Romans 16 Cross References - Moffatt

¹ Let me introduce our sister Phoebe, a deaconess of the church at Cenchreae; ² receive her in the Lord as saints should receive one another, and give her any help she may require. She has been a help herself to many people, including myself. ³ Salute Prisca and Aquila, my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus, ⁴ who have risked their lives for me; I thank them, and not only I but all the Gentile churches as well. ⁵ Also, salute the church that meets in their house. Salute my beloved Epaenetus, the first in Asia to be reaped for Christ. ⁶ Salute Mary, who has worked hard for you. ⁷ Salute Andronicus and Junias, fellow-countrymen and fellow-prisoners of mine; they are men of note among the apostles, and they have been in Christ longer than I have. ⁸ Salute Amplias, my beloved in the Lord. ⁹ Salute Urbanus, our fellow-worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. ¹⁰ Salute that tried Christian, Apelles. Salute those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. ¹¹ Salute my fellow-countryman Herodion. Salute such members of the household of Narcissus as are in the Lord. ¹² Salute Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who work hard in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis; she has worked very hard in the Lord. ¹³ Salute that choice Christian, Rufus; also his mother, who has been a mother to me. ¹⁴ Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers of their company. ¹⁵ Salute Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, Olympas too, and all the saints in their company. ¹⁶ Salute one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ salute you. ¹⁷ Brothers, I beg of you to keep your eye on those who stir up dissensions and put hindrances in your way, contrary to the doctrine which you have been taught. Avoid them. ¹⁸ Such creatures are no servants of Christ our Lord, they are slaves of their own base desires; with their plausible and pious talk they beguile the hearts of unsuspecting people. But surely not of you! ¹⁹ Everyone has heard of your loyalty to the gospel; it makes me rejoice over you. Still, I want you to be experts in good and innocents in evil. ²⁰ The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. ²¹ Timotheus my fellow-worker salutes you; so do my fellow countrymen Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater. ²² I Tertius, who write the letter, salute you in the Lord. ²³ Gaius, my host and the host of the church at large salutes you. Erastus the city-treasurer salutes you; so does brother Quartus. ²⁴ -- ²⁵ [Now to Him who can strengthen you by my gospel, by the preaching of Jesus Christ, by revealing the secret purpose which after the silence of long ages ²⁶ has now been disclosed and made known on the basis of the prophetic scriptures (by command of the eternal God) to all the Gentiles for their obedience to the faith — ²⁷ to the only wise God be glory through Jesus Christ for ever and ever: Amen.]

²⁴ No one can serve two masters: either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will stand by the one and despise the other — you cannot serve both God and Mammon.

¹⁵ Beware of false prophets; they come to you with the garb of sheep but at heart they are ravenous wolves.

³⁸ so pray the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to gather his harvest."

¹⁶ I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be wise like serpents and guileless like doves.

⁴⁰ He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives Him who sent me. ⁴¹ He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet, will receive a prophet's reward; he who receives a good man because he is good, will receive a good man's reward. ⁴² And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, I tell you, he shall not lose his reward."

⁴⁹ Stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰ Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven, that is my brother and sister and mother."

⁵⁰ Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven, that is my brother and sister and mother."

¹⁷ I tell you truly, many prophets and good men have longed to see what you see, but they have not seen it; and to hear what you hear, but they have not heard it.

³⁵ to fulfil what had been said by the prophet, I will open my mouth in parables, I will speak out what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.

⁷ Woe to the world for hindrances! Hindrances have to come, but — woe to the man by whom the hindrance does come!

¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church; and if he refuses to listen to the church, treat him as a pagan or a taxgatherer.

²⁰ For where two or three have gathered in my name, I am there among them."

¹⁶ So shall the last be first and the first last."

¹¹ Many false prophets will rise and mislead many.

²⁴ for false Christs and false prophets will rise and bring forward great signs and wonders, so as to mislead the very elect, — if that were possible.

⁴⁸ But if the bad servant says to himself, 'My lord and master is long of coming,' ⁴⁹ and if he starts to beat his fellow-servants and to eat and drink with drunkards, ⁵⁰ that servant's lord and master will arrive on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know; ⁵¹ he will cut him in two and assign him the fate of the impious. There men will wail and gnash their teeth.

⁴⁰ The King will answer them, 'I tell you truly, in so far as you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even to the least of them, you did it to me.'

⁵⁵ There were also a number of women there looking on from a distance, women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and waited on him,

¹⁹ go and make disciples of all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teach them to obey all the commands I have laid on you. And I will be with you all the time, to the very end of the world."

³⁵ Whoever does the will of God, that is my brother and sister and mother."

³⁰ who does not get a hundred times as much — in this present world homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and lands, together with persecutions, and in the world to come life eternal.

²¹ They forced Simon a Cyrenian who was passing on his way from the country (the father of Alexander and Rufus) to carry his cross,

¹⁵ And he said to them, "Go to all the world and preach the gospel to every creature:

³ Joanna the wife of Chuza the chancellor of Herod, Susanna, and a number of others, who ministered to him out of their means.

³ Go your way; I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.

¹⁹ I have indeed given you the power of treading on serpents and scorpions and of trampling down all the power of the Enemy; nothing shall injure you.

²³ Then turning to the disciples he said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! ²⁴ For I tell you many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, but they have not seen it: and to hear what you hear, but they have not heard it."

¹ To his disciples he said, "It is inevitable that hindrances should come, but woe to the man by whom they come;

⁴⁴ Then he said to them, "When I was still with you, this is what I told you, that whatever is written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled." ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. ⁴⁶ "Thus," he said, "it is written that the Christ has to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance and the remission of sins must be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

⁵⁶ He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains within me, as I remain within him.

²⁶ If anyone serves me, let him follow me, and where I am, there shall my servant be also: if anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.

²⁰ You will understand, on that day, that I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you.

² he cuts away any branch on me which is not bearing fruit, and cleans every branch which does bear fruit, to make it bear richer fruit.

¹³ To lay life down for his friends, man has no greater love than that.

¹⁶ You have not chosen me, it is I who have chosen you, appointing you to go and bear fruit — fruit that lasts, so that the Father may grant you whatever you ask in my name.

²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, "And, there is your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his home.

⁷ And the word of God spread; the number of the disciples in Jerusalem greatly increased, and a host of priests became obedient to the faith.

³² Now the passage of scripture which he was reading was as follows: — he was led like a sheep to be slaughtered, and as a lamb is dumb before the shearer, so he opens not his lips. ³³ By humbling himself he had his doom removed. Who can tell his family? For his life is cut off from the earth. ³⁴ So the eunuch said to Philip, "Pray, who is the prophet speaking about? Is it himself or someone else?" ³⁵ Then Philip opened his lips, and starting from this scripture preached the gospel of Jesus to him.

²⁰ He lost no time in preaching throughout the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God —

³⁶ At Joppa there was a disciple called Tabitha (which may be translated Dorcas, or 'Gazelle'), a woman whose life was full of good actions and of charitable practices.

³⁹ So Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they took him up to the room, where all the widows stood beside him crying as they showed him the garments and dresses that Dorcas used to make when she was with them.

⁴¹ Then he gave her his hand, raised her, and, after calling the saints and the widows he presented her to them alive.

⁴³ All the prophets testify that everyone who believes in him is to receive remission of sins through his Name."

¹ Now in the local church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Symeon (called Niger) and Lucius the Cyrenian, besides Manaen (a foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.

⁴⁶ So Paul and Barnabas spoke out fearlessly. "The word of God," they said, "had to be spoken to you in the first instance; but as you push it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, well, here we turn to the Gentiles! ⁴⁷ For these are the Lord's orders to us: I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the end of the earth."

¹ But certain individuals came down from Jerusalem and taught the brothers that "unless you get circumcised after the custom of Moses you cannot be saved." ² As a sharp dispute and controversy sprang up between them and Paul and Barnabas, it was arranged that Paul and Barnabas, along with some others of their number, should go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and presbyters at Jerusalem about this question. ³ The church sped them on their journey, and they passed through both Phoenicia and Syria informing the brothers, to the great joy of all, that the Gentiles were turning to God. ⁴ On arriving at Jerusalem they were received by the church, the apostles and the presbyters, and they reported how God had been with them and what he had done. ⁵ But some of the believers who belonged to the Pharisaic party got up and said, "Gentiles must be circumcised and told to observe the law of Moses."

²⁴ Having learned that some of our number, quite unauthorized by us, have unsettled you with their teaching and upset your souls,

⁴¹ He made his way through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

¹ He also came down to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple called Timotheus, the son of a believing Jewess and a Greek father. ² He had a good reputation among the brothers at Lystra and Iconium; ³ so, as Paul wished him to go abroad with him, he took and circumcised him on account of the local Jews, all of whom knew his father had been a Greek.

⁵ and the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in numbers day by day.

⁵ But the Jews were aroused to jealousy; they got hold of some idle rascals to form a mob and set the town in an uproar; they attacked Jason's house in the endeavour to bring them out before the populace,

¹⁴ The brothers then sent off Paul at once on his way to the sea, while Silas and Timotheus remained where they were.

² There he came across a Jew called Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently arrived from Italy with his wife Priscilla, as Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul accosted them, ³ and as he belonged to the same trade he stayed with them and they all worked together. (They were workers in leather by trade.) ⁴ Every sabbath he argued in the synagogue, persuading both Jews and Greeks. ⁵ By the time Silas and Timotheus came south from Macedonia, Paul was engrossed in this preaching of the word, arguing to the Jews that the messiah was Jesus.

⁵ By the time Silas and Timotheus came south from Macedonia, Paul was engrossed in this preaching of the word, arguing to the Jews that the messiah was Jesus. ⁶ But as they opposed and abused him, he shook out his garments in protest, saying, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am not responsible! After this I will go to the Gentiles." ⁷ Then he removed to the house of a devout proselyte called Titus Justus, which adjoined the synagogue. ⁸ But Crispus the president of the synagogue believed in the Lord, as did all his household, and many of the Corinthians listened, believed, and were baptized. ⁹ And the Lord said to Paul in a vision by night, "Have no fear, speak on and never stop, ¹⁰ for I am with you, and no one shall attack and injure you; I have many people in this city." ¹¹ So he settled there for a year and six months, teaching them the word of God. ¹² But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia the Jews without exception rose against Paul and brought him up before the tribunal,

¹² But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia the Jews without exception rose against Paul and brought him up before the tribunal, ¹³ crying, "This fellow incites men to worship God contrary to the Law." ¹⁴ Paul was just on the point of opening his lips to reply, when Gallio said to the Jews, "If it had been a misdemeanour or wicked crime, there would be some reason in me listening to you,O Jews. ¹⁵ But as these are merely questions of words and persons and your own Law, you can attend to them for yourselves. I decline to adjudicate upon matters like that." ¹⁶ And he drove them from the tribunal. ¹⁷ Then all [the Greeks] caught hold of Sosthenes the president of the synagogue and beat him in front of the tribunal; but Gallio took no notice. ¹⁸ After waiting on for a number of days Paul said goodbye to the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. (As the latter was under a vow, he had his head shaved at Cenchreae.)

²⁶ In the synagogue he was very outspoken at first; but when Aquila and Priscilla listened to him, they took him home and explained more accurately to him what the Way of God really meant. ²⁷ As he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers wrote and urged the disciples there to give him a welcome. And on his arrival he proved of great service to those who by God's grace had believed,

²² So he despatched two of his assistants to Macedonia, Timotheus and Erastus, while he himself stayed on awhile in Asia.

²⁹ So the city was filled with confusion. They rushed like one man into the amphitheatre, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were travelling with Paul.

⁴ His company as far as Asia consisted of Sopater of Beroea (the son of Pyrrhus), Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius of Derbe, Timotheus, and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia.

³² And now I entrust you to God and the word of his grace; he is able to upbuild you and give you your inheritance among all the consecrated.

³⁷ They all broke into loud lamentation and falling upon the neck of Paul kissed him fondly,

¹⁷ I will rescue you from the People and also from the Gentiles — to whom I send you, ¹⁸ that their eyes may be opened and that they may turn from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, to get remission of their sins and an inheritance among those who are consecrated by faith in me.'

²² To this day I have had the help of God in standing, as I now do, to testify alike to low and high, never uttering a single syllable beyond what the prophets and Moses predicted was to take place. ²³ that the Christ is capable of suffering, and that he should be the first to rise from the dead and bring the message of light to the People and to the Gentiles?"

² (which he promised of old by his prophets in the holy scriptures)

⁵ through whom I have received the favour of my commission to promote obedience to the faith for his sake among all the Gentiles,

⁷ to all in Rome who are beloved by God, called to be saints, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ⁸ First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because the report of your faith is over all the world.

²⁰ for ever since the world was created, his invisible nature, his everlasting power and divine being, have been quite perceptible in what he has made. So they have no excuse.

¹⁶ on the day when God judges the secret things of men, as my gospel holds, by Jesus Christ.

²¹ But now we have a righteousness of God disclosed apart from law altogether; it is attested by the Law and the prophets,

⁷ Why, a man will hardly die for the just — though one might bring oneself to die, if need be, for a good man.

¹ Thus there is no doom now for those who are in Christ Jesus;

²⁹ For he decreed of old that those whom he predestined should share the likeness of his Son — that he might be the firstborn of a great brotherhood.

³⁷ No, in all this we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

¹⁶ If the first handful of dough is consecrated, so is the rest of the lump; if the root is consecrated, so are the branches.

³³ What a fathomless wealth lies in the wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable his judgments! How mysterious his methods! ³⁴ Who ever understood the thoughts of the Lord? Who has ever been his counsellor?

³⁶ All comes from him, all lives by him, all ends in him. Glory to him for ever, Amen!

⁴ Who are you to criticize the servant of Another? It is for his Master to say whether he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Master has power to make him stand.

¹⁸ he who serves Christ on these lines, is acceptable to God and esteemed by men.

⁴ All such words were written of old for our instruction, that by remaining stedfast and drawing encouragement from the scriptures we may cherish hope.

⁷ Welcome one another, then, as Christ has welcomed yourselves, for the glory of God.

¹⁸ I will not make free to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished by me in the way of securing the obedience of the Gentiles, by my words and by my deeds,

²⁶ For Macedonia and Achaia have decided to make a contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.

³³ The God of peace be with you all! Amen.

² receive her in the Lord as saints should receive one another, and give her any help she may require. She has been a help herself to many people, including myself.

² receive her in the Lord as saints should receive one another, and give her any help she may require. She has been a help herself to many people, including myself. ³ Salute Prisca and Aquila, my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus,

³ Salute Prisca and Aquila, my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus, ⁴ who have risked their lives for me; I thank them, and not only I but all the Gentile churches as well. ⁵ Also, salute the church that meets in their house. Salute my beloved Epaenetus, the first in Asia to be reaped for Christ. ⁶ Salute Mary, who has worked hard for you. ⁷ Salute Andronicus and Junias, fellow-countrymen and fellow-prisoners of mine; they are men of note among the apostles, and they have been in Christ longer than I have. ⁸ Salute Amplias, my beloved in the Lord. ⁹ Salute Urbanus, our fellow-worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys.

¹¹ Salute my fellow-countryman Herodion. Salute such members of the household of Narcissus as are in the Lord. ¹² Salute Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who work hard in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis; she has worked very hard in the Lord.

¹⁴ Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers of their company.

¹⁹ Everyone has heard of your loyalty to the gospel; it makes me rejoice over you. Still, I want you to be experts in good and innocents in evil. ²⁰ The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. ²¹ Timotheus my fellow-worker salutes you; so do my fellow countrymen Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater.

²³ Gaius, my host and the host of the church at large salutes you. Erastus the city-treasurer salutes you; so does brother Quartus.

¹⁰ Brothers, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ I beg of you all to drop these party-cries. There must be no cliques among you; you must regain your common temper and attitude. ¹¹ For Chloe's people inform me that you are quarrelling. ¹² By 'quarrelling' I mean that each of you has his party-cry, "I belong to Paul," "And I to Apollos," "And I to Cephas," "And I to Christ." ¹³ Has Christ been parcelled out? Was it Paul who was crucified for you? Was it in Paul's name that you were baptized? ¹⁴ I am thankful now that I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius,

²³ but our message is Christ the crucified — a stumbling-block to the Jews, 'sheer folly' to the Gentiles,

³⁰ This is the God to whom you owe your being in Christ Jesus, whom God has made our 'Wisdom,' that is, our righteousness and consecration and redemption;

¹ Thus when I came to you, my brothers, I did not come to proclaim to you God's secret purpose with any elaborate words or wisdom. ² I determined among you to be ignorant of everything except Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ the crucified.

⁷ it is the mysterious Wisdom of God that we discuss, that hidden wisdom which God decreed from all eternity for our glory.

³ you are still worldly. For with jealousy and quarrels in your midst, are you not worldly, are you not behaving like ordinary men?

¹ This is how you are to look upon us, as servants of Christ and stewards of God's secret truths.

⁹ In my letter I wrote that you were not to associate with the immoral. ¹⁰ I did not mean you were literally to avoid contact with the immoral in this world, with the lustful and the thievish, or with idolaters; in that case you would have to leave the world altogether. ¹¹ What I now write is that you are not to associate with any so-called brother who is immoral or lustful or idolatrous or given to abuse or drink or robbery. Associate with him! Do not even eat with him!

¹⁷ Only, everyone must lead the lot assigned him by the Lord; he must go on living the life in which God's call came to him. (Such is the rule I lay down for all the churches).

¹⁸ First of all, in your church-meetings I am told that cliques prevail. And I partly believe it. ¹⁹ There must be parties among you, if genuine Christians are to be recognized.

²⁰ Brothers, do not be children in the sphere of intelligence; in evil be mere infants, but be mature in your intelligence.

¹⁰ But by God's grace I am what I am. The grace he showed me did not go for nothing; no, I have done far more work than all of them — though it was not I but God's grace at my side.

⁵⁸ Well then, my beloved brothers, hold your ground, immovable; abound in work for the Lord at all times, for you may be sure that in the Lord your labour is never thrown away.

¹ With regard to the collection for the saints, you must carry out the same arrangements as I made for the churches of Galatia. ² On the first day of the week let each of you put aside a sum from his weekly gains, so that the money may not have to be collected when I come. ³ On my arrival I will furnish credentials for those whom you select, and send them to convey your bounty to Jerusalem; ⁴ if the sum makes it worth my while to go too, they shall accompany me.

¹⁵ I ask this favour of you, my brothers. The household of Stephanas, you know, was the first to be reaped in Achaia, and they have laid themselves out to serve the saints. ¹⁶ Well, I want you to put yourselves under people like that, under everyone who sets his hand to the work.

¹⁹ The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Prisca, with the church that meets in their house, salute you warmly in the Lord. ²⁰ All the brotherhood salutes you. Salute one another with a holy kiss. ²¹ I Paul write this salutation with my own hand.

²³ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

¹ PAUL an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and brother Timotheus, to the church of God at Corinth as well as to all the saints throughout the whole of Achaia:

¹⁹ for the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed among you by us (by myself and Silvanus and Timotheus) was not 'yes and no' — the divine 'yes' has at last sounded in him,

⁹ For my aim in writing was simply to test you, to see if you were absolutely obedient.

¹⁷ I am, for I am not like most, adulterating the word of God; like a man of sincerity, like a man of God, I speak the word in Christ before the very presence of God.

¹ Am I beginning again to 'commend' myself? Do I need, like some people, to be commended by written certificates either to you or from you?

² I disown those practices which very shame conceals from view; I do not go about it craftily; I do not falsify the word of God; I state the truth openly and so commend myself to every man's conscience before God. ³ Even if my gospel is veiled, it is only veiled in the case of the perishing;

⁵ (It is Christ Jesus as Lord, not myself, that I proclaim; I am simply a servant of yours for Jesus' sake.)

¹⁷ There is a new creation whenever a man comes to be in Christ; what is old is gone, the new has come.

²¹ For our sakes He made him to be sin who himself knew nothing of sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

²² Along with them I am also sending our brother: I have had ample proof of his keen interest on many occasions, and it is specially keen on this occasion, as he has absolute confidence in you.

² I know how willing you are, I am proud of it, I have boasted of you to the Macedonians: "Achaia," I tell them, "was all ready last year." And your zeal has been a stimulus to the majority of them.

³ but I am afraid of your thoughts getting seduced from a single devotion to Christ, just as the serpent beguiled Eve with his cunning.

¹³ 'Apostles'? They are spurious apostles, false workmen — they are masquerading as 'apostles of Christ.' ¹⁴ No wonder they do, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. ¹⁵ So it is no surprise if his ministers also masquerade as ministers of righteousness. Their doom will answer to their deeds.

²³ Ministers of Christ? yes perhaps, but not as much as I am (I am mad to talk like this!), with all my labours, with all my lashes, with all my time in prison — a record longer far than theirs. I have been often at the point of death;

¹² Salute one another with a holy kiss.

¹⁴ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with you all.

⁴ who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil world — by the will of our God and Father, ⁵ to whom be glory for ever and ever: Amen.

⁷ It simply means that certain individuals are unsettling you; they want to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸ Now even though it were myself or some angel from heaven, whoever preaches a gospel that contradicts the gospel I preached to you, God's curse be on him! ⁹ I have said it before and I now repeat it: whoever preaches a gospel to you that contradicts the gospel you have already received, God's curse be on him! ¹⁰ Now is that 'appealing to the interests of men' or of God? Trying to 'satisfy men'? Why, if I still tried to give satisfaction to human masters, I would be no servant of Christ.

²² Personally I was quite unknown to the Christian churches of Judaea;

² (It was in consequence of a revelation that I went up at all.) I submitted the gospel I am in the habit of preaching to the Gentiles, submitting it privately to the authorities, to make sure that my course of action would be and had been sound.

⁴ There were traitors of false brothers, who had crept in to spy out the freedom we enjoy in Christ Jesus; they did aim at enslaving us again.

⁶ Besides, the so-called 'authorities' (it makes no difference to me what their status used to be — God pays no regard to the externals of men), these 'authorities' had no additions to make to my gospel.

⁸ Besides, Scripture anticipated God's justification of the Gentiles by faith when it announced the gospel beforehand to Abraham in these terms: All nations shall be blessed in thee.

⁶ in Christ Jesus circumcision is not valid, neither is uncircumcision, but only faith active in love.

¹¹ See what big letters I make, when I write you in my own hand!

¹⁵ For what counts is neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, it is the new creation.

¹⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

¹ PAUL, by the will of God an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the saints who are faithful in Jesus Christ:

⁴ He chose us in him ere the world was founded, to be consecrated and unblemished in his sight,

⁷ in whom we enjoy our redemption, the forgiveness of our trespasses, by the blood he shed. ⁸ So richly has God lavished his grace upon us! ⁹ He has granted us complete insight and understanding of the open secret of his will, showing us how it was the purpose of his design

¹⁵ Hence, as I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶ I never cease to give thanks for you, when I mention you in my prayers. ¹⁷ May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, grant you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation for the knowledge of himself, ¹⁸ illuminating the eyes of your heart so that you can understand the hope to which He calls us, the wealth of his glorious heritage in the saints,

¹⁰ God has made us what we are, creating us in Christ Jesus for the good deeds which are prepared beforehand by God as our sphere of action.

²⁰ you are a building that rests on the apostles and prophets as its foundation, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone;

³ how the divine secret was disclosed to me by a revelation (if you read what I have already written briefly about this, ⁴ you can understand my insight into that secret of Christ ⁵ which was not disclosed to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his sacred apostles and prophets by the Spirit),

⁹ and enlighten all men upon the new order of that divine secret which God the Creator of all concealed from eternity — ¹⁰ intending to let the full sweep of the divine wisdom be disclosed now by the church to the angelic Rulers and Authorities in the heavenly sphere, ¹¹ in terms of the eternal purpose which he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,

²⁰ Now to him who by the action of his power within us can do all things, aye far more than we ever ask or imagine, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever: Amen.

³ Never let any sexual vice or impurity or lust be so much as mentioned by you — that is the proper course for saints to take;

¹⁷ So do not be senseless, but understand what is the Lord's will;

¹⁹ and on my behalf also, that I may be allowed to speak and open my lips in order to expound fully and freely that open secret of the gospel

¹ PAUL and Timotheus, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, as well as to the bishops and deacons:

⁹ And it is my prayer that your love may be more and more rich in knowledge and all manner of insight, enabling you to have a sense of what is vital,

²⁷ Only, do lead a life that is worthy of the gospel of Christ. Whether I come and see you or only hear of you in absence, let me know you are standing firm in a common spirit, fighting side by side like one man for the faith of the gospel.

¹⁵ so as to be blameless and innocent, faultless children of God in a crooked and perverse generation where you shine like stars in a dark world;

¹⁹ I hope in the Lord Jesus to send you Timotheus before long, that I may be heartened by news of you. ²⁰ I have no one like him, for genuine interest in your welfare. ²¹ Everybody is selfish, instead of caring for Jesus Christ.

²¹ Everybody is selfish, instead of caring for Jesus Christ. ²² But you know how he has stood the test, how he has served with me in the gospel, like a son helping his father.

²² But you know how he has stood the test, how he has served with me in the gospel, like a son helping his father. ²³ I hope to send him then, as soon as ever I see how it will go with me —

²⁹ Give him a welcome in the Lord, then, with your hearts full of joy. Value men like that, ³⁰ for he nearly died in the service of Christ by risking his life to make up for the services you were not here to render me.

² Beware of these dogs, these wicked workmen, the incision-party! ³ We are the true Circumcision, we who worship God in spirit, we who pride ourselves on Christ Jesus, we who rely upon no outward privilege.

¹⁷ Copy me, brothers, one and all of you, and notice those who live by the example you get from me.

¹⁹ Destruction is their fate, the belly is their god, they glory in their shame, these men of earthly mind!

¹ So then, my brothers, for whom I cherish love and longing, my joy and crown, this is how you must stand firm in the Lord, O my beloved.

¹⁴ But you were kind enough to take your share in my trouble. ¹⁵ You Philippians are well aware that in the early days of the gospel, when I had left Macedonia, no church but yourselves had any financial dealings with me; ¹⁶ even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent money more than once for my needs. ¹⁷ It is not the money I am anxious for; what I am anxious for is the interest that accumulates in this way to your divine credit! ¹⁸ Your debt to me is fully paid and more than paid! I am amply supplied with what you have sent by Epaphroditus, a fragrant perfume, the sort of sacrifice that God approves and welcomes. ¹⁹ My God will supply all your own needs from his wealth in Glory in Christ Jesus. ²⁰ Glory to God our Father for ever and ever: Amen.

²³ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

¹ Paul, by God's will an apostle of Christ Jesus, and brother Timotheus, ² to the consecrated and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: grace and peace to you from God our Father. ³ We always thank the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you, ⁴ since we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints, ⁵ due to the hope which is laid up for you in heaven. You heard of this hope originally in the message of the Truth, in that gospel ⁶ which has reached you as it spreads over all the world with fruit and increase. Such has been your life from the day you learned to know what God's grace really is. ⁷ You got that lesson from our beloved fellow-servant Epaphras, a minister of Christ who is faithful to your interests; ⁸ and it is he who has informed us of your love in the Spirit. ⁹ Hence, from the day we heard of it, we have never ceased to pray for you, asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and insight,

²⁶ of that open secret which, though concealed from ages and generations of old, has now been disclosed to the saints of God.

²⁶ of that open secret which, though concealed from ages and generations of old, has now been disclosed to the saints of God. ²⁷ It is His will that they should understand the glorious wealth which this secret holds for the Gentiles, in the fact of Christ's presence among you as your hope of glory.

²⁹ I labour for that end, striving for it with the divine energy which is a power within me.

² May their hearts be encouraged! May they learn the meaning of love! May they have all the wealth of conviction that comes from insight! May they learn to know that open secret of God, the Father of Christ, ³ in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge lie hidden! ⁴ I say this to prevent you from being deluded by plausible arguments from anybody;

⁸ Beware of anyone getting hold of you by means of a theosophy which is specious make-believe, on the lines of human tradition, corresponding to the Elemental spirits of the world and not to Christ.

¹⁶ Let the inspiration of Christ dwell in your midst with all its wealth of wisdom; teach and train one another with the music of psalms, with hymns, and songs of the spiritual life; praise God with thankful hearts. ¹⁷ Indeed, whatever you say or do, let everything be done in dependence on the Lord Jesus, giving thanks in his name to God the Father.

²⁴ remember, you will receive from the Lord the inheritance which is your due; serve Christ your Lord and Master,

¹⁰ Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner salutes you; so does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, about whom you have got instructions (if he comes to you, give him a welcome);

¹² Epaphras, who is one of yourselves, salutes you — a servant of Christ Jesus who is always earnest in prayer for you, that you may stand firm like mature and convinced Christians, whatever be the will of God for you.

¹⁵ Salute the brothers at Laodicea, also Nympha and the church which meets at her house.

¹ Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: grace and peace to you. ² We always thank God for you all when we mention you constantly in our prayers, ³ as we recall your active faith and labour of love and patient hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father.

³ as we recall your active faith and labour of love and patient hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father.

⁸ for the word of the Lord has resounded from you not only through Macedonia and Achaia — no, your faith in God has reached every place. We never need to speak about it. ⁹ People tell us of their own accord about the visit we paid to you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and a real God

¹⁴ for you have started, my brothers, to copy the churches of God in Christ Jesus throughout Judaea; you have suffered from your compatriots just as they have suffered from the Jews,

² I sent Timotheus our brother, a minister of God in the gospel of Christ, for your strengthening and encouragement in the faith,

⁶ But when Timotheus reached me a moment ago, on his return from you, bringing me the good news of your faith and love and of how you always remember me kindly, longing to see me as I long to see you,

⁶ But when Timotheus reached me a moment ago, on his return from you, bringing me the good news of your faith and love and of how you always remember me kindly, longing to see me as I long to see you, ⁷ then, amid all my own distress and trouble, I was cheered — this faith of yours encouraged me. ⁸ It is life to me now, if you stand firm in the Lord. ⁹ How can I render thanks enough to God for you, for all the joy you make me feel in the presence of our God? ¹⁰ Night and day I pray specially that I may see your faces and supply what is defective in your faith.

¹³ so as to strengthen your hearts and make them blameless in holiness before our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. [Amen.]

¹² Brothers, we beg you to respect those who are working among you, presiding over you in the Lord and maintaining discipline; ¹³ hold them in special esteem and affection, for the sake of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.

²⁶ Salute everyone of the brothers with a holy kiss.

²⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. [Amen.]

¹ PAUL and Silvanus and Timotheus, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

¹⁰ and with the full deceitfulness of evil for those who are doomed to perish, since they refuse to love the Truth that would save them.

¹³ Now we are bound always to thank God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you as the first to be reaped for salvation, by the consecration of your spirit and by faith in the Truth; ¹⁴ it was for this that he called you by our gospel, to gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁶ And may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope, ¹⁷ graciously encourage your hearts and strengthen them for all good in deed and word.

³ However, the Lord is faithful; he will be sure to strengthen you and protect you from the Evil one.

⁶ Brothers, we charge you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to shun any brother who is loafing, instead of following the rule you got from us.

¹⁴ Only, if anyone will not obey our orders in this letter, mark that man, do not associate with him — that will make him feel ashamed! ¹⁵ You are not to treat him as an enemy, but to put him under discipline, as a brother.

¹⁸ 'The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.'

² to Timotheus his lawful son in the faith: grace, mercy, peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. ³ As I asked you when I was on my way to Macedonia, stay where you are at Ephesus and warn certain individuals against teaching novelties

¹⁷ To the King of eternity, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever: Amen.

¹⁰ but with good deeds (as befits women who make a religious profession).

¹⁰ They too must be put on probation; after that, if they are above reproach, they can serve as deacons.

¹⁰ that "we toil and strive because our hope is fixed upon the living God, the Saviour of all men" — of believers in particular.

² older women like mothers, younger women like sisters — with perfect propriety.

⁹ No one under sixty is to be put on the church's list of widows; and she must have been only once married, ¹⁰ she must have a reputation for good service, as a woman who has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the feet of the saints, relieved distress, and interested herself in all good works.

¹⁰ she must have a reputation for good service, as a woman who has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the feet of the saints, relieved distress, and interested herself in all good works.

¹⁷ Presbyters who are efficient presidents are to be considered worthy of ample remuneration, particularly those who have the task of preaching and teaching: ¹⁸ Scripture says, You must not muzzle an ox when he is treading the grain, and A workman deserves his wages.

³ Anyone who teaches novelties and refuses to fall in with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the doctrine that tallies with piety, ⁴ is a conceited, ignorant creature, with a morbid passion for controversy and argument which only leads to envy, dissension, insults, insinuations, ⁵ and constant friction between people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the Truth. They imagine religion is a paying concern.

⁵ and constant friction between people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the Truth. They imagine religion is a paying concern.

¹¹ Shun that, O man of God, aim at integrity, piety, faith, love, stedfastness, and suavity;

¹⁶ who alone has immortality, who dwells in light that none can approach, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To him be honour and eternal dominion: Amen.

²⁰ O Timotheus, keep the securities of the faith intact: avoid the profane jargon and contradictions of what is falsely called 'Knowledge.'

² to his beloved son Timotheus: grace, mercy, peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

⁹ who has saved us and called us to a life of consecration — not for anything we have done but because he chose to do it himself, by the grace which he gave us ages ago in Christ Jesus ¹⁰ and has now revealed in the appearance of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who has put down death and brought life and immortality to light by the gospel.

¹⁸ (may he find favour with the Lord on the great Day! The Lord grant it!). And you know very well what a help he was to me in Ephesus.

⁸ Never forget "Jesus Christ risen from the dead, descended from David" — that is my gospel,

¹⁶ Avoid all that profane jargon, for it leads people still further into irreligion, ¹⁷ and their doctrine spreads like a gangrene. So it is with Hymenaeus and Philetus; ¹⁸ they have failed in the Truth by arguing that the resurrection has taken place already, and they are undermining some people's faith.

² For men will be selfish, fond of money, boastful, haughty, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, irreverent, ³ callous, relentless, scurrilous, dissolute, and savage; they will hate goodness, ⁴ they will be treacherous, reckless and conceited, preferring pleasure to God — ⁵ for though they keep up a form of religion, they will have nothing to do with it as a force. Avoid all such.

⁵ for though they keep up a form of religion, they will have nothing to do with it as a force. Avoid all such. ⁶ Some of them worm their way into families and get hold of the women-folk who feel crushed by the burden of their sins — wayward creatures of impulse,

¹⁵ remember you have known from childhood the sacred writings that can impart saving wisdom by faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for amendment, and for moral discipline, ¹⁷ to make the man of God proficient and equip him for good work of every kind.

¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every assault of evil, he will bring me safe to his own realm in heaven. To him be glory for ever and ever! Amen. ¹⁹ Salute Prisca and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. ²⁰ Erastus stayed on at Corinth: I left Trophimus ill at Miletus.

²² The Lord Jesus be with your spirit. Grace be with you all.

² serving in hope of the life eternal which God, who never lies, promised ages ago —

² serving in hope of the life eternal which God, who never lies, promised ages ago — ³ he gave effect to his word in due time by a proclamation with which I have been entrusted by command of God our Saviour: —

¹⁰ For there are plenty of insubordinate creatures who impose on people with their empty arguments, particularly those who have come over from Judaism; ¹¹ they must be silenced, for they are undermining whole families by teaching objectionable doctrine for the base end of making money. ¹² It has been said by one of themselves, by a prophet of their own, that — "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons."

³ Tell the older women also to be reverent in their demeanour and not to be slanderers or slaves to drink;

¹⁰ After a first and a second warning have no more to do with a factious person;

² to our sister Apphia, to our fellow-soldier Archippus, and to the church that meets in your house:

¹² I am sending him back to you, and parting with my very heart.

¹⁷ You count me a partner? Then receive him as you would receive me,

²³ Epaphras my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus salutes you.

²⁵ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

¹⁴ Since the children then share blood and flesh, he himself participated in their nature, so that by dying he might crush him who wields the power of death (that is to say, the devil) ¹⁵ and release from thraldom those who lay under a life-long fear of death.

¹ Holy brothers, you who participate in a heavenly calling, look at Jesus then, at the apostle and high priest of our confession;

¹⁰ God is not unfair; he will not forget what you have done, or the love you have shown for his sake in ministering, as you still do, to the saints. ¹¹ It is my heart's desire that each of you would prove equally keen upon realizing your full hope to the very end,

²⁵ Hence for all time he is able to save those who approach God through him, as he is always living to intercede on their behalf.

¹⁴ how much more shall the blood of Christ, who in the spirit of the eternal offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve a living God?

⁸ Jesus Christ is always the same, yesterday, to-day, and for ever.

¹⁵ And by him let us constantly offer praise to God as our sacrifice, that is, the fruit of lips that celebrate his Name.

²¹ furnish you with everything for the doing of his will, creating in your lives by Jesus Christ what is acceptable in his own sight! To him be glory for ever and ever: Amen.

²³ You must understand that [our] brother Timotheus is now free. If he comes soon, he and I will see you together.

¹ James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: greeting.

¹⁸ It was his own will that we should be born by the Word of the truth, to be a kind of firstfruits among his creatures.

¹⁵ Suppose some brother or sister is ill-clad and short of daily food;

¹³ Who among you is wise and learned? Let him show by his good conduct, with the modesty of wisdom, what his deeds are. ¹⁴ But if you are cherishing bitter jealousy and rivalry in your hearts, do not pride yourselves on that — and be false to the truth. ¹⁵ That is not the wisdom which comes down from above, it is an earthly wisdom, sensuous, devilish; ¹⁶ for wherever jealousy and rivalry exist, there disorder reigns and every evil. ¹⁷ The wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, forbearing, conciliatory, full of mercy and wholesome fruit, unambiguous, straightforward; ¹⁸ and the peacemakers who sow in peace reap righteousness.

² whom God the Father has predestined and chosen, by the consecration of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood: may grace and peace be multiplied to you.

⁷ that is only to prove your faith is sterling (far more precious than gold which is perishable and yet is tested by fire), and it redounds to your praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹⁰ Even prophets have searched and inquired about that salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was meant for you; ¹¹ the Spirit of messiah within them foretold all the suffering of messiah and his after-glory, and they pondered when or how this was to come; ¹² to them it was revealed that they got this intelligence not for themselves but for you, regarding all that has now been disclosed to you by those who preached the gospel to you through the holy Spirit sent from heaven. The very angels long to get a glimpse of this!

²⁰ He was predestined before the foundation of the world and has appeared at the end of the ages for your sake;

²² Now that your obedience to the Truth has purified your souls for a brotherly love that is sincere, love one another heartily and steadily. ²³ You are born anew of immortal, not of mortal seed, by the living, lasting word of God;

⁵ come and, like living stones yourselves, be built into a spiritual house, to form a consecrated priesthood for the offering of those spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

¹⁰ Once you have suffered for a little, the God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will repair and recruit and strengthen you.

¹⁰ Once you have suffered for a little, the God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will repair and recruit and strengthen you. ¹¹ The dominion is his for ever and ever: Amen.

¹⁴ Salute one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all who are in Christ [Jesus].

¹ Still, false prophets did appear among the People, as among you also there will be false teachers, men who will insinuate destructive heresies, even disowning the Lord who ransomed them; they bring rapid destruction on themselves, ² and many will follow their immorality (thanks to them the true Way will be maligned); ³ in their lust they will exploit you with cunning arguments — men whose doom comes apace from of old, and destruction is awake upon their trail.

¹⁰ particularly those who fall in with the polluting appetite of the flesh and despise the Powers celestial. Daring, presumptuous creatures! they are not afraid to scoff at the angelic Glories; ¹¹ whereas even angels, superior in might and power, lay no scoffing charge against these before the Lord. ¹² But those people! — like irrational animals, creatures of mere instinct, born for capture and corruption, they scoff at what they are ignorant of; and like animals they will suffer corruption and ruin, ¹³ done out of the profits of their evil-doing. Pleasure for them is revelling in open daylight — spots and blots, with their dissipated revelling, as they carouse in your midst! — ¹⁴ their eyes are full of harlotry, insatiable for sin; their own hearts trained to lust, they beguile unsteady souls. Accursed generation! ¹⁵ they have gone wrong by leaving the straight road, by following the road of Balaam son of Bosor, who liked the profits of evil-doing —

¹⁸ By talking arrogant futilities they beguile with the sensual lure of fleshly passion those who are just escaping from the company of misconduct — ¹⁹ promising them freedom, when they are themselves enslaved to corruption (for a man is the slave of whatever overpowers him). ²⁰ After escaping the pollutions of the world by the knowledge of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ, if they get entangled and overpowered again, the last state is worse for them than the first.

¹⁸ but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. To him be the glory now and to the day of eternity: Amen.

¹⁹ They withdrew from us, but they did not belong to us; had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us, but they withdrew to make it plain that they are none of us.

⁸ he who commits sin belongs to the devil, for the devil is a sinner from the very beginning. (This is why the Son of God appeared, to destroy the deeds of the devil.)

¹⁴ We know we have crossed from death to life, because we love the brotherhood; he who has no love [for his brother] remains in death.

¹⁶ We know what love is by this, that He laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for the brotherhood.

¹ Do not believe every spirit, beloved, but test the spirits to see if they come from God; for many false prophets have emerged in the world. ² You can recognize the Spirit of God by this: every spirit which confesses Jesus as the Christ incarnate comes from God, ³ and every spirit which does not confess Jesus [incarnate] does not come from God. This latter is the spirit of antichrist; you were told it was coming, and here it is already in the world.

¹³ This is how we may be sure we remain in him and he in us, because he has given us a share in his own Spirit;

²⁰ We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us insight to know Him who is the Real God; and we are in Him who is real, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the real God, this is life eternal.

¹ The presbyter, to the elect Lady and her children whom I love in the Truth (and not only I but all who know the Truth)

⁷ I say this, because a number of impostors have emerged in the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; that marks the real 'impostor' and 'antichrist.' ⁸ Watch yourselves; you must not lose what you have been working for, but gain a full reward. ⁹ Anyone who is 'advanced' and will not remain by the doctrine of Christ, does not possess God: he who remains by the doctrine of Christ possesses both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not admit him to the house — do not even greet him,

¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not admit him to the house — do not even greet him, ¹¹ for he who greets him shares in his wicked work.

¹ The presbyter, to the beloved Gaius whom I love in the Truth.

¹ The presbyter, to the beloved Gaius whom I love in the Truth. ² Beloved, I pray you may prosper in every way and keep well — as indeed your soul is keeping well. ³ For I was overjoyed when some brothers arrived and testified to the truth of your life, as indeed you do lead the true Life; ⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear of my children living in the Truth. ⁵ Beloved, you are acting loyally in rendering any service to the brothers and especially to strangers;

⁵ Beloved, you are acting loyally in rendering any service to the brothers and especially to strangers; ⁶ they have testified to your love before the church. Pray speed them on their journey worthily of God;

⁶ they have testified to your love before the church. Pray speed them on their journey worthily of God; ⁷ they have started out for his sake and declined to take anything from pagans; ⁸ hence we are bound to support such men, to prove ourselves allies of the Truth. ⁹ I have written to the church; only, Diotrephes, who likes to take the lead among them, repudiates me. ¹⁰ So when I come, I shall bring up what he is doing, babbling against me with wicked words — and, not satisfied with words, he refuses to welcome the brothers, checks those who want to welcome them, and excommunicates them from the church.

¹ Judas, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, to those who have been called, who are beloved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ:

¹² These people are stains on your love-feasts; they have no qualms about carousing in your midst, they look after none but themselves — rainless clouds, swept along by the wind, trees in autumn without fruit, doubly dead and so uprooted,

¹⁶ For these people are murmurers, grumbling at their lot in life — they fall in with their own passions, their talk is arrogant, they pay court to men to benefit themselves.

¹⁹ These are the people who set up divisions and distinctions, sensuous creatures, destitute of the Spirit.

²⁴ Now to him who is able to keep you from slipping and to make you stand unblemished and exultant before his glory — ²⁵ to the only God, our saviour through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and for all time: Amen.

²⁵ to the only God, our saviour through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and for all time: Amen.

¹ A revelation by Jesus Christ, which God granted him for his servants, to show them what must come to pass very soon; he disclosed it by sending it through his angel to his servant John,

⁴ John to the seven churches in Asia: grace be to you and peace from HE WHO IS AND WAS AND IS COMING, and from the seven Spirits before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born from the dead, and the prince over the kings of earth; to him who loves us and has loosed us from our sins by shedding his blood — ⁶ he has made us a realm of priests for his God and Father, — to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever: Amen.

⁸ "I am the alpha and the omega," saith the Lord God, who is and was and is coming, the almighty. ⁹ I John, your brother and your companion in the distress and realm and patient endurance which Jesus brings, found myself in the island called Patmos, for adhering to God's word and the testimony of Jesus.

⁹ I John, your brother and your companion in the distress and realm and patient endurance which Jesus brings, found myself in the island called Patmos, for adhering to God's word and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ On the Lord's day I found myself rapt in the Spirit, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet calling, ¹¹ "Write your vision in a book, and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and Smyrna and Pergamum and Thyatira and Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea."

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man; but he laid his hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and Last,

⁹ And whenever the living Creatures render glory and honour and thanksgiving to him who is seated on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, ¹⁰ the four and twenty Presbyters fall down before him who is seated on the throne, worshipping him who lives for ever and ever, and casting their crowns before the throne, with the cry, ¹¹ "Thou deservest, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for it was thou who didst create all things: they existed and were created by thy will."

⁹ singing a new song: "Thou deservest to take the scroll and open its seals, for thou wast slain and by shedding thy blood hast ransomed for God men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation; ¹⁰ thou hast made them kings and priests for our God, and they shall reign on earth." ¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels round the throne and of the living Creatures and of the Presbyters, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹² crying aloud, "The slain Lamb deserves to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing." ¹³ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth crying, "Blessing and honour and glory and dominion for ever and ever, to him who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb!" ¹⁴ "Amen," said the four living Creatures, and the Presbyters fell down and worshipped.

¹⁰ and they cried with a loud voice, "Saved by our God who is seated on the throne, and by the Lamb!" ¹¹ And all the angels surrounded the throne and the Presbyters and the four living Creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne, worshipping God ¹² and crying, "Even so! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God for ever and ever: Amen!"

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, "Now it has come, the salvation and power, the reign of our God and the authority of his Christ! — for the Accuser of our brothers is thrown down, who accused them before God day and night.

⁴ They have not been defiled by intercourse with women — they are celibates; they follow the Lamb wherever he goes; they have been ransomed from among men, as the first to be reaped for God and the Lamb.

¹ After that I heard what was like the shout of a great host in heaven, crying, "Hallelujah! salvation and glory and power are our God's! ² True and just are his sentences of doom; he has doomed the great Harlot who destroyed earth with her vice, he has avenged on her the blood of his servants." ³ Again they repeated, "Hallelujah! And the smoke of her goes up for ever and ever!" ⁴ Then the four and twenty Presbyters and the four living Creatures fell down and worshipped God who is seated on the throne, crying, "So be it, hallelujah!" ⁵ And a voice came from the throne, "Extol our God, all ye his servants, ye who reverence him, low and high!" ⁶ Then I heard a cry like the shout of a great host and the sound of many waves and the roar of heavy thunder — "Hallelujah! now the Lord our God almighty reigns!

¹⁰ Then I fell before his feet to worship him; but he said to me, "No, not that! I am but a servant like yourself and your brothers, who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God" (for the testimony borne by Jesus is the breath of all prophecy).

¹ Then I saw an angel descend from heaven with the key of the abyss and a huge chain in his hand; ² he gripped the dragon, that old serpent (who is the devil and Satan), and bound him for a thousand years, ³ flinging him into the abyss and shutting and sealing it on the top of him, to prevent him seducing the nations again until the thousand years were completed — after which he has to be released for a little while.

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.