴ Try to be at peace with everyone, and strive for that consecration without which no one can see the Lord.

²⁸ Let us, therefore, be thankful that the kingdom given to us cannot be shaken, and so please God by worshiping him with reverence and awe;

¹ Your love for the brotherhood must continue. ² Do not forget to be hospitable to strangers, for by being so some, without knowing it, have had angels as their guests. ³ Remember those who are in prison as though you were in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated as being yourselves liable to the same trials.

⁵ You must not be avaricious; you must be content with what you have, for God himself has said, "I will never let go of you or desert you!"

⁷ Do not forget your former leaders, the men who brought you God's message. Remember how they ended their lives and imitate their faith.

¹⁵ In his name let us continually offer praise as our sacrifice to God—the utterance of lips that glorify God's name. ¹⁶ But do not forget to be helpful and generous, for that is the kind of sacrifice that pleases God.

¹⁶ But do not forget to be helpful and generous, for that is the kind of sacrifice that pleases God. ¹⁷ Obey your leaders and give way to them, for they are keeping watch in defense of your souls, as men accountable for the trust. Make their work a joy and not a grief, for that would be the worse for you.

²² I beg you brothers, to listen patiently to this appeal, for I have written you but briefly.

²⁴ Remember us to all your leaders and to all your fellow-Christians. The brothers from Italy wish to be remembered to you.

³ for you know that the testing of your faith leads to steadfastness, ⁴ and steadfastness must have full play, so that you may be fully and perfectly developed without any defects.

²⁷ A religious observance that is pure and stainless in the sight of God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their trouble, and keep one's self unstained by the world.

⁵ Listen, my dear brothers. Has not God chosen the world's poor to be rich in faith, and to possess the kingdom that he promised to those who love him? ⁶ But you humiliate the poor. Are not the rich your oppressors? Is it not they who drag you into court?

¹⁵ If some brother or sister has no clothes and has not food enough for a day, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, "Goodbye, keep warm and have plenty to eat," without giving them the necessaries of life, what good does it do?

¹⁰ Blessing and cursing issue from the same mouth! This is not right, my brothers.

¹³ What wise, intelligent man is there among you? Let him show by his good life that what he does is done in the humility of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you cherish bitter feelings of jealousy and rivalry in your hearts, do not pride yourselves on it and thus belie the truth. ¹⁵ Such wisdom does not come from above. It is earthly, animal, demon-like. ¹⁶ For wherever jealousy and rivalry exist, there will be confusion and every low action.

¹⁶ For wherever jealousy and rivalry exist, there will be confusion and every low action. ¹⁷ The wisdom that is from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, considerate, willing to yield, full of compassion and good deeds, whole-hearted, straightforward.

¹⁷ The wisdom that is from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, considerate, willing to yield, full of compassion and good deeds, whole-hearted, straightforward. ¹⁸ The harvest uprightness yields must be sown in peace, by peacemakers.

⁴ You renegades! Do you not know that the friendship of the world means enmity with God? So whoever wishes to be the world's friend declares himself God's enemy.

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

⁷ So be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer has to wait for the precious crop from the ground, and be patient with it, until it gets the early and the late rains.

¹⁰ As an example, brothers, of ill-treatment patiently endured, take the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ Why, we call those who showed such endurance happy! You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen what the Lord brought out of it, for the Lord is very kind and merciful.

¹⁵ and the prayer offered in faith will save the sick man; the Lord will restore him to health, and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶ So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be cured. An upright man can do a great deal by prayer when he tries.

¹⁶ So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be cured. An upright man can do a great deal by prayer when he tries.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has caused us to be born anew to a life of hope through Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead, ⁴ and to an imperishable, unsullied, and unfading inheritance, which is kept safe for you in heaven, ⁵ and you by God's power are being protected through faith to receive a salvation that is now ready to be disclosed at the last time. ⁶ Rejoice over this, although just now perhaps distressed by various trials; ⁷ they are to show that your faith when tested is found to be more precious than gold, which though it is perishable is tested with fire, and they will bring you praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ You must love him, though you have not seen him, but since you believe in him though you do not now see him, rejoice with triumphant, unutterable joy

¹³ Therefore, prepare your minds for action, and with perfect calmness fix your hopes on the mercy that you are to experience when Jesus Christ is revealed. ¹⁴ Like obedient children, do not adapt yourselves to the cravings you used to follow when you were ignorant,

¹⁸ for you know that you have not been ransomed with anything perishable like silver or gold, from the futile way of living in which you were brought up,

²² Now that by obeying the truth you have purified your souls for sincere love of the brotherhood, you must love one another intensely and heartily,

³ since you have tasted the Lord's kindness.

⁵ and build yourselves up as living stones into a spiritual house for a consecrated priesthood, so as to offer spiritual sacrifices that through Jesus Christ will be acceptable to God.

¹⁰ you who were once "no people" but are now "God's people"; once "unpitied" but now "pitied indeed." ¹¹ Dear friends, I beg you, as aliens and exiles here, not to indulge the physical cravings that are at war with the soul. ¹² Live upright lives among the heathen, so that even if they charge you with being evil-doers, they may from observing the uprightness of your conduct come to praise God on the Day of Judgment.

¹² Live upright lives among the heathen, so that even if they charge you with being evil-doers, they may from observing the uprightness of your conduct come to praise God on the Day of Judgment.

¹⁷ Treat everyone with respect. Love the brotherhood, be reverent to God, respect the emperor.

¹⁹ For God approves a man if from a sense of duty he endures suffering unjustly inflicted— 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.

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. ²² He committed no sin, and deceit was never on his lips. ²³ He was abused but he did not retort. He suffered but he did not threaten, but committed his case to him who judges justly.

⁸ Finally, you must all be harmonious, sympathizing, loving, tender-hearted, modest,

⁸ Finally, you must all be harmonious, sympathizing, loving, tender-hearted, modest, ⁹ not returning evil for evil, or abuse for abuse. You must bless people instead. It is for this that you were called—to obtain blessing.

⁹ not returning evil for evil, or abuse for abuse. You must bless people instead. It is for this that you were called—to obtain blessing. ¹⁰ For "Let him who would enjoy life And see happy days, Keep his tongue from evil, And his lips from uttering deceit. ¹¹ Let him turn away from evil and do right, Let him seek peace and go after it.

¹¹ Let him turn away from evil and do right, Let him seek peace and go after it.

¹⁶ and keep your conscience clear, so that those who abuse your upright Christian conduct may be made ashamed of their slanders.

² and no longer lives by what men desire, but for the rest of his earthly life by what God wills.

⁷ But the end of all things is near. Be serious and collected, therefore, and pray. ⁸ Above all keep your love for one another strong, because love covers up a host of sins. ⁹ Be ungrudgingly hospitable to one another.

⁹ Be ungrudgingly hospitable to one another. ¹⁰ Whatever the endowment God has given you, use it in service to one another, like good dispensers of God's varied mercy. ¹¹ If one preaches, let him do it like one who utters the words of God; if one does some service, let him do it as with strength which God supplies, so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

¹¹ If one preaches, let him do it like one who utters the words of God; if one does some service, let him do it as with strength which God supplies, so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

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.

¹ I appeal therefore to those who are elders among you; I am their brother-elder and a witness to what the Christ suffered, and I am to share in the glory that is to be revealed— ² be shepherds of the flock of God that is among you, not as though it were forced upon you but of your own free will, and not from base love of gain but freely,

² be shepherds of the flock of God that is among you, not as though it were forced upon you but of your own free will, and not from base love of gain but freely, ³ and not as tyrannizing over those in your charge but proving models for the flock;

³ and not as tyrannizing over those in your charge but proving models for the flock;

³ and not as tyrannizing over those in your charge but proving models for the flock; ⁴ and when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the glorious wreath that will never fade. 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.

⁸ Be calm and watchful. Your opponent the devil is prowling about like a roaring lion, wanting to devour you.

⁴ Thus he has given us his precious and splendid promises so that through them you may escape the corrupting influences that exist in the world through passion, and come to share in the divine nature.

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.

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.

⁹ Whoever says, "I am in the light," and yet hates his brother, is still in darkness. ¹⁰ Whoever loves his brother is always in the light and puts no hindrance in anyone's way. ¹¹ But whoever hates his brother is in darkness, and is living in darkness, and he does not know where he is going, for the darkness has blinded his eyes.

¹⁵ Do not love the world or what is in the world. If anyone loves the world, there is no love for the Father in his heart, ¹⁶ for all that there is in the world, the things that our physical nature and our eyes crave, and the proud display of life—these do not come from the Father, but from the world; ¹⁷ and the world with its cravings is passing away, but whoever does God's will will endure forever.

¹ Think what love the Father has had for us, in letting us be called God's children, for that is what we are. This is why the world does not know what we are—because it has never come to know him. ² Dear friends, we are God's children now; it has not yet been disclosed what we are to be. We know that if he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ And everyone who possesses this hope in him tries to make himself as pure as he is.

¹⁰ This is how the children of God and those of the devil can be distinguished: No one who does not act uprightly or who does not love his brother is a child of God. ¹¹ For the message you have heard from the beginning is this: We must love one another. ¹² We must not be like Cain who was a child of the evil one, and butchered his brother. And why did he butcher him? Because his own actions were wicked and his brother's upright. ¹³ You must not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you!

¹³ You must not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you! ¹⁴ We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love is still in death. ¹⁵ Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer can have eternal life remain in his heart. ¹⁶ We know what love means from the fact that he laid down his life for us; so we also ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ But if someone who is rich sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how can he have any love for God in his heart?

¹⁷ But if someone who is rich sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how can he have any love for God in his heart? ¹⁸ Dear children, let us love not with words or lips only but in reality and truth.

¹⁸ Dear children, let us love not with words or lips only but in reality and truth. ¹⁹ From that we can be sure that we are on the side of the truth, and satisfy our consciences in God's sight, ²⁰ if they condemn us for anything, for God is greater than our consciences, and he knows all.

⁴ You are children of God, dear children, and you have been victorious over these men, for he who is in our hearts is greater than he who is in the world. ⁵ They are children of the world; that is why they speak as the world directs, and the world listens to them.

¹¹ Dear friends, if God has loved us so, we ought to love one another.

²⁰ If anyone says, "I love God," and yet hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

¹⁴ And we have confidence in him, that if we ask him for anything that is in accordance with his will, he will listen to us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he listens to whatever we ask him for, we know that the requests we have made of him are granted.

¹⁹ We know that we are children of God, while the whole world is under the power of the evil one.

⁹ I have written briefly to the church, but Diotrephes who likes to be their leader will not accept what I say.

⁴ But I hold it against you that you do not love as you did at first.

¹⁵ I know what you are doing, and that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot! ¹⁶ As it is, since you are tepid and neither cold nor hot, I am going to spit you out of my mouth!

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.

⁷ It was allowed to make war on God's people and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. ⁸ All the inhabitants of the earth whose names have not from the foundation of the world been written in the slain Lamb's book of life, will worship it.

⁸ All the inhabitants of the earth whose names have not from the foundation of the world been written in the slain Lamb's book of life, will worship it.

¹⁰ Whoever is destined for captivity will go into captivity; whoever kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. On this fact rests the endurance and fidelity of God's people.