Philemon Cross References - ISV

¹ GreetingsFrom: Paul, a prisoner of the Messiah Jesus, and Timothy our brother.
To: Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, ² to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house.
³ May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours!
⁴ Paul’s Prayer for PhilemonI always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers, ⁵ because I keep hearing about your love for all the saints and the faith that you have in the Lord Jesus. ⁶ I pray that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every blessing that is ours in the Messiah. ⁷ For I have received considerable joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed, brother, through you.
⁸ Paul’s Plea for OnesimusFor this reason, although in the Messiah I have complete freedom to order you to do what is proper, ⁹ I prefer to make my appeal on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an old man and now a prisoner of the Messiah Jesus, ¹⁰ appeal to you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. ¹¹ Once he was useless to you, but now he is very useful both to you and to me. ¹² As I send him back, it’s like I’m coming along with him. ¹³ I wanted to keep him with me so that he could serve me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel. ¹⁴ Yet I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might not be something forced, but voluntary. ¹⁵ Perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while, so that you could have him back forever, ¹⁶ no longer as a slave but better than a slave—as a dear brother, especially to me, but even more so to you, both as a person and as a believer.
¹⁷ So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. ¹⁸ If he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account. ¹⁹ I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. (I will not mention to you that you owe me your very life.) ²⁰ Yes, brother, I desire this favor from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Messiah! ²¹ Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you because I know that you will do even more than I ask. ²² Meanwhile, prepare a guest room for me, too, for I am hoping through your prayers to be returned to you.
²³ Greetings from Paul’s Fellow WorkersEpaphras, my fellow prisoner in the Messiah Jesus, sends you greetings, ²⁴ as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. ²⁵ May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be with your spirit! Amen.

⁹ For we are God’s co-workers. You are God’s farmland and God’s building.

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.

¹ Paul’s Ministry to the GentilesFor this reason I, Paul, am the prisoner of the Messiah Jesus for the sake of you gentiles.

¹ The Messiah’s Gifts to the ChurchI, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to live in a way that is worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

²⁰ for whose sake I am an ambassador in chains, desiring to declare the gospel as boldly as I should.

²⁵ Meanwhile, I thought it best to send Epaphroditus—my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and minister to my need—back to you.

³ Yes, I also ask you, my true partner, to help these women. They have worked hard with me to advance the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.

¹ Greetings from PaulFrom: Paul, an apostle of the Messiah Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.

¹¹ Jesus, who is called Justus, also greets you. These are the only ones of the circumcision who are fellow workers for the kingdom of God. They have been an encouragement to me.

² and send Timothy, our brother who works with us for God in the gospel of the Messiah, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,

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

⁸ Therefore, never be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me, his prisoner. Instead, by God’s power, join me in suffering for the sake of the gospel. ⁹ I prefer to make my appeal on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an old man and now a prisoner of the Messiah Jesus,

²⁴ as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

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

¹⁹ Final GreetingsThe churches in Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca and the church in their house greet you warmly in union with the Lord.

¹⁵ Give my greetings to the brothers in Laodicea, especially to Nympha and the church that is in her house.

¹⁷ Tell Archippus, “See that you complete the ministry you have received from the Lord.”

³ Join me in suffering like a good soldier of the Messiah Jesus. ⁴ No one serving in the military gets mixed up in civilian matters, for his aim is to please his commanding officer.

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!

¹⁴ May the grace of the Lord Jesus the Messiah, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you!

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

⁸ Paul’s Prayer and Desire to Visit RomeFirst of all, I thank my God through Jesus the Messiah for all of you, because the news about your faith is being reported throughout the world.

¹⁶ I never stop giving thanks for you as I mention you in my prayers.

³ Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the PhilippiansI thank my God every time I remember you,

³ Paul’s Prayer for the ColossiansWe give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, praying always for you,

² Paul’s Prayer for the ThessaloniansWe always thank God for all of you when we mention you in our prayers. ³ Endurance in AfflictionBrothers, at all times we are obligated to thank God for you. It is right to do this because your faith is growing all the time and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.

³ Paul’s Advice for TimothyI constantly thank my God—whom I serve with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you in my prayers night and day,

³ As for the saints that are in the land, they are noble, and all my delight is in them.

³⁹ So Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they took him upstairs. All the widows gathered around Peter, crying and showing him all the shirts and coats Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
⁴⁰ Peter made them all go outside. After kneeling down, he prayed, turned to the body, and said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹ He extended his hand and helped her get up. Then he called the saints, including the widows, and gave her back to them alive.

¹³ Supply the needs of the saints. Extend hospitality to strangers.

²⁵ Right now, however, I’m going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints, ²⁶ because the believers in Macedonia and Achaia have been eager to share their resources with the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

¹ Concerning the Collection for the SaintsNow concerning the collection for the saints, you should follow the directions I gave to the churches in Galatia.

⁶ for in union with the Messiah Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters. What matters is faith expressed through love.

¹⁵ Paul’s Prayer for the EphesiansTherefore, because I have heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,

⁴ because we have heard about your faith in the Messiah Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints,

⁷ For I have received considerable joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed, brother, through you.

²³ And this is his commandment: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus the Messiah, and to love one another as he commanded us.

¹ Faith Overcomes the WorldEveryone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been born from God, and everyone who loves the parent also loves the child. ² This is how we know that we love God’s children: we love God and keep his commandments.

¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before people in such a way that they will see your good actions and glorify your Father in heaven.”

²⁵ His secret, inner heart will become known, and so he will bow down to the ground and worship God, declaring, “God is truly among you!”

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. ¹³ Because your service in giving proves your love, you will be glorifying God as you obey what your confession of the Messiah’s gospel demands, since you are generous in sharing with them and with everyone else. ¹⁴ And so in their prayers for you they will long for you because of God’s exceptional grace that was shown to you.

⁹ And this is my prayer, that your love will keep on growing more and more with full knowledge and insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to choose what is best and be pure and blameless until the day when the Messiah returns, ¹¹ having been filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus the Messiah so that God will be glorified and praised.

⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is fair, whatever is pure, whatever is acceptable, whatever is commendable, if there is anything of excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—keep thinking about these things.

⁹ The Messiah is Above AllFor this reason, since the day we heard about this, we have not stopped praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the full knowledge of God’s will with respect to all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

¹⁴ Our own people should also learn to make good deeds a priority when urgent needs arise, so they won’t be unproductive.

¹⁰ For God is not so unjust as to forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have ministered to the saints and continue to minister to them.

¹⁴ Faith is Shown by ActionsWhat good does it do, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but does not prove it with actions? This kind of faith cannot save him, can it?

¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it does not prove itself with actions, is dead.

⁵ Through faith you are being protected by God’s power for a salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of this era. ⁶ You greatly rejoice in this, even though you have to suffer various kinds of trials for a little while, ⁷ so that your genuine faith, which is more valuable than gold that perishes when tested by fire, may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus, the Messiah, is revealed.
⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,

¹² Continue to live such upright lives among the gentiles that, when they slander you as practicers of evil, they may see your good actions and glorify God when he visits them.

¹ Wives and HusbandsIn a similar way, you wives must submit yourselves to your husbands so that, even if some of them refuse to obey the word, they may be won over without a word through your conduct as wives

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.

⁸ For if you possess these qualities, and if they continue to increase among you, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in attaining a full knowledge of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

⁴ I have great confidence in you. I am very proud of you. I am very much encouraged. I am overjoyed in all our troubles.

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.

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.

¹³ How the Thessalonians Welcomed the GospelHere is another reason why we constantly give thanks to God: When you received God’s word, which you heard from us, you did not accept it as the word of humans but for what it really is—the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

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?

⁹ How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we have in God’s presence because of you?

¹⁶ May the Lord grant mercy to the family of Onesiphorus, for he often took care of me and was not ashamed that I was a prisoner.

²⁰ Yes, brother, I desire this favor from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Messiah!

⁴ Living in the TruthI was overjoyed to find some of your children living truthfully, just as the Father has commanded us.

³ I was overjoyed when some brothers arrived and testified about your truthfulness and how you live according to the truth. ⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are living according to the truth.
⁵ Dear friend, you are faithful in whatever you do for the brothers, especially when they are strangers. ⁶ They have testified before the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.

¹² Therefore, since we have such a hope, we speak very boldly,

¹ Paul’s Authority to Speak ForcefullyNow I myself, Paul, plead with you with the gentleness and kindness of the Messiah—I who am humble when I am face to face with you but forceful toward you when I am away! 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.

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.

²¹ I am ashamed to admit it, but we have been too weak for that. Whatever anyone else dares to claim—I am talking like a fool—I can claim it, too.

⁴ Obscene, flippant, or vulgar talk is totally inappropriate. Instead, let there be thanksgiving.

² As you know, we suffered persecution and were mistreated in Philippi. Yet we were encouraged by our God to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.

⁶ We did not seek praise from people—from you or from anyone else—

⁹ Don’t throw me away when I am old; do not abandon me when my strength fails.

¹⁸ Also, when I reach old age and have gray hair, God, do not forsake me, until I have declared your power to this generation and your might to the next one.

³¹ Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is obtained by following a righteous path.

⁴ Even until your old age, I am the one, and I’ll carry you even until your gray hairs come. It is I who have created, and I who will carry, and it is I who will bear and save.

¹ Dedicate Your Lives to GodI therefore urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices that are holy and pleasing to God, for this is the reasonable way for you to worship.

²⁰ Therefore, we are the Messiah’s representatives, as though God were pleading through us. We plead on the Messiah’s behalf: “Be reconciled to God!”

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

¹ GreetingsFrom: Paul, a prisoner of the Messiah Jesus, and Timothy our brother.
To: Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, ² to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house.
³ May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours!
⁴ Paul’s Prayer for PhilemonI always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers, ⁵ because I keep hearing about your love for all the saints and the faith that you have in the Lord Jesus. ⁶ I pray that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every blessing that is ours in the Messiah. ⁷ For I have received considerable joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed, brother, through you.
⁸ Paul’s Plea for OnesimusFor this reason, although in the Messiah I have complete freedom to order you to do what is proper, ⁹ I prefer to make my appeal on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an old man and now a prisoner of the Messiah Jesus, ¹⁰ appeal to you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. ¹¹ Once he was useless to you, but now he is very useful both to you and to me. ¹² As I send him back, it’s like I’m coming along with him. ¹³ I wanted to keep him with me so that he could serve me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel. ¹⁴ Yet I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might not be something forced, but voluntary. ¹⁵ Perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while, so that you could have him back forever, ¹⁶ no longer as a slave but better than a slave—as a dear brother, especially to me, but even more so to you, both as a person and as a believer.
¹⁷ So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. ¹⁸ If he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account. ¹⁹ I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. (I will not mention to you that you owe me your very life.) ²⁰ Yes, brother, I desire this favor from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Messiah! ²¹ Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you because I know that you will do even more than I ask. ²² Meanwhile, prepare a guest room for me, too, for I am hoping through your prayers to be returned to you.
²³ Greetings from Paul’s Fellow WorkersEpaphras, my fellow prisoner in the Messiah Jesus, sends you greetings, ²⁴ as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. ²⁵ May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be with your spirit! Amen.

¹⁹ I especially ask you to do this so that I may be brought back to you sooner.

¹¹ Live as God’s ServantsDear friends, I urge you as aliens and exiles to keep on abstaining from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul.

¹ David Shows Kindness to MephiboshethLater on, David asked, “Is there anyone left alive from Saul’s household to whom I can show gracious love in memory of Jonathan?”
² A household servant of Saul named Ziba was called to appear before David, and the king asked him, “Are you Ziba?”
“I am your servant,” Ziba replied.
³ At this the king asked, “Isn’t there still someone left from Saul’s household to whom I may show God’s gracious love?”
“There’s Jonathan’s son. He has maimed feet, ” Ziba answered.
⁴ So David asked, “Where is he?”
Ziba responded, “He’s in Lo-debar at the home of Ammiel’s son Makir.”
⁵ At this, King David sent for him and brought him from the home of Ammiel’s son Makir in Lo-debar. ⁶ When Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son and a grandson of Saul, approached David, he threw himself on his face out of respect.
“Mephibosheth!” David said as he greeted him.
“Hello! I am your servant,” he replied.
⁷ “Don’t be afraid,” David reassured him, “because I’m going to show gracious love to you in memory of your father Jonathan. I’m going to restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you’ll always have a place at my table!”

⁵ As they were going out, the king ordered Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Treat young Absalom gently for my sake.” Everyone heard what the king had ordered his commanders about Absalom.

³⁷ Please let your servant return so I can die in my own home town near the grave of my father and mother. Meanwhile, here is your servant Chimham! Let him accompany your majesty the king. Please do for him whatever seems best to you.”
³⁸ So the king answered, “Chimham will accompany me, and I’ll do for him whatever seems best to you! I’ll do anything for you that you want!”

¹⁷ A man in the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you. He has a spirit that won’t let him talk.

¹⁵ You may have 10,000 mentors who work for the Messiah, but not many fathers. For in the Messiah Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

¹⁹ My children, I am suffering birth pains for you again until the Messiah is formed in you.

⁹ He is coming with Onesimus, that faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.

² To: Timothy, my genuine child in the faith.
May grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Messiah Jesus, our Lord, be yours!

⁴ To: Titus, a genuine child in the faith that we share.
May grace and peace from God the Father and the Messiah, Jesus our Savior, be yours!

¹ Job Describes His Current Status in Life“But now they mock me; men who are far younger than I, whose fathers I would have hated to entrust with my own sheep dogs. ² Furthermore, what could I have gained from men whose strength is gone?

³⁰ Throw this useless servant into the darkness outside! In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

²⁴ Because my son was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

³² But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and has been found.’”

¹⁰ That’s the way it is with you. When you have done everything you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless servants. We have done only what we ought to have done.’”

¹² All have turned away. They have become completely worthless. No one shows kindness, not even one person!

¹¹ Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry.

¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

⁶ Dealing with Idolaters“Your own blood brother, your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your friend who is like your soul mate may entice you quietly. He may tell you, ‘Let’s go and serve other gods,’ (whom neither you nor your ancestors have known

¹¹ So David ordered Abishai and all of his staff: “Look! My own son wants to kill me! How much more now is this descendant of Benjamin? Leave him alone and let him go on cursing, because the LORD has ordered him to do this.

²⁰ God’s Gracious Response“Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a darling child? Indeed, as often as I’ve spoken about him, I surely still remember him. Therefore I deeply yearn for him. I’ll surely have great compassion on him,” declares the LORD.

¹⁴ Because if you forgive people their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive people their offenses, your Father will not forgive your offenses.”

²¹ The Parable about an Unforgiving ServantThen Peter came up and asked him, “Lord, how many times may my brother sin against me and I have to forgive him? Seven times?”
²² Jesus told him, “I tell you, not just seven times, but 77 times! ²³ “That is why the kingdom from heaven may be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ When he had begun to settle the accounts, a person who owed him 10,000 talents was brought to him. ²⁵ Because he couldn’t pay, his master ordered him, his wife, his children, and everything that he owned to be sold so that payment could be made. ²⁶ Then the servant fell down and bowed low before him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything!’ ²⁷ The master of that servant had compassion and released him, canceling his debt.
²⁸ “But when that servant went away, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him, seized him by the throat, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’ ²⁹ Then his fellow servant fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me and I will repay you!’ ³⁰ But he refused and had him thrown into prison until he could repay the debt.
³¹ “When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were very disturbed and went and reported to their master everything that had occurred. ³² Then his master sent for him and told him, ‘You evil servant! I canceled that entire debt for you because you begged me. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers until he could repay the entire debt. ³⁵ This is how my heavenly Father will treat each one of you unless you forgive your brother from your hearts.”

²⁵ “Whenever you stand up to pray, forgive whatever you have against anyone, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins.

²⁰ “So he got up and went to his father. While he was still far away, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, threw his arms around him, and kissed him affectionately.

³² And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another just as God has forgiven you in the Messiah.

¹⁷ I am glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus came here, because what was lacking they have supplied through you.

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.

³⁰ because he came close to death for the work of the Messiah by risking his life to complete what remained unfinished in your service to me.

¹ GreetingsFrom: Paul, a prisoner of the Messiah Jesus, and Timothy our brother.
To: Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker,

¹⁷ And I know, God, that it is you who searches the heart and you who finds pleasure in righteousness. With a righteous heart I have freely given all these things, and now I have seen all of these people of yours giving freely and joyfully to you!

³ Your soldiers are willing volunteers on your day of battle; in majestic holiness, from the womb, from the dawn, the dew of your youth belongs to you.

⁷ Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat any of its grapes? Or who takes care of a flock and does not drink any of its milk?

¹⁷ For if I preach voluntarily, I get a reward, but if I am unwilling to do it, I am still entrusted with that obligation.

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.

¹² For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you do not have.

⁵ Therefore, I thought it necessary to urge these brothers to visit you ahead of me, to make arrangements in advance for this gift you promised, and to have it ready as something given generously and not forced.

⁷ Each of you must give what you have decided in your heart, not with regret or under compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.

⁸ Paul’s Plea for OnesimusFor this reason, although in the Messiah I have complete freedom to order you to do what is proper, ⁹ I prefer to make my appeal on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an old man and now a prisoner of the Messiah Jesus,

² Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over it, not because you must but because you want to, and not greedily but eagerly, as God desires. ³ Do not lord it over the people entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock.

⁵ “But don’t be distressed or angry at yourselves because you sold me here, because God sent me ahead of you all in order to deliver us. ⁶ That’s because this famine has been going on for two years now in this region, and there are still five years left, during which there won’t be any plowing or harvesting. ⁷ God sent me ahead of you to keep you alive on the earth, and to save you all in a magnificent way. ⁸ As a result, it wasn’t you who sent me here, but God himself! He established me as a father-figure to Pharaoh himself! I’m in charge of his entire palace and ruler over the entire land of Egypt.

²⁰ As far as you’re concerned, you were planning evil against me, but God intended it for good, planning to bring about the present result so that many people would be preserved alive.

¹⁰ Even human anger praises you; you will wear the survivors of your wrath as an ornament.

⁶ At that time, the inhabitants of this coastland will say, ‘See, this is what has happened to those on whom we counted and relied for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How, then, can we escape?’”

²⁸ to carry out everything that your hand and will had predetermined to take place.

⁸ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ because you have only one teacher, and all of you are brothers.

¹⁷ Saul’s Sight is RestoredSo Ananias left and went to that house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were traveling, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

²² For the slave who has been called to belong to the Lord is the Lord’s free person. In the same way, the free person who has been called is the Messiah’s slave.

²⁸ So you, brothers, are children of the promise, like Isaac. ²⁹ But just as then the son who was conceived according to the flesh persecuted the son who was conceived according to the Spirit, so it is now.

⁵ Advice for Slaves and MastersSlaves, obey your earthly masters with fear, trembling, and sincerity, as when you obey the Messiah. ⁶ Do not do this only while you’re being watched in order to please them, but be like slaves of the Messiah, who are determined to obey God’s will. ⁷ Serve willingly, as if you were serving the Lord and not merely people,

²² Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only while being watched in order to please them, but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord.

² Moreover, those who have believing masters should be respectful to them, because they are fellow believers. In fact, they must serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers and dear to them. These are the things you must teach and exhort.

¹ The Messiah is Superior to MosesTherefore, holy brothers, partners in a heavenly calling, keep your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.

²² Love One AnotherNow that you have obeyed the truth and have purified your souls to love your brothers sincerely, you must love one another intensely and with a pure heart. ²³ For you have been born again, not by a seed that perishes but by one that cannot perish—by the living and everlasting word of God.

¹ Faith Overcomes the WorldEveryone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been born from God, and everyone who loves the parent also loves the child.

⁴⁰ Rewards
“The one who receives you receives me, and the one who receives me receives the one who sent me.

⁴⁸ He asked the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ Then pointing with his hand at his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers, ⁵⁰ because whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

⁵ and whoever receives a little child like this in my name receives me.”

⁴⁰ The king will answer them, ‘I tell all of you with certainty, since you did it for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.’

¹⁵ When she and her family were baptized, she urged us, “If you are convinced that I am a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she continued to insist that we do so.

²³ As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker on your behalf. Our brothers, emissaries from the churches, are bringing glory to the Messiah.

⁶ The gentiles are heirs-in-common, members-in-common of the body, and common participants in what was promised by the Messiah Jesus through the gospel.

¹⁰ appeal to you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment.

¹² As I send him back, it’s like I’m coming along with him.

¹⁴ because we are the Messiah’s partners only if we hold on to our original confidence to the end.

⁵ Listen, my dear brothers! God has chosen the poor in the world to become rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who keep on loving him, has he not?

¹ Be Shepherds of God’s FlockTherefore, as a fellow elder, a witness of the Messiah’s sufferings, and one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you:

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.

⁴ “Surely he has borne our sufferings and carried our sorrows; yet we considered him stricken, and struck down by God, and afflicted. ⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, and he was crushed for our iniquities, and the punishment that made us whole was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned, each of us, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he didn’t open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

¹ The Rights of an ApostleI am free, am I not? I am an apostle, am I not? I have seen Jesus our Lord, haven’t I? You are the result of my work in the Lord, aren’t you? ² If I am not an apostle to other people, surely I am one to you, for you are the evidence of my apostolic authority from the Lord.

²¹ I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand. ²² If anyone doesn’t love the Lord, let him be condemned! May our Lord come!

² You are our letter, written in our hearts and known and read by everyone.

² Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, the Messiah will be of no benefit to you.

¹¹ A Final Warning against CircumcisionLook at how large these letters are because I am writing with my own hand!

¹⁹ My brothers, if one of you wanders away from the truth and somebody brings him back, ²⁰ you may be sure that whoever brings a sinner back from his wrong path will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

² After all, if I were to grieve you, who should make me happy but the person I am making sad?

⁴ I have great confidence in you. I am very proud of you. I am very much encouraged. I am overjoyed in all our troubles.
⁵ For even when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest. We suffered in a number of ways. Outwardly there were conflicts, inwardly there were fears. 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.

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

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, ² then fill me with joy by having the same attitude, sharing the same love, being united in spirit, and keeping one purpose in mind.

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!

⁷ That’s why, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we have been encouraged about you by your faith. ⁸ For now we can go on living, as long as you continue to stand firm in the Lord. ⁹ How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we have in God’s presence because of you?

¹⁷ Continue to follow and be submissive to your leaders, since they are watching over your souls as those who will have to give a word of explanation. By doing this, you will be letting them carry out their duties joyfully, and not with grief, for that would be harmful for you.

¹⁷ Whoever has earthly possessions and notices a brother in need and yet withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God be present in him?

⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are living according to the truth.

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.

¹⁶ I rejoice that I can have complete confidence in you.

²² We have also sent with them our brother whom we have often tested in many ways and found to be dedicated. At present he is more dedicated than ever because he has so much confidence in you.

¹⁰ I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view of this. However, the one who is troubling you will suffer God’s judgment, whoever he is.

⁴ We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do what we command.

²³ So they set a day to meet with Paul and came out in large numbers to see him where he was staying.
From morning until evening, he continued to explain the kingdom of God to them, trying to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets.

²⁴ Now that I am on my way to Spain, I hope to see you when I come your way and, after I have enjoyed your company for a while, to be sent on by you.

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.

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.

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.

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.

²⁴ Indeed, I am confident in the Lord that I will come to visit you soon.

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.

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.

¹² Final GreetingAlthough I have a great deal to write to you, I would prefer not to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

¹⁴ Instead, I hope to see you soon and speak face to face.
May peace be with you! Your friends greet you. Greet each of our friends by name.

⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who are in prison with me and are prominent among the apostles. They belonged to the Messiah before I did.

⁷ You learned about this gospel from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of the Messiah on your behalf.

¹⁰ Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. You have received instructions about him. If he comes to you, welcome him.

¹² Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of the Messiah Jesus, sends you his greetings. He is always wrestling in his prayers for you, so that you may stand mature, completely convinced of the entire will of God.

¹² When Peter realized what had happened, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where a large number of people had gathered and were praying.

²⁵ When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission, they returned to Jerusalem, bringing with them John who was also called Mark.

¹³ Paul and Barnabas Go to Antioch in PisidiaThen Paul and his men set sail from Paphos and arrived in Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them and went back to Jerusalem.

³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take along John, who was called Mark, ³⁸ but Paul did not think it was right to take along the man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and who had not gone with them into the work. ³⁹ The disagreement was so sharp that they parted ways. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus,

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.

² After boarding a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to the ports on the coast of Asia, we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, went with us.

¹⁴ Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you.

¹⁰ because Demas, having fallen in love with this present world, has abandoned me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. ¹¹ Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry.

¹ GreetingsFrom: Paul, a prisoner of the Messiah Jesus, and Timothy our brother.
To: Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, ² to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house.

⁸ Therefore, we ought to support such people so that we can become genuine helpers with them.

²⁰ The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be with all of you!

²³ Gaius, who is host to me and the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus greet you.

¹⁸ Final GreetingMay the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be with your spirit, brothers! Amen.

²² May the Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with all of you! Amen.