2 Corinthians 1 Cross References - ISV

¹ Paul Greets the Church in CorinthFrom: Paul, an apostle of the Messiah Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.
To: God’s church in Corinth, and to all the holy people throughout Achaia.
² May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours!
³ The God of All ComfortBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah! He is our merciful Father and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our suffering, so that we may be able to comfort others in all their suffering, as we ourselves are being comforted by God. ⁵ For as the Messiah’s sufferings overflow into us, so also our comfort overflows through the Messiah. ⁶ If we suffer, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are suffering. ⁷ Our hope for you is unshaken, because we know that as you share our sufferings, you also share our comfort.
⁸ How God Rescued PaulFor we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about the suffering we experienced in Asia. We were so crushed beyond our ability to endure that we even despaired of living. ⁹ In fact, we felt that we had received a death sentence so we would not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has rescued us from a terrible death, and he will continue to rescue us. Yes, he is the one on whom we have set our hope, and he will rescue us again, ¹¹ as you also help us by your prayers for us. Then many people will thank God on our behalf because of the favor shown us through the prayers of many.
¹² Paul’s Reason for BoastingFor this is what we boast about: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world with pure motives and godly sincerity, without earthly wisdom but with God’s grace—especially toward you. ¹³ For what we are writing you is nothing more than what you can read and also understand. I hope you will understand completely, ¹⁴ just as you have already understood us partially, so that on the Day of our Lord Jesus we can be your reason to boast, even as you are ours.
¹⁵ Why Paul’s Visit Was PostponedBecause I was confident, I planned to come to you first so you might receive a double blessing. ¹⁶ I planned to leave you in order to go to Macedonia, and then come back to you from Macedonia, and let you send me on to Judea.
¹⁷ When I planned this, I did not do it lightly, did I? Are my plans so fickle that I can say “Yes” and “No” at the same time? ¹⁸ As certainly as God is faithful, we haven’t talked to you with mixed messages like that. ¹⁹ For God’s Son, Jesus the Messiah, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No.” But with him it is always “Yes.” ²⁰ For all God’s promises are “Yes” in him. And so through him we can say “Amen,” to the glory of God. ²¹ Now the one who makes us—and you as well—secure in union with the Messiah and has anointed us is God, ²² who has placed his seal on us and has given us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.
²³ I call upon God as a witness on my behalf that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. ²⁴ It is not that we are trying to rule over your faith, but rather to work with you for your joy, because you have been standing firm in the faith.

¹ Timothy Joins Paul in LystraPaul also went to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish wife whose husband was a Greek.

¹ Paul in CorinthAfter this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. ² There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit them, ³ and because they had the same trade he stayed with them. They worked together because they were tentmakers by trade. ⁴ Every Sabbath, he would speak in the synagogue, trying to persuade both Jews and Greeks. ⁵ But when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself entirely to the word as he emphatically assured the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah. ⁶ But when they began to oppose him and insult him, he shook out his clothes in protest and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the gentiles.”
⁷ Then he left that place and went to the home of a man named Titius Justus, who worshipped God and whose house was next door to the synagogue. ⁸ Now Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, along with his whole family. Many Corinthians who heard Paul also believed and were baptized.
⁹ One night, the Lord told Paul in a vision, “Stop being afraid to speak out! Don’t remain silent! ¹⁰ For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you or harm you, because I have many people in this city.” ¹¹ So Paul lived there for a year and a half and continued to teach the word of God among the people there.
¹² While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jewish leaders gathered together, attacked Paul, and brought him before the judge’s seat.

¹ Greetings from PaulFrom: Paul, a servant of Jesus the Messiah, called to be an apostle and set apart for God’s gospel, ² which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³ regarding his Son. He was a descendant of David with respect to his humanity ⁴ and was declared by the resurrection from the dead to be the powerful Son of God according to the spirit of holiness—Jesus the Messiah, our Lord. ⁵ Through him we received grace and a commission as an apostle to bring about faithful obedience among all the gentiles for the sake of his name.

²⁶ because the believers in Macedonia and Achaia have been eager to share their resources with the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

⁵ Greet also the church in their house. Greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who was the first convert to the Messiah in Asia.

²¹ Final GreetingTimothy, my fellow worker, greets you, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.

¹ Paul Greets the Church in CorinthFrom: Paul, called to be an apostle of the Messiah Jesus by the will of God, and from our brother Sosthenes.
² To: God’s church in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified by the Messiah Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah—their Lord and ours.

¹¹ That is what some of you were! But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus the Messiah and by the Spirit of our God.

³² Don’t become a stumbling block to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God,

¹⁰ If Timothy comes, see to it that he does not have anything to be afraid of while he is with you, for he is doing the Lord’s work as I am.

¹⁵ Now I urge you, brothers—for you know that the members of the family of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to serving the saints—

² For I know how willing you are, and I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year, and your enthusiasm has stimulated most of them.

¹⁰ As surely as the truth of the Messiah is in me, my boasting will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.

¹ Greetings from PaulFrom: Paul—an apostle not sent from men or by a man, but by Jesus the Messiah, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—

¹ Greetings from PaulFrom: Paul, an apostle of the Messiah Jesus by God’s will.
To: His holy and faithful people in Ephesus who are in union with the Messiah Jesus.

¹ Greetings from Paul and TimothyFrom: Paul and Timothy, servants of the Messiah Jesus.
To: All the holy ones in Philippi, along with their overseers and ministers, who are in union with the Messiah Jesus.

¹⁹ News about Paul’s CompanionsNow I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon so that I can be encouraged when I learn of your condition. ²⁰ I do not have anyone else like him who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. ²¹ For all the others look after their own interests, not after those of Jesus the Messiah. ²² But you know his proven worth—how like a son with his father he served with me in the gospel.

¹ Greetings from PaulFrom: Paul, an apostle of the Messiah Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.
² To: The holy and faithful brothers in Colossae who are in union with the Messiah.
May grace and peace from God our Father be yours!

¹ GreetingsFrom: Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy.
To: The church of the Thessalonians in union with God the Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.
May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours!

⁷ As a result, you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. ⁸ From you the word of the Lord has spread out not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place where your faith in God has become known. As a result, we do not need to say anything about it.

¹ GreetingsFrom: Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy.
To: The church of the Thessalonians in union with God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

¹ GreetingsFrom: Paul, an apostle of the Messiah Jesus, by the command of God our Savior and the Messiah Jesus, our hope.

¹ GreetingsFrom: Paul, an apostle of the Messiah Jesus by God’s will in keeping with the promise of life that is in the Messiah Jesus.

¹ GreetingsFrom: Paul, a servant of God, and also an apostle of Jesus the Messiah, to bring the faith to those chosen by God, along with full knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,

²³ You should know that our brother Timothy has been set free. If he comes soon, he will be with me when I see you.

²⁰ It seems only yesterday that you arrived, so should I make you wander around with us while I go wherever I can? Go back, and take your brothers with you. May gracious love and truth accompany you!”

¹⁸ Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, leader of the Thirty, and he said, “David, we belong to you; we’re with you, son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to the one who helps you! For your deliverer is your God.”
So David received them and assigned them to be officers over troops.

¹ Nebuchadnezzar’s Testimonial AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM NEBUCHADNEZZAR THE KING
To the people of all nations and languages who live on earth.
Peace and prosperity to you!

⁷ To: Everyone in Rome, loved by God and called to be holy.
May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours!

³ May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours!

¹⁶ Now may peace be on all those who live by this principle, and may mercy be on the Israel of God.

²³ May peace and love, with faith, be with the brothers, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah!

² May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours!

² To: The holy and faithful brothers in Colossae who are in union with the Messiah.
May grace and peace from God our Father be yours!

² May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours!
³ May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours!

²⁰ and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your control.”
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

¹⁰ Then David blessed the LORD in the presence of the entire assembly. David said, How blessed you are, LORD, the God of our ancestor Israel, from eternity to eternity!

⁵ Then the descendants of Levi—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from eternity to eternity! Blessed be your glorious name! May it be exalted above all blessing and praise!

²¹ and exclaimed: “I left my mother’s womb naked, and I will return to God naked. The LORD has given, and the LORD has taken. May the name of the LORD be blessed.”

⁴⁶ The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! May the God of my deliverance be exalted!

¹⁹ And blessed be his glorious name forever, and may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen!

⁵ Indeed you, Lord, are kind and forgiving, overflowing with gracious love to everyone who calls on you.

¹⁵ But you, Lord, are a compassionate God, merciful and patient, with unending gracious love and faithfulness.

³⁴ The King’s Sanity Returns“When that period of time was over, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven and my sanity returned to me. I blessed the Most High, praising and honoring the one who lives forever: For his sovereignty is eternal, and his kingdom continues from generation to generation.

⁹ But to the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we’ve rebelled against him

¹⁸ Who is like God?Is there any God like you, forgiving iniquity, passing over transgressions by the survivors who are your heritage? He is not angry forever, because he delights in gracious love.

²² The Father judges no one, but has given all authority to judge to the Son, ²³ so that everyone may honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

¹⁷ Jesus told her, “Don’t hold on to me, because I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I’m ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

⁵ Now may God, the source of endurance and encouragement, allow you to live in harmony with each other as you follow the Messiah Jesus, ⁶ so that with one mind and one voice you might glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

³¹ The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

³ The Many Blessings of SalvationBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah! He has blessed us in the Messiah with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm,

¹⁷ I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the most glorious Father, would give you a wise spirit, along with revelation that comes through knowing the Messiah fully.

¹¹ Then every tongue in one accord, will say that Jesus the Messiah is Lord, while God the Father praising.

³ Our Hope and Joy are in the MessiahBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah! Because of his great mercy he has granted us a new birth, resulting in an immortal hope through the resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah, from the dead ⁴ Living in the TruthI was overjoyed to find some of your children living truthfully, just as the Father has commanded us.

⁹ Everyone who does not remain true to the teaching of the Messiah, but goes beyond it, does not have God. The person who remains true to the teaching of the Messiah has both the Father and the Son.

⁵ My sin I acknowledged to you; my iniquity I did not hide. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin! Interlude

⁷ You are my hiding place; you will deliver me from trouble and surround me with shouts of deliverance. Interlude

² My soul will glorify the LORD; the humble will hear about it and rejoice. ³ Magnify the LORD with me! Let us lift up his name together! ⁴ I sought the LORD and he answered me; he delivered me from all of my fears. ⁵ Look to him and be radiant; and you will not be ashamed. ⁶ This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard and delivered him from all of his distress.

¹⁶ Come and listen, all of you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me.

¹⁷ Show me a sign of your goodness, so that those who hate me will see it and be ashamed. For you, LORD, will help and comfort me.

¹ Israel’s Praise to the LORD At that time, you will say: “I will praise you, LORD, for although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away, and you have comforted me.

¹ God Comforts His People “Comfort! Yes, comfort my people,” says your God.

¹⁰ They won’t hunger or thirst, nor will the desert heat or sun beat upon them; for the one who has compassion on them will drive them and guide them alongside springs of water.

³ For the LORD will have compassion on Zion, have compassion on all her ruins. He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her deserts like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving, and the sound of singing. Sorrow and sighing will flee away.

¹² “I—yes, I—am the one who comforts you. Who are you, that you are so afraid of humans who will die, descendants of mere men, who have been made like grass?

⁹ “Break forth together into singing, you ruins of Jerusalem; for the LORD has comforted his people, and he has redeemed Jerusalem.

¹² The Rule of GodThis is what the LORD says: “See, I will extend prosperity to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; and you will nurse, and you will be carried on her hip, and bounced upon her knees. ¹³ Like a child whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; and you will be comforted in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And when you look, your hearts will rejoice and your bodies will flourish like grass; and it will be made known that the LORD’s hand is with his servants, but his fury is with his enemies.

¹⁶ I will ask the Father to give you another Helper, to be with you always.

¹⁸ I’m not going to forsake you like orphans. I will come back to you.

²⁶ But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything that I have told you.

⁵ For as the Messiah’s sufferings overflow into us, so also our comfort overflows through the Messiah. ⁶ If we suffer, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are suffering.

⁶ Yet God, who comforts those who feel miserable, comforted us by the arrival of Titus, ⁷ and not only by his arrival but also by the comfort he had received from you. He told us about your longing for me, your sorrow, and your eagerness to take my side, and this made me even happier.

¹³ This is what comforted us. In addition to our own comfort, we were even more delighted at the joy of Titus, because his spirit had been set at rest by all of you.

¹⁴ Moreover, because of my imprisonment the Lord has caused most of the brothers to become confident to speak God’s word more boldly and courageously than ever before.

¹⁸ So then, encourage one another with these words.

¹¹ So then, encourage one another and build each other up, as you are doing.

¹⁶ May our Lord Jesus, the Messiah himself, and may God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, ¹⁷ encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good action and word.

¹² Live as God’s PeopleTherefore, strengthen your tired arms and your weak knees,

²⁵ Now a man named Simeon was in Jerusalem. This man was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the one who would comfort Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

⁴ He dropped to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

¹⁰ We are fools for the Messiah’s sake, but you are wise in the Messiah. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored. ¹¹ We are hungry, thirsty, dressed in rags, brutally treated, and homeless, right up to the present. ¹² We wear ourselves out from working with our own hands. When insulted, we bless. When persecuted, we endure. ¹³ When slandered, we answer with kind words. Even now we have become the filth of the world, the scum of the universe.

¹⁰ We are always carrying around the death of Jesus in our bodies, so that the life of Jesus may be clearly shown in our bodies. ¹¹ While we are alive, we are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be clearly shown in our mortal bodies.

²³ Are they the Messiah’s servants? I am insane to talk like this, but I am a far better one! I have been involved in far greater efforts, far more imprisonments, countless beatings, and have faced death more than once. ²⁴ Five times I received from the Jews 40 lashes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with a stick, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, and I drifted on the sea for a day and a night. ²⁶ I have traveled extensively and have been endangered from rivers, robbers, my own people, and gentiles. I’ve also been in danger in the city, in the open country, at sea, from false brothers, ²⁷ in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, through hunger, thirst, many periods of fasting, coldness, and nakedness. ²⁸ Besides everything else, I have a daily burden because of my anxiety about all the churches. ²⁹ Who is weak without me being weak, too? Who is caused to stumble without me becoming indignant?
³⁰ If I must boast, I will boast about the things that show how weak I am.

²⁰ I rejoice because I eagerly expect and hope that I will have nothing to be ashamed of, because through my boldness the Messiah will be exalted through me, now as always, whether I live or die.

¹ Unity through HumilityTherefore, if there is any encouragement in the Messiah, if there is any comfort of love, if there is any fellowship in the Spirit, if there is any compassion and sympathy,

¹⁰ I want to know the Messiah—what his resurrection power is like and what it means to share in his sufferings by becoming like him in his death,

²⁴ Paul’s Service in the ChurchNow I am rejoicing while suffering for you as I complete in my flesh whatever remains of the Messiah’s sufferings on behalf of his body, which is the church.

⁵ but when our time there came to an end, we left and proceeded on our journey. All of them accompanied us with their wives and children out of the city. We knelt on the beach, prayed,

³ Not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ endurance produces character, and character produces hope. ⁵ Now this hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

²⁸ And we know that for those who love God, that is, for those who are called according to his purpose, all things are working together for good.

²¹ So let no one boast about human beings, since everything belongs to you, ²² whether Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life, death, the present, or the future—everything belongs to you, ²³ but you belong to the Messiah, and the Messiah belongs to God.

⁴ who comforts us in all our suffering, so that we may be able to comfort others in all their suffering, as we ourselves are being comforted by God.

¹⁵ All this is for your sake so that, as his grace spreads, more and more people will give thanks and glorify God.
¹⁶ Life in an Earthly TentThat’s why we are not discouraged. No, even if outwardly we are wearing out, inwardly we are being renewed each and every day. ¹⁷ This light, temporary nature of our suffering is producing for us an everlasting weight of glory, far beyond any comparison, ¹⁸ because we do not look for things that can be seen but for things that cannot be seen. For things that can be seen are temporary, but things that cannot be seen are eternal.

⁵ God has prepared us for this and has given us his Spirit as a guarantee.

¹⁵ I will be very glad to spend my money and myself for you. Do you love me less because I love you so much?

¹³ So then, I ask you not to become discouraged because of my troubles on your behalf, which work toward your glory.

¹⁹ I know that this will result in my deliverance through your prayers and the help that comes from the Spirit of Jesus the Messiah.

¹⁰ For that reason, I endure everything for the sake of those who have been chosen so that they, too, may receive the salvation that is in the Messiah Jesus, along with eternal glory.

¹⁰ For a short time they disciplined us as they thought best, but God does it for our good, so that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, for those who have been trained by it, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace.

¹¹ “How blessed are you whenever people insult you, persecute you, and say all sorts of evil things against you falsely because of me! ¹² Rejoice and be extremely glad, because your reward in heaven is great! That’s how they persecuted the prophets who came before you.”

²⁸ “You are the ones who have always stood by me in my trials. ²⁹ And I confer a kingdom on you, just as my Father has conferred a kingdom on me, ³⁰ so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit down on thrones to govern the twelve tribes of Israel.”

¹⁷ Now if we are children, we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with the Messiah—if, in fact, we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
¹⁸ God’s Spirit Helps UsFor I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us.

¹³ No temptation has overtaken you that is unusual for human beings. But God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength. Instead, along with the temptation he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to endure it.

¹⁴ just as you have already understood us partially, so that on the Day of our Lord Jesus we can be your reason to boast, even as you are ours.

⁹ Now I am happy, not because you had such sorrow, but because your sorrow led you to repent. For you were sorry in a godly way, and so you were not hurt by us in any way.

²⁰ I am afraid that I may come and somehow find you not as I want to find you, and that you may find me not as you want to find me. Perhaps there will be quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly conduct.

⁶ I am convinced of this, that the one who began a good action among you will bring it to completion by the Day of the Messiah Jesus. ⁷ For it is only right for me to think this way about all of you, because you’re constantly on my mind. Both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, all of you are partners with me in this privilege.

³ In the presence of our God and Father, we constantly remember how your faith is active, your love is hard at work, and your hope in our Lord Jesus the Messiah is enduring. ⁴ Brothers whom God loves, we know that he has chosen you,

⁴ As a result, we rejoice about you among God’s churches—about your endurance and faith through all the persecutions and afflictions you are experiencing. ⁵ This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment and is intended to make you worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you are suffering. ⁶ Certainly it is right for God to pay back those who afflict you with affliction, ⁷ and to give us who are afflicted relief when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels

¹² Enduring, we with him will reign. Who him denies, he will disclaim.

² Responding Wisely to LifeConsider it pure joy, my brothers, when you are involved in various trials, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ But you must let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

¹² Trial and TemptationHow blessed is the man who endures temptation! When he has passed the test, he will receive the victor’s crown of life that God has promised to those who keep on loving him.

³ David again took an oath: “Your father certainly knows that I’ve found favor with you, and so he told himself, ‘Jonathan must not know this so he won’t be upset.’ But as certainly as the LORD is alive and living, and as certainly as I’m alive and living, too, there is only a step between me and death.”

¹ David Escapes to Philistine TerritoryDavid told himself, “One of these days I’ll perish by Saul’s hand. There is nothing better for me to do than to escape to Philistine territory. Saul will give up searching for me anymore within the borders of Israel, so I’ll escape from him.”

²³ A Riot in EphesusNow about that time a great commotion broke out concerning the Way. ²⁴ By making silver shrines of Artemis, a silversmith named Demetrius provided a large income for skilled workers. ²⁵ He called a meeting of these men and others who were engaged in similar trades and said, “Men, you well know that we get a good income from this business. ²⁶ You also see and hear that, not only in Ephesus, but almost all over Asia, this man Paul has won over and taken away a large crowd by telling them that gods made by human hands are not gods at all. ²⁷ There is a danger not only that our business will lose its reputation but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be brought into disrepute and that she will be robbed of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.”
²⁸ When they heard this, they became furious and began to shout, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ The city was filled with confusion, and the people rushed into the theater together, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s fellow travelers from Macedonia. ³⁰ Paul wanted to go into the crowd, but the disciples wouldn’t let him. ³¹ Even some officials of the province of Asia who were his friends sent him a message urging him not to risk his life in the theater.
³² Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing and some another, since the crowd was confused, and most of them didn’t know why they were meeting. ³³ Some of the crowd concluded it was because of Alexander, since the Jews had pushed him to the front. So Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a defense before the people. ³⁴ But when they found out that he was a Jew, they all started to shout in unison for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
³⁵ When the city recorder had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who in the world doesn’t know that this city of Ephesus is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of the statue that fell down from heaven?

⁸ You already have all you want! You have already become rich! You have become kings without us! I wish you really were kings so that we could be kings with you!

³² If I have fought with wild animals in Ephesus from merely human motives, what do I get out of it? If the dead are not raised, “Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

⁹ because a door has opened wide for me to do effective work, although many people are opposing me.

⁷ But we have this treasure in clay jars to show that its extraordinary power comes from God and not from us. ⁸ In every way we’re troubled but not crushed, frustrated but not in despair, ⁹ persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We are always carrying around the death of Jesus in our bodies, so that the life of Jesus may be clearly shown in our bodies. ¹¹ While we are alive, we are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be clearly shown in our mortal bodies. ¹² And so death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

¹⁴ then I will applaud you myself! I’ll admit that you can deliver yourself by your own efforts!”

²⁹ All the prosperous people will eat and bow down in submission. All those who are about to go down to the grave will bow down in submission, along with the one who can no longer keep himself alive.

⁵ Through you we will knock down our oppressors; through your name we will tread down those who rise up against us. ⁶ For I place no confidence in my bow, nor will my sword deliver me. ⁷ For you delivered us from our oppressors and put to shame those who hate us.

²⁶ Whoever trusts in himself is foolish, but whoever lives wisely will be kept safe.

²³ True Wisdom and the Coming JudgmentThis is what the LORD says: “The wise man is not to boast in his wisdom; the strong man is not to boast in his strength; and the rich man is not to boast in his riches. ²⁴ Rather, let the one who boasts, boast in this: that he understands and knows me, for I am the LORD who acts with gracious love, justice, and righteousness in the land. I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.

⁵ Two Ways ContrastedThis is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the person who trusts in mankind, who makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD. ⁶ He will be like a bush in the desert, and he won’t see when good comes. He will dwell in parched places in the wilderness, a land of salt, without inhabitants. ⁷ Blessed is the person who trusts in the LORD, making the LORD his trust.

¹³ “If I tell the righteous person that he will certainly live, if he trusts in his own righteousness and commits evil, none of his righteousness will be remembered, and he will die because of the wrong that he commits.

¹ The Vision of the Valley of BonesThe LORD laid his hand on me and brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD to the middle of a valley that was filled with bones. ² He led me here and there throughout the valley, and I was amazed to see that the surface of the entire valley was covered with myriads of very dry bones! ³ The LORD asked me, “Son of Man, will these bones ever live?”
“Lord GOD,” I replied, “you know the answer to that!”
⁴ Then the LORD told me, “Prophesy to these bones. Tell them: ‘You dry bones, listen to the message from the LORD: “ ⁵ This is what the Lord GOD says to you dry bones! ‘Pay attention! I’m bringing my Spirit into you right now, and you’re going to live! ⁶ I’m going to grow tendons on you, regenerate your flesh, cover you with skin, and make you breathe again so that you can come back to life and learn that I am the LORD.’”’”
⁷ The Bones are Raised to LifeSo I prophesied, just as I had been ordered to do so. Immediately there was a noise and a rattling—and then all of a sudden the bones came together by themselves! Each bone came together, all of them attached together! ⁸ As I continued to watch, I saw tendons growing on the bones, and muscles growing and covering them, and then skin covered the flesh from above. But the bodies weren’t breathing. ⁹ Then he ordered me, “Prophesy to the Spirit, Son of Man. Tell the Spirit, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Come from the four winds, you Spirit, and breathe into these people who have been killed, so they will live.”’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as I had been ordered, breath entered them, and they began to live. They stood on their own feet as a vast, united army.
¹¹ The Vision is Interpreted for Ezekiel“These bones represent the entire house of Israel,” the LORD explained to me. “Look how they keep saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our future is lost. We’ve been completely eliminated!’ ¹² “Therefore prophesy to them, and tell them, ‘Watch me! I’m going to open your graves, lift you out of those graves, and bring my people back into the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you’ll learn that I am the LORD, when I’ve opened your graves and caused you to come up out of them, my people. ¹⁴ I’m going to place my Spirit in you all, and you will live. I’ll place you all into your land, and you’ll learn that I, the LORD, have been speaking and doing this,’ declares the LORD.’”

⁹ The Parable about the Pharisee and the Tax CollectorJesus also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves, thinking they were righteous, but who looked down on everyone else:

¹⁷ As it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations.” Abraham acted in faith when he stood in the presence of God, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence things that don’t yet exist. ¹⁸ Hoping in spite of hopeless circumstances, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” just as he had been told: “This is how many descendants you will have.” ¹⁹ His faith did not weaken when he thought about his own body (which was already as good as dead now that he was about a hundred years old) or about Sarah’s inability to have children, ²⁰ nor did he doubt God’s promise out of a lack of faith. Instead, his faith became stronger and he gave glory to God, ²¹ being absolutely convinced that God would do what he had promised. ²² This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”
²³ Now the words “it was credited to him” were written not only for him ²⁴ but also for us. Our faith will be regarded in the same way, if we believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵ He was sentenced to death because of our sins and raised to life to justify us.

⁵ By ourselves we are not qualified to claim that anything comes from us. Rather, our credentials come from God,

⁷ But we have this treasure in clay jars to show that its extraordinary power comes from God and not from us.

¹³ Now since we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with this Scripture: “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak. ¹⁴ We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us to God together with you.

⁷ To keep me from becoming conceited because of the exceptional nature of these revelations, a thorn was given to me and placed in my body. It was Satan’s messenger to keep on tormenting me so that I would not become conceited.
⁸ I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me, ⁹ but he has told me, “My grace is all you need, because my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most happily boast about my weaknesses, so that the Messiah’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why I take such pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for the Messiah’s sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹⁹ Abraham was certain that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did get Isaac back in this way.

¹² Then Samuel took a stone, placed it between Mizpah and Shen and named it Ebenezer. He said, “The LORD has helped us this far.”

³⁷ David continued, “The LORD who delivered me from the power of the lion and the power of the bear will also deliver me from the power of this Philistine.”
Saul told David, “Go! And may the LORD be with you.”

¹⁷ “Indeed, how blessed is the person whom God reproves! So never disrespect the discipline of the Almighty, ¹⁸ because though he wounds, but then applies bandages; though he strikes, his hands still heal. ¹⁹ “He will deliver you through six calamities; and calamity won’t touch you throughout the seventh. ²⁰ He will deliver you from death by famine; in war from the power of the sword. ²¹ You’ll be protected from the accusing tongue; you need not fear destruction when it heads your way. ²² You’ll laugh at destruction and famine; and you need not fear the beasts of the earth.

¹⁹ A righteous person will have many troubles, but the LORD will deliver him from them all.

³ “Listen to me, house of Jacob, and all you remnant of the house of Israel, who have been upheld from before your birth, and who have been carried from the womb.

²¹ For this reason the Jewish leaders grabbed me in the Temple and kept trying to kill me.

³¹ that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, that my ministry to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,

¹⁰ To this end we work hard and struggle, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, that is, of those who believe.

¹⁷ However, the Lord stood by me and gave me strength so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the gentiles could hear it. I was rescued out of a lion’s mouth.

⁹ then the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials and to hold unrighteous people for punishment on the day of judgment,

⁴ Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to mock the living God, and perhaps he will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard. So lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives in this city.”

⁶ “Upon your walls, Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen; all day and all night they won’t remain silent. You who make mention of the LORD, take no rest, ⁷ and give him no rest until he prepares, establishes and makes Jerusalem a song of praise throughout the earth.

⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer to God for him was being offered by the assembly.

³⁰ Now I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, and by the love that the Spirit produces, to join me in my struggle, earnestly praying to God for me ³¹ that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, that my ministry to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, ³² and that if it’s God’s will, I may come to you with joy and be refreshed together with you.

¹⁵ All this is for your sake so that, as his grace spreads, more and more people will give thanks and glorify God.

¹¹ In every way you will grow richer and become even more generous, and this will cause others to give thanks to God because of us, ¹² since this ministry you render is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, it is also overflowing with more and more prayers of thanksgiving to God.

¹⁴ And so in their prayers for you they will long for you because of God’s exceptional grace that was shown to you.

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times with every kind of prayer and request. Likewise, be alert with your most diligent efforts and pray for all the saints. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, so that, when I begin to speak, the right words will come to me. Then I will boldly make known the secret of the gospel,

³ At the same time also pray for us—that God would open before us a door for the word so that we may tell the secret about the Messiah, for which I have been imprisoned.

²⁵ Brothers, pray for us.

¹ An Example to FollowFinally, brothers, pray for us—that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly, and that it may be honored the way it is among you.

²² Meanwhile, prepare a guest room for me, too, for I am hoping through your prayers to be returned to you.

¹⁸ Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.

¹⁶ Therefore, make it your habit to confess your sins to one another and to pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. ¹⁷ Elijah was a person just like us, and he prayed earnestly for it not to rain, and rain never came to the land for three years and six months. ¹⁸ Then he prayed again, and the skies poured out rain, and the ground produced its crops.

¹⁴ “Now you must fear the LORD and serve him in faithfulness and truth. Throw away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Instead, serve the LORD.

¹⁵ Even though he kills me, I’ll continue to hope in him. At least I’ll be able to argue my case to his face!

¹⁰ Because he knows the road on which I travel, when he had tested me, I’ll come out like gold. ¹¹ My feet stay where his footsteps lead; I kept on his pathway and haven’t turned aside. ¹² I haven’t wandered away from the commands that he has spoken; I’ve treasured what he has said more than my own meals.”

⁵ Far be it from me to admit that you’re right! I intend to maintain my integrity even if it kills me! ⁶ I’ll retain my righteousness and not compromise it; my conscience won’t rebuke me at any time.

¹ Job Asserts His Moral Innocence “I made a covenant with my eyes; how, then, can I focus my attention on a virgin? ² What would I have from God above, what heritage from the Almighty on high, ³ if not calamity that is due the unjust, and misfortune that is due those who practice iniquity? ⁴ He watches my life, observing every one of my actions, does he not?”
⁵ No Lies and Deception“If I’ve lived my life in the company of vanity, or run quickly to embrace deception, ⁶ let my righteousness be weighed in honest scales, and God will make known my integrity. ⁷ If I have stepped away from the way, or if my heart covets whatever my eyes see, or if some other blemish clings to my hands, ⁸ what I’ve planted, let another eat or let my crops be uprooted.”
⁹ No Adultery“If my heart has been seduced by a woman and I’ve laid in wait at my friend’s door, ¹⁰ then let my wife cook for another person and may someone else sleep with her, ¹¹ because something as lascivious as that is an iniquity that should be judged. ¹² The fires of Abaddon will burn, disrupting every part of my eternal reward.”
¹³ No Abuse of Servants“If I’ve refused to help my male and female servants when they complain against me, ¹⁴ what will I do when God stands up to act? When he asks the questions, how will I answer him? ¹⁵ The one who made me in the womb made them, too, didn’t he? Didn’t the same one prepare each of us in the womb?”
¹⁶ No Injustice on the Poor“If I refused to grant the desire of the poor or exhausted the eyes of the widow, ¹⁷ if I ate my meals by myself without feeding orphans, ¹⁸ (even a poor man had grown up with me as if I were his father, and even though I had guided the widow from the time I was born), ¹⁹ if I’ve observed someone who is about to die for lack of clothes or if I have no clothing to give to the poor, ²⁰ if he hadn’t thanked me from the bottom of his heart, if he had not been warmed by wool from my sheep, ²¹ if I’ve raised my hand against an orphan when I thought I would against him in court, ²² then let my arm fall from its socket; and may my arm be torn off at the shoulder. ²³ For I’m terrified of what calamity God may have in store for me; and I cannot endure his grandeur.”
²⁴ No Trust in Wealth and Heavenly Bodies“If I’ve put my confidence in gold, if I’ve told gold, ‘You’re my security,’ ²⁵ if I’ve found joy in great wealth that I own, if I’ve earned a lot with my own hands, ²⁶ if I look at the sun when it shines or the moon as it rises in steady splendor, ²⁷ so that in the depths of my deceived heart I worshipped them with my mouth and hands, ²⁸ this is also a sin that deserves to be judged, since I would have tried to deceive God above.”
²⁹ No Rejoicing over the Plight of Adversary“Have I rejoiced in the destruction of those who hate me, or have I been happy that evil caught up with him? ³⁰ No, I haven’t allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse. ³¹ People in my household have said, ‘We cannot find anyone who has not been satisfied with his meat,’ haven’t they? ³² No stranger ever spent the night in the street, because I opened my doors to travelers.”
³³ No Secret Sins“Have I covered my transgression like other people, to conceal iniquity within myself? ³⁴ Have I feared large crowds? Has my family’s contempt ever terrified me so that I remained silent and wouldn’t go outside?”
³⁵ Request for A Hearing“Who will grant me a hearing? Here’s my signature—let the Almighty answer! Since my adversary indicted me, ³⁶ I’ll wear it on my shoulder, or tie it on my head for a crown! ³⁷ I’ll give an account for every step I’ve taken; I’ll approach him confidently like a Commander-in-Chief.”
³⁸ No Abuse of the Land“If my land were to cry out against me or if all its furrows wept as one, ³⁹ If I’ve consumed its produce without paying for it and snuffed out the life of its owners; ⁴⁰ may thorns spring up instead of wheat, and obnoxious weeds instead of barley.”
With this, Job’s discourse with his friends is completed.

³ LORD, my God, if I have done this thing, if there is injustice on my hands, ⁴ if I have rewarded those who did me good with evil, if I have plundered my enemy without justification, ⁵ then, let my enemy pursue me, let him overtake me, and let him trample my life to the ground. Interlude Let him put my honor into the dust.

¹⁷ All this came upon us, yet we did not forsake you, and we have not dealt falsely with your covenant; ¹⁸ Our hearts have not turned away; our steps have not swerved from your path. ¹⁹ Nevertheless, you crushed us in the lair of jackals, and covered us in deep darkness. ²⁰ If we had forgotten the name of our God or lifted our hands to a foreign god, ²¹ wouldn’t God find out since he knows the secrets of the heart?

³ “Please, LORD,” he said, “Remember how I have walked before you faithfully and with a true heart, and I have done what pleases you.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

¹ Paul Defends HimselfPaul looked straight at the Council and said, “Brothers, with a clear conscience I have done my duty before God up to this very day.”

¹⁶ Therefore, I always do my best to have a clear conscience before God and people.

¹ Paul’s Concern for the Jewish PeopleI am telling the truth because I belong to the Messiah—I am not lying, and my conscience confirms it by means of the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸ because such people are not serving the Messiah our Lord, but their own desires. By their smooth talk and flattering words they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. ¹⁹ For your obedience has become known to everyone, and I am full of joy for you. But I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.

⁴ My message and my preaching were not accompanied by clever, wise words, but by a display of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.

¹³ We don’t speak about these things with words taught us by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit, as we explain spiritual things to spiritual people.

⁴ For my conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who examines me.

⁸ So let’s keep celebrating the festival, neither with old yeast nor with yeast that is evil and wicked, but with yeast-free bread that is both sincere and true.

¹⁰ But by God’s grace I am what I am, and his grace shown to me was not wasted. Instead, I worked harder than all the others—not I, of course, but God’s grace that was with me.

¹⁷ When I planned this, I did not do it lightly, did I? Are my plans so fickle that I can say “Yes” and “No” at the same time?

¹⁷ At least we are not commercializing God’s word like so many others. Instead, we speak with sincerity in the Messiah’s name, like people who are sent from God and are accountable to God.

² Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not use trickery or pervert God’s word. By clear statements of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience before God.

⁸ I am not commanding you but testing the genuineness of your love by the enthusiasm of others.

² I beg you that when I come I will not need to be courageous by daring to oppose some people who think that we are living according to the flesh. ³ Of course, we are living in the world, but we do not wage war in a world-like way. ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not those of the world. Instead, they have the power of God to demolish fortresses. We tear down arguments

³ However, I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by its tricks, so your minds may somehow be lured away from sincere and pure devotion to the Messiah.

¹⁵ I will be very glad to spend my money and myself for you. Do you love me less because I love you so much?
¹⁶ Granting that I have not been a burden to you, was I a clever schemer who trapped you by some trick? ¹⁷ I did not take advantage of you through any of the men I sent you, did I? ¹⁸ I encouraged Titus to visit you, and I sent along with him the brother you know so well. Titus didn’t take advantage of you, did he? We conducted ourselves with the same spirit, didn’t we? We took the very same steps, didn’t we?
¹⁹ Have you been thinking all along that we are trying to defend ourselves before you? We are speaking before God in the authority of the Messiah, and everything, dear friends, is meant to build you up.

⁴ Each person must examine his own actions, and then he can boast about his own accomplishments and not about someone else.

¹⁴ Stand firm, therefore, having fastened the belt of truth around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

¹⁰ so that you may be able to choose what is best and be pure and blameless until the day when the Messiah returns,

¹⁰ You and God are witnesses of how pure, honest, and blameless our conduct was among you who believe.

⁵ The goal of this instruction is love that flows from a pure heart, from a clear conscience, and from a sincere faith.

¹⁹ with faith and a good conscience. By ignoring their consciences, some people have destroyed their faith like a wrecked ship. ²⁰ These include Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I handed over to Satan so that they may learn not to blaspheme.

⁷ Always set an example for others by doing good actions. Teach with integrity and dignity.

¹³ Live WiselyWho among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his noble conduct that his actions are done humbly and wisely. ¹⁴ But if you have bitter jealousy and rivalry in your hearts, stop boasting and slandering the truth. ¹⁵ That kind of wisdom does not come from above. No, it is worldly, self-centered, and demonic. ¹⁶ For wherever jealousy and rivalry exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil.
¹⁷ However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, willing to yield, full of compassion and good deeds, and without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. ¹⁸ And a harvest of righteousness is grown from the seed of peace planted by peacemakers.

⁶ But he gives all the more grace. And so he says, “God opposes the arrogant but gives grace to the humble.”

¹⁶ But do this gently and respectfully, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak evil of your good conduct in the Messiah will be ashamed of slandering you.

²¹ Baptism, which is symbolized by that water, now saves you also, not by removing dirt from the body, but by asking God for a clear conscience based on the resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah,

¹⁹ This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and how we will be able to keep ourselves strong in his presence.
²⁰ If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows everything. ²¹ Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in the presence of God. ²² Whatever we request we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

¹¹ The Messiah’s Love Controls UsTherefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade people. We ourselves are perfectly known to God. I hope we are also really known to your consciences.

⁶ I hope you will realize that we haven’t failed our test.

⁶ I pray that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every blessing that is ours in the Messiah.

²⁵ The Restoration of IsraelFor I want to let you know about this secret, brothers, so that you will not claim to be wiser than you are: Stubbornness has come to part of Israel until the full number of the gentiles comes to faith.

⁸ He will keep you strong until the end, so that you will be blameless on the Day of our Lord Jesus the Messiah.

¹⁸ For in the first place, I hear that when you gather as a church there are divisions among you, and I partly believe it.

³¹ I face death every day! That is as certain, brothers, as it is that I am proud of you in the Messiah, Jesus our Lord.

⁵ Forgive the Person who SinnedBut if anyone has caused grief, he didn’t cause me any grief. To some extent—I don’t want to emphasize this too much—it has affected all of you.

¹² We are not recommending ourselves to you again but are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so that you can answer those who are proud of outward things rather than inward character.

⁶ I am convinced of this, that the one who began a good action among you will bring it to completion by the Day of the Messiah Jesus.

²⁶ Then your rejoicing in the Messiah Jesus will increase along with mine when I visit with you again.

¹⁶ as you hold firmly to the word of life. Then I will be proud when the Messiah returns that I did not run in vain or work hard in vain.

¹ Closing ExhortationsTherefore, my dear brothers whom I long for, my joy and my victor’s crown, this is how you must stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.

¹⁹ After all, who is our hope, joy, or reason for rejoicing in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming? It is you, isn’t it? ²⁰ Yes, you are our glory and joy!

¹³ Then your hearts will be strong, blameless, and holy in the presence of God, who is our Father, when our Lord Jesus appears with all his saints.

²³ Final GreetingMay the God of peace himself make you holy in every way. And may your whole being—spirit, soul, and body—remain blameless when our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, appears.

¹¹ For I am longing to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong,

²⁹ And I know that when I come to you I will come with the full blessing of the Messiah.

¹⁹ But I will come to you soon if it’s the Lord’s will. Then I’ll discover not only what these arrogant people are saying but also what power they have,

³⁴ If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you gather it may not bring judgment on you. And when I come I will give instructions concerning the other matters.

¹ Workers with GodSince, then, we are working with God, we plead with you not to accept God’s grace in vain.

²⁵ Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will continue to live and be with all of you, so you will mature in the faith and know joy in it. ²⁶ Then your rejoicing in the Messiah Jesus will increase along with mine when I visit with you again.

²¹ After these things had happened, Paul decided to go through Macedonia and Achaia and then to go on to Jerusalem. “After I have gone there,” he told them, “I must also see Rome.” ²² Then he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself stayed in Asia a while longer.

⁵ Plans for TravelI will visit you when I go through Macedonia—for I intend to go through Macedonia— ⁶ and will probably stay with you for a while or even spend the winter with you. Then you can send me on my way, wherever I decide to go. ⁷ I do not want to visit with you now just in passing, because I hope to spend a longer time with you if the Lord permits.

⁴ and they gave him 70 silver coins from the temple that they had built to Baal-berith. Abimelech hired some worthless and useless men, who followed him

³² Look, I’m against those who prophesy based on false dreams,” declares the LORD, “and relate them and lead my people astray with their lies and their recklessness. I didn’t send them; I didn’t command them, and they provide no benefit at all to these people,” declares the LORD.

⁴ Its prophets are arrogant and treacherous. Its priests have contaminated the sanctuary. They give perverse interpretations of the Law.

³⁷ Instead, let your message be ‘Yes’ for ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ for ‘No.’ Anything more than that comes from the evil one.”

¹⁵ You’re judging by human standards, but I’m not judging anyone.

¹² Paul’s Reason for BoastingFor this is what we boast about: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world with pure motives and godly sincerity, without earthly wisdom but with God’s grace—especially toward you.

¹⁸ As certainly as God is faithful, we haven’t talked to you with mixed messages like that. ¹⁹ For God’s Son, Jesus the Messiah, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No.” But with him it is always “Yes.” ²⁰ For all God’s promises are “Yes” in him. And so through him we can say “Amen,” to the glory of God.

² I beg you that when I come I will not need to be courageous by daring to oppose some people who think that we are living according to the flesh. ³ Of course, we are living in the world, but we do not wage war in a world-like way.

¹⁶ to reveal his Son to me so that I might proclaim him among the gentiles, I did not confer with another human being at any time,

² I went in response to a revelation, and in a private meeting with the reputed leaders, I explained to them the gospel that I’m proclaiming to the gentiles. I did this because I was afraid that I was running or had run my life’s race for nothing.

¹⁸ That is why we wanted to come to you. Certainly I, Paul, wanted to come time and again, but Satan blocked our way.

¹² Do Not Swear OathsAbove all, brothers, do not swear oaths by heaven, by earth, or by any other object. Instead, let your “Yes” mean yes and your “No” mean no! Otherwise, you may fall under condemnation.

²⁸ At this point Jesus, still teaching in the Temple, shouted, “So you know me and know where I’ve come from? I haven’t come on my own accord. But the one who sent me is true, and he’s the one you don’t know.

²⁶ I have much to say about you and to condemn you for. But the one who sent me is truthful, and what I’ve heard from him I declare to the world.”

⁹ Faithful is the God by whom you were called into fellowship with his Son Jesus the Messiah, our Lord.

²³ I call upon God as a witness on my behalf that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.

²⁰ We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true God. We are in union with the one who is true, his Son Jesus the Messiah, who is the true God and eternal life.

⁷ The Letter to the Church in Philadelphia“To the messenger of the church in Philadelphia, write: ‘The one who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens a door that no one can shut, and who shuts a door that no one can open, ‘says this:

¹⁴ The Letter to the Church in Laodicea“To the messenger of the church in Laodicea, write:
‘The Amen, the witness who is faithful and true, the originator of God’s creation, says this:

¹⁴ God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and then said, “Tell the Israelis: ‘I AM sent me to you.’”

⁷ The Anointed King SpeaksLet me announce the decree of the LORD that he told me: “You are my son, today I have become your father.

¹⁷ Then a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him!”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!”
¹⁷ Then Jesus told him, “How blessed you are, Simon son of Jonah, since flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, though my Father in heaven has.

⁵ He was still speaking when a bright cloud suddenly overshadowed them.
A voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him. Keep on listening to him!”

³⁵ Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.”

⁶³ But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest told him, “I command you by the living God to tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God!”
⁶⁴ Jesus told him, “You have said so. Nevertheless I tell you, from now on you will see ‘the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power’ and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.’”

⁴⁰ and saying, “You who were going to destroy the sanctuary and rebuild it in three days—save yourself! If you’re the Son of God, come down from the cross!”

⁵⁴ When the centurion and those guarding Jesus with him saw the earthquake and the other things that were taking place, they were terrified and said, “This man certainly was the Son of God!”

¹ John the Baptist Prepares the Way for Jesus
This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.

³⁵ The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will surround you. Therefore, the child will be holy and will be called the Son of God.

³⁴ I have seen this and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

⁴⁹ Nathaniel replied to him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

¹⁶ “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his unique Son so that everyone who believes in him might not be lost but have eternal life.

³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has put everything in his hands. ³⁶ The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who disobeys the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

⁶⁹ Besides, we have believed and remain convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

⁵⁸ Jesus told them, “Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, before there was an Abraham, I AM!”

⁷ The Jewish leaders answered Pilate, “We have a law, and according to that Law he must die because he made himself out to be the Son of God.”

²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

³¹ But these have been recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and so that through believing you may have life in his name.

³⁶ As they were going along the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s some water. What keeps me from being baptized?”

²⁰ He immediately started to preach about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “This is the Son of God.”

²² The Reply of the ChurchThen the apostles, the elders, and the whole church decided to choose some of their men to send with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. These were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, who were leaders among the brothers.

⁵ But when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself entirely to the word as he emphatically assured the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah.

³ regarding his Son. He was a descendant of David with respect to his humanity ⁴ and was declared by the resurrection from the dead to be the powerful Son of God according to the spirit of holiness—Jesus the Messiah, our Lord.

¹¹ They will come to an end, but you will remain forever. They will all wear out like clothes.

⁸ Jesus, the Messiah, is the same yesterday and today—and forever!

¹⁷ For he received honor and glory from God the Father when these words from the Majestic Glory were spoken about him: “This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him.”

³ What we have seen and heard we declare to you so that you, too, can have fellowship with us. Now this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus, the Messiah.

⁹ If we accept human testimony, God’s testimony is greater, because it is the testimony of God and because he has testified about his Son. ¹⁰ The person who believes in the Son of God believes this testimony personally. The person who does not believe God has made him a liar by not believing the testimony that he has given about his Son.
¹¹ This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is found in his Son. ¹² The person who has the Son has this life. The person who does not have the Son of God does not have this life.
¹³ ConclusionI have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” declares the Lord God, “the one who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.”

¹¹ saying, “Write on a scroll what you see, and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. But he placed his right hand on me and said, “Stop being afraid! I am the first and the last,

¹⁸ The Letter to the Church in Thyatira“To the messenger of the church in Thyatira, write:
‘The Son of God, whose eyes are like flaming fire and whose feet are like glowing bronze, says this:

¹⁵ “I’ll place hostility between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. He’ll strike you on the head, and you’ll strike him on the heel.”

¹⁸ Furthermore, through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed my command.”

¹⁰ The scepter will never depart from Judah, nor a ruler’s staff from between his feet, until the One comes, who owns them both, and to him will belong the allegiance of nations.

¹⁷ Praising the God of IsraelMay his fame be eternal— as long as the sun— may his name endure, and may they be blessed through him, and may all nations call him blessed.

¹⁶ When the LORD rebuilds Zion, he will appear in his glory.

¹⁴ “Therefore the LORD himself will give you a sign. Watch! The virgin is conceiving a child, and will give birth to a son, and his name will be called Immanuel.

⁶ For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the growth of his government and peace there will be no end. He will rule over his kingdom, sitting on the throne of David, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies will accomplish this.

¹⁶ Then whoever takes an oath by the God of faithfulness, and whoever takes an oath in the land, will swear by the God of faithfulness, because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes.

¹³ And never bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

⁶⁸ “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel! He has taken care of his people and has set them free. ⁶⁹ He has raised up a mighty Savior for us from the family of his servant David, ⁷⁰ just as he promised long ago through the mouth of his holy prophets ⁷¹ that he would save us from our enemies and from the grip of all who hate us. ⁷² He has shown mercy to our ancestors and remembered his holy covenant, ⁷³ the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham. He granted us ⁷⁴ deliverance from our enemies’ grip so that we could serve him without fear

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to people who enjoy his favor!”

¹⁷ because while the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus the Messiah.

⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, I tell you emphatically, unless a person is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

⁶ Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

²⁵ You are the descendants of the prophets and the heirs of the covenant that God made with your ancestors when he told Abraham, ‘Through your descendant all the families of the earth will be blessed.’ ²⁶ When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning every one of you from your evil ways.”

³² We’re telling you the good news: What God promised our ancestors ³³ he has fulfilled for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm, ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.’ ³⁴ God raised him from the dead, never to experience decay, as he said, ‘I’ll give you the holy promises made to David.’ ³⁵ In another Psalm he says, ‘You will not let your Holy One experience decay.’ ³⁶ Now David, after he had served God’s purpose in his own generation, died and was buried with his ancestors, and so he experienced decay. ³⁷ However, the man whom God raised did not experience decay.
³⁸ “Therefore, brothers, you must understand that through him the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹ and that everyone who believes in him is justified and freed from everything that kept you from being justified by the Law of Moses.

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in union with the Messiah Jesus our Lord.

³⁶ For all things are from him, by him, and for him. Glory belongs to him forever! Amen.

⁷ Therefore, accept one another, just as the Messiah accepted you, for the glory of God. ⁸ For I tell you that the Messiah became a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth in order to confirm the promises given to our ancestors, ⁹ so that the gentiles may glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “That is why I will praise you among the gentiles; I will sing praises to your name.”

¹⁶ Otherwise, if you say a blessing with your spirit, how can an otherwise uneducated person say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you’re saying?

⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus the Messiah.

¹⁶ Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant. It doesn’t say “descendants,” referring to many, but “your descendant,” referring to one person, who is the Messiah. ¹⁷ This is what I mean: The Law that came 430 years later did not cancel the covenant that God ratified previously. The promise was never nullified. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance comes about through the Law, it no longer comes about through the promise. But it was through a promise that God so graciously gave it to Abraham.

²² But the Scripture has captured everything by means of sin’s net, so that what was promised by the faithfulness of the Messiah might be granted to those who believe.

⁶ so that we would praise his glorious grace that he gave us in the Beloved One.

¹² so that we who had already fixed our hope on the Messiah might live for his praise and glory. ¹³ You, too, have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed in the Messiah, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is the guarantee of our inheritance until God redeems his own possession for his praise and glory.

⁷ so that in the coming ages he might display the limitless riches of his grace that comes to us through his kindness in the Messiah Jesus.

⁸ To me, the very least of all the saints, this grace was given so that I might proclaim to the gentiles the immeasurable wealth of the Messiah ⁹ and help everyone see how this secret that has been at work was hidden for ages by God, who created all things. ¹⁰ He did this so that now, through the church, the wisdom of God in all its variety might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm

²⁷ to whom God wanted to make known the glorious riches of this secret among the gentiles—which is the Messiah in you, our glorious hope.

¹⁰ when he comes to be glorified by his saints and to be regarded with wonder on that day by all who have believed—including you, because you believed our testimony.

¹² Then, instead of being lazy, you will imitate those who are inheriting the promises through faith and patience.
¹³ God’s Promise is ReliableFor when God made his promise to Abraham, he swore an oath by himself, since he had no one greater to swear by. ¹⁴ He said, “I will certainly bless you and give you many descendants.” ¹⁵ And so he obtained what he had been promised, because he patiently waited for it. ¹⁶ For people swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all argument. ¹⁷ In the same way, when God wanted to make the unchangeable character of his purpose perfectly clear to the heirs of his promise, he guaranteed it with an oath, ¹⁸ so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might be encouraged to seize the hope set before us. ¹⁹ That hope, firm and secure like an anchor for our souls, reaches behind the curtain

⁶ But this man, whose descent is not traced from them, collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the man who had received the promises.

¹⁰ since they deal only with food, drink, and various washings, which are required for the body until the time when things would be set right.
¹¹ The Messiah Has Offered a Superior SacrificeBut when the Messiah came as a high priest of the good things that have come, he went through the greater and more perfect tent that was not made by human hands and that is not a part of this creation. ¹² Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood he went into the Most Holy Place once for all and secured our eternal redemption. ¹³ For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are unclean purifies them physically, ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead actions so that we may serve the living God!
¹⁵ The Messiah is the Mediator of a New CovenantThis is why the Messiah is the mediator of a new covenant; so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance promised them, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the offenses committed under the first covenant.

¹³ All these people died having faith. They did not receive the things that were promised, yet they saw them in the distant future and welcomed them, acknowledging that they were strangers and foreigners on earth.

³⁹ All these people won approval for their faith but they did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us, so that they would not be perfected without us.

¹² It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you in regard to the things that have now been announced to you by those who brought you the good news through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. These are things that even the angels desire to look into.

²⁴ What you have heard from the beginning must abide in you. If what you have heard from the beginning abides in you, you will also abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ The message that the Son himself declared to us is eternal life.

¹¹ This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is found in his Son.

¹² saying, “Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and strength be to our God forever and ever! Amen!”

²³ A man’s steps are established by the LORD, and the LORD delights in his way. ²⁴ Though he stumbles, he will not fall down flat, for the LORD will hold up his hand.

⁷ You love justice and hate wickedness. That is why God, even your God, has anointed you rather than your companions with the oil of gladness.

⁵ Indeed, about Zion it will be said: “More than one person was born in it,” and “The Most High himself did it.”

⁴ “I will establish your dynasty forever, and I will lift up one who will build your throne from generation to generation.” Interlude

⁷ Of the growth of his government and peace there will be no end. He will rule over his kingdom, sitting on the throne of David, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies will accomplish this.

⁸ The Restoration of Israel“This what the LORD says: “I’ll answer you in a time of favor, and on a day of salvation I’ll help you. I have watched over you, and given you as a covenant for the people, to restore the land, to reassign the inheritances that have been devastated;

²¹ “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD. “And my Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, won’t depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of your children’s children, from now on and forever.”

¹ Good News of Deliverance “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed and to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners;

⁷ and give him no rest until he prepares, establishes and makes Jerusalem a song of praise throughout the earth.

³⁴ The one whom God sent speaks the words of God, because God does not give the Spirit in limited measure to him.

³⁸ God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, he went around doing good and healing everyone who was oppressed by the devil.

⁹ You, however, are not under the control of the human nature but under the control of the Spirit, since God’s Spirit lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of the Messiah, he does not belong to him.

²⁵ Final DoxologyNow to the one who is able to strengthen you with my gospel and the message that I preach about Jesus, the Messiah, by revealing the secret that was kept hidden from long ago

⁷ For you have been rooted in him and are being built up and strengthened in the faith, just as you were taught, while you continue to be thankful. ⁸ Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will destroy with the breath of his mouth, rendering him powerless by the manifestation of his coming.

¹⁷ encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good action and word.

³ But the Lord is faithful and will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

¹⁰ After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you by the Messiah Jesus to his eternal glory, will restore you, establish you, strengthen you, and support you.

²⁰ You have an anointing from the Holy One and know all things.

²⁷ The anointing you received from God abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you this. Instead, because God’s anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not a lie, abide in him, as he taught you to do.

⁶ and has made us a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.

¹⁸ Therefore, I advise you to buy from me gold purified in fire so you may be rich, white clothes to wear so your shameful nakedness won’t show, and ointment to put on your eyes so you may see.

²⁷ Do not work for food that perishes but for food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set his seal on him.”

¹¹ Afterward he received the mark of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. Therefore, he is the ancestor of all who believe while uncircumcised, in order that righteousness may be credited to them.

¹⁴ For all who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s children. ¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of slavery that leads you into fear again. Instead, you have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

²³ However, not only the creation, but we who have the first fruits of the Spirit also groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

³⁰ Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.

¹⁹ However, God’s solid foundation still stands. It has this inscription on it: “The Lord knows those who belong to him,” and “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from evil.”

¹⁷ ‘Let everyone listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone. On the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the person who receives it.’”

³ “Don’t harm the land, the sea, or the trees until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.”

⁴ They were told not to harm the grass on the earth, any green plant, or any tree. They could harm only the people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

⁹ For God, whom I serve with my spirit by preaching the gospel about his Son, is my witness how constantly I mention you

²¹ Which do you prefer? Should I come to you with a stick, or with love and a gentle spirit?

⁵ turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of his body, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.

¹⁸ As certainly as God is faithful, we haven’t talked to you with mixed messages like that.

¹ Paul’s Painful VisitNow I decided not to pay you another painful visit. ² After all, if I were to grieve you, who should make me happy but the person I am making sad? ³ This is the very reason I wrote you, so that when I did come I might not be made sad by those who should have made me happy. For I had confidence that all of you would share the joy that I have.

² I beg you that when I come I will not need to be courageous by daring to oppose some people who think that we are living according to the flesh.

⁶ Once your obedience is complete, we will be ready to reprimand every type of disobedience.
⁷ Look at the plain facts! If anyone is confident that he belongs to the Messiah, he should remind himself of this: Just as he belongs to the Messiah, so do we. ⁸ So if I boast a little too much about our authority, which the Lord gave us to build you up and not to tear you down, I will not be ashamed of it.
⁹ I do not want you to think that I am trying to frighten you with my letters. ¹⁰ For someone is saying, “His letters are impressive and forceful, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible.” ¹¹ Someone like this should take note of the following: What we say by letter when we are absent is what we will do when present!

¹¹ Why? Because I do not love you? God knows that I do!

² I have already warned those who sinned previously and all the rest. Although I am absent now, I am warning them as I did on my second visit: If I come back, I will not spare you,

¹⁰ For this reason I am writing this while I am away from you: When I come I do not want to be severe in using the authority the Lord gave me to build you up and not to tear you down.

²⁰ (Before God, what I’m writing to you is the truth.)

⁸ For God is my witness how much I long for all of you with the compassion that the Messiah Jesus provides.

⁵ As you know, we did not come with flattering words or with a scheme to make money. God is our witness!

²⁰ These include Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I handed over to Satan so that they may learn not to blaspheme.

⁸ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ because you have only one teacher, and all of you are brothers. ⁹ And don’t call anyone on earth ‘Father,’ because you have only one Father, the one in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called ‘Teachers,’ because you have only one teacher, the Messiah!

⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunks,

¹² that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

² Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace by which we have been established, and we boast because of our hope in God’s glory.

²⁰ That’s right! They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you remain only because of faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid!

⁵ Who is Apollos, anyhow? Or who is Paul? They’re merely servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord gave to each of us his task.

¹ The Resurrection of the MessiahNow I’m making known to you, brothers, the gospel that I proclaimed to you, which you accepted, on which you have taken your stand,

⁵ For we do not preach ourselves, but rather Jesus the Messiah as Lord, and ourselves as merely your servants for Jesus’ sake.

⁷ For we live by faith, not by sight.

¹⁴ Stand firm, therefore, having fastened the belt of truth around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and being firm-footed in the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to having clothed yourselves with these things, having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to put out all the flaming arrows of the evil one,

²⁴ A servant of the Lord must not argue. Instead, he must be kind to everyone, teachable, willing to suffer wrong, ²⁵ and gentle when refuting opponents. After all, maybe God will allow them to repent and to come to a full knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ so that they might escape from the devil’s snare, even though they’ve been held captive by him to do his will.

³ Do not lord it over the people entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock.

⁸ Be clear-minded and alert. Your opponent, the devil, is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him and be firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.