Romans 16 Cross References - Twentieth_Century

¹ I commend to your care our Sister, Phoebe, who helps in the work of the Church at Cenchreae; ² And I ask you to give her a Christian welcome--one worthy of Christ's People--and to aid her in any matter in which she may need your assistance. She has proved herself a staunch friend to me and to many others. ³ Give my greeting to Prisca and Aquila, my fellow-workers in the Cause of Christ Jesus, ⁴ Who risked their own lives to save mine. It is not I alone who thank them, but all the Churches among the Gentiles thank them also. ⁵ Give my greeting, also, to the Church that meets at their house, as well as to my dear friend Epaenetus, one of the first in Roman Asia to believe in Christ; ⁶ To Mary, who worked hard for you; ⁷ To Andronicus and Junias, my countrymen and once my fellow- prisoners, who are men of note among the Apostles, and who became Christians before I did; ⁸ To my dear Christian friend Ampliatus; ⁹ To Urban, our fellow-worker in the Cause of Christ, and to my dear friend Stachys; ¹⁰ To that proved Christian Apelles; to the household of Aristobulus; ¹¹ To my countryman Herodion; to the Christians in the household of Narcissus; ¹² To Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who have worked hard for the Master; to my dear friend Persis, for she has done much hard work for the Master; ¹³ To that eminent Christian, Rufus, and to his mother, who has been a mother to me also; ¹⁴ To Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the Brothers with them; ¹⁵ Also to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and to all Christ's People who are with them. ¹⁶ Greet one another with a sacred kiss. All the Churches of the Christ send you greetings. ¹⁷ I urge you, Brothers, to be on your guard against people who, by disregarding the teaching which you received, cause divisions and create difficulties; dissociate yourselves from them. ¹⁸ For such persons are not serving Christ, our Master, but are slaves to their own appetites; and, by their smooth words and flattery, they deceive simple-minded people. ¹⁹ Every one has heard of your ready obedience. It is true that I am very happy about you, but I want you to be well versed in all that is good, and innocent of all that is bad. ²⁰ And God, the giver of peace, will before long crush Satan under your feet. May the blessing of Jesus, our Lord, be with you. ²¹ Timothy, my fellow-worker, sends you his greetings, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my countrymen, send theirs. ²² I Tertius, who am writing this letter, send you my Christian greeting. ²³ My host Gaius, who extends his hospitality to the whole Church, sends you his greeting; and Erastus, the City Treasurer, and Quartus, our Brother, add theirs. ²⁴ OMITTED TEXT ²⁵ Now to him who is able to strengthen you, as promised in the Good News entrusted to me and in the proclamation of Jesus Christ, in accordance with the revelation of that hidden purpose, which in past ages was kept secret but now has been revealed ²⁶ And, in obedience to the command of the Immortal God, made known through the writings of the Prophets to all nations, to secure submission to the Faith-- ²⁷ To him, I say, the wise and only God, be ascribed, through Jesus Christ, all glory for ever and ever. Amen.

²⁴ No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will attach himself to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

¹⁵ Beware of false Teachers--men who come to you in the guise of sheep, but at heart they are ravenous wolves.

³⁸ Therefore pray to the Owner of the harvest to send laborers to gather in his harvest."

¹⁶ Remember, I am sending you out as my Messengers like sheep among wolves. So be as wise as serpents, and as blameless as doves.

⁴⁰ He who welcomes you is welcoming me; and he who welcomes me is welcoming him who sent me as his Messenger. ⁴¹ He who welcomes a Prophet, because he is a Prophet, shall receive a Prophet's reward; and he who welcomes a good man, because he is a good man, shall receive a good man's reward. ⁴² And, if any one gives but a cup of cold water to one of these lowly ones because he is a disciple, I tell you that he shall assuredly not lose his reward."

⁴⁹ Then, stretching out his hands towards his disciples, he said: "Here are my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰ For any one who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

⁵⁰ For any one who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

¹⁷ For I tell you that many Prophets and good men have longed for the sight of the things which you are seeing, yet never saw them, and to hear the things which you are hearing, yet never heard them.

³⁵ in fulfillment of these words in the Prophet--'I will speak to them in parables; I will utter things kept secret since the foundation of the world.'

⁷ Alas for the world because of such snares! There cannot but be snares; yet alas for the man who is answerable for the snare!

¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, speak to the Church; and, if he also refuses to listen to the Church, treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax-gatherer.

²⁰ For where two or three have come together in my Name, I am present with them."

¹⁶ So those who are last will be first, and the first last."

¹¹ Many false Prophets, also, will appear and lead many astray;

²⁴ For false Christs and false Prophets will arise, and will display great signs and marvels, so that, were it possible, even God's People would be led astray.

⁴⁸ But, should he be a bad servant, and say to himself 'My master is a long time in coming,' ⁴⁹ And begin to beat his fellow-servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, ⁵⁰ That servant's master will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour of which he is unaware, ⁵¹ And will flog him severely, and assign him his place among the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

⁴⁰ And the King will reply 'I tell you, as often as you did it to one of these my Brothers, however lowly, you did it to me.'

⁵⁵ There were many women there, watching from a distance, who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee and had been attending on him.

¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the Faith of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ And teaching them to lay to heart all the commands that I have given you; and, remember, I myself am with you every day until the close of the age."

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

³⁰ Who will not receive a hundred times as much, even now in the present--houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and land--though not without persecutions, and, in the age that is coming, Immortal Life.

²¹ And they led Jesus out to crucify him; and they compelled a passer-by, Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them to carry his cross.

¹⁵ Then he said to them: "Go into all the world, and proclaim the Good News to all creation.

³ And Joanna (the wife of Herod's steward, Chuza), and Susannah, and many others--all of whom ministered to Jesus and his Apostles out of their means.

³ Now, go. Remember, I am sending you out as my Messengers like lambs among wolves.

¹⁹ Remember, I have given you the power to 'trample upon serpents and scorpions,' and to meet all the strength of the Enemy. Nothing shall ever harm you in any way.

²³ Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said to them alone: "Blessed are the eyes that see what you are seeing; ²⁴ For, I tell you, many Prophets and Kings wished for the sight of the things which you are seeing, yet never heard them."

¹ Jesus said to his disciples: "It is inevitable that there should be snares; yet alas for him who is answerable for them!

⁴⁴ "This is what I told you," he said, "when I was still with you--that everything that had been written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, must be fulfilled." ⁴⁵ Then he enabled them to understand the meaning of the Scriptures, saying to them: ⁴⁶ "Scripture says that the Christ should suffer, and that he should rise again from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ And that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed on his authority to all the nations--beginning at Jerusalem.

⁵⁶ He who takes my flesh for his food, and drinks my blood, remains united to me, and I to him.

²⁶ If a man is ready to serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there my servant shall be also. If a man is ready to serve me, my Father will honor him.

²⁰ At that time you will recognize that I am in union with the Father, and you with me, and I with you.

² Any unfruitful branch in me he takes away, and he cleanses every fruitful branch, that it may bear more fruit.

¹³ No one can give greater proof of love than by laying down his life for his friends.

¹⁶ It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you, and I appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that should remain, so that the Father might grant you whatever you ask in my Name.

²⁷ Then he said to that disciple: "There is your mother." And from that very hour the disciple took her to live in his house.

⁷ So God's Message spread, and the number of the disciples continued to increase rapidly in Jerusalem, and a large body of the priests accepted the Faith.

³² The passage of Scripture which he was reading was this--'Like a sheep, he was led away to slaughter, and as a lamb is dumb in the hands of its shearer, so he refrains from opening his lips. ³³ In his lowly condition justice was denied him. Who will tell the story of his generation? For his life is cut off from earth.' ³⁴ "Now," said the Treasurer, addressing Philip, "tell me, of whom is the Prophet speaking? Of himself, or of some one else?" ³⁵ Then Philip began, and, taking this passage as his text, told him the Good News about Jesus.

²⁰ And at once began in the Synagogues to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God.

³⁶ At Jaffa there lived a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which is in Greek 'Dorcas'--a Gazelle. Her life was spent in doing kind and charitable actions.

³⁹ Peter returned with them at once. On his arrival, he was taken upstairs, and all the widows came round him in tears, showing the coats and other clothing which Dorcas had made while she was among them.

⁴¹ Giving her his hand, Peter raised her up, and, calling in the widows and others of Christ's People, presented her to them alive.

⁴³ To him it is that all the Prophets bear witness, when they say that every one who believes in him receives through his Name forgiveness of sins."

¹ Among the members of the Church at Antioch there were several Prophets and Teachers--Barnabas, Simeon who was known by the name of 'Black', Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, foster-brother of Prince Herod, and Saul.

⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out fearlessly, and said: "It was necessary that the Message of God should be told to you first; but, since you reject it and reckon yourselves not worthy of the Immortal Life--we turn to the Gentiles! ⁴⁷ For this is the Lord's command to us--'I have destined thee for a Light to the Gentiles, a means of Salvation to the ends of the earth'."

¹ But certain persons came down from Judea, and began to teach the Brethren that, unless they were circumcised, in accordance with the custom enjoined by Moses, they could not be saved. ² This gave rise to a serious dispute, and much discussion, between Paul and Barnabas and these men, and it was therefore settled that Paul and Barnabas and others of their number should go up to Jerusalem, to consult the Apostles and Officers of the Church about the matter under discussion. ³ The Church, therefore, sent them on their journey, and they made their way through Phoenicia and Samaria, telling the story of the conversion of the Gentiles, to the great joy of all the Brethren. ⁴ On their arrival at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the Church, as well as by the Apostles and the Officers, and gave an account of all that God had helped them to do. ⁵ Some of the Pharisees' party, however, who had become believers in Christ, came forward and declared that they were bound to circumcise converts and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.

²⁴ As we had heard that some of our number had upset you by their assertions, and unsettled your minds--without instructions from us--

⁴¹ Started on his journey and went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the Churches in the faith.

¹ Among other places Paul went to Derbe and Lystra. At the latter place they found a disciple, named Timothy, whose mother was a Jewess who had become a believer in Christ, while his father was a Greek, ² And who was well spoken of by the Brethren in Lystra and Iconium. ³ Wishing to take this man with him on his journey, Paul caused him to be circumcised on account of the Jews in that neighborhood, for they all knew that his father had been a Greek.

⁵ So the Churches grew stronger in the Faith, and increased in numbers from day to day.

⁵ But the Jews, becoming jealous, engaged some worthless fellows from the streets, and, getting a mob together, kept the city in an uproar. They attacked Jason's house, with the intention of bringing Paul and Silas before the Popular Assembly;

¹⁴ Immediately upon that, the Brethren sent Paul off on his way to the sea coast, but both Silas and Timothy stayed behind in Beroea.

² There he met a Jew of the name of Aquila, a native of Pontus, who, with his wife Priscilla, had lately come from Italy, in consequence of the order which had been issued by the Emperor Claudius for all Jews to leave Rome. Paul paid them a visit, ³ And, since their trade was the same as his, he stayed and worked with them--their trade was tent-making. ⁴ Every Sabbath Paul gave addresses in the Synagogue, trying to convince both Jews and Greeks. ⁵ But, when Silas and Timothy had come down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself entirely to delivering the Message, earnestly maintaining before the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

⁵ But, when Silas and Timothy had come down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself entirely to delivering the Message, earnestly maintaining before the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. ⁶ However, as they set themselves against him and became abusive, Paul shook his clothes in protest and said to them: "Your blood be on your own heads. My conscience is clear. From this time forward I shall go to the Gentiles." ⁷ So he left, and went to the house of a certain Titius Justus, who had been accustomed to join in the worship of God, and whose house was next door to the Synagogue. ⁸ Crispus, the President of the Synagogue, came to believe in the Lord, and so did all his household; and many of the Corinthians, as they listened to Paul, became believers in Christ and were baptized. ⁹ One night the Lord said to Paul, in a vision: "Have no fear, but continue to speak, and refuse to be silenced; ¹⁰ For I am with you, and no one shall do you harm, for I have many People in this city." ¹¹ So he settled there for a year and a half, and taught God's Message among the people. ¹² While Gallio was governor of Greece, the Jews made a combined attack on Paul, and brought him before the Governor's Bench,

¹² While Gallio was governor of Greece, the Jews made a combined attack on Paul, and brought him before the Governor's Bench, ¹³ Charging him with persuading people to worship God in a way forbidden by the Law. ¹⁴ Just as Paul was on the point of speaking, Gallio said to the Jews: "Jews, if this were a case of misdemeanor or some serious crime, there would be some reason for my listening patiently to you; ¹⁵ But, since it is a dispute about words, and names, and your own Law, you must see to it yourselves. I do not choose to be a judge in such matters." ¹⁶ Saying this, he drove them back from the Bench. ¹⁷ Then they all set upon Sosthenes, the President of the Synagogue, and beat him in front of the Bench, but Gallio did not trouble himself about any of these things. ¹⁸ Paul remained there some time after this, and then took leave of the Brethren, and sailed to Syria with Priscilla and Aquila, but not before his head had been shaved at Cenchreae, because he was under a vow.

²⁶ This man began to speak out fearlessly in the Synagogue; and when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home and explained the Cause of God to him more carefully still. ²⁷ When he wanted to cross to Greece, the Brethren furthered his plans, and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On his arrival he proved of great assistance to those who had, through the loving-kindness of God, become believers in Christ,

²² So he sent to Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, while he himself stayed for some time longer in Roman Asia.

²⁹ The commotion spread through the whole city, and the people rushed together into the amphitheater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonians who were Paul's traveling companions.

⁴ He was accompanied by Sopater the son of Pyrrhus, of Beroea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, as well as by Tychicus and Trophimus of Roman Asia.

³² And now I commend you to the Lord and to the Message of his Love--a Message which has the power to build up your characters, and to give you your place among all those who have become Christ's People.

³⁷ All were in tears; and throwing their arms round Paul's neck, they kissed him again and again,

¹⁷ Since I am choosing you out from your own people and from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, ¹⁸ To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God; so that they may receive pardon for their sins, and a place among those who have become God's People, by faith in me.'

²² However I have received help from God to this very day, and so stand here, and bear my testimony to high and low alike--without adding a word to what the Prophets, as well as Moses, declared should happen-- ²³ That the Christ must suffer, and that, by rising from the dead, he was destined to be the first to bring news of Light, not only to our nation, but also to the Gentiles."

² This Good News God promised long ago through his Prophets in the sacred Scriptures,

⁵ Through him we received the gift of the Apostolic office, to win submission to the Faith among all nations for the glory of his Name.

⁷ May God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace. ⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ about you all, because the report of your faith is spreading throughout the world.

²⁰ For ever since the creation of the universe God's invisible attributes-his everlasting power and divinity-are to be seen and studied in his works, so that men have no excuse;

¹⁶ On the day when God passes judgment on men's inmost lives, as the Good News that I tell declares that he will do through Christ Jesus.

²¹ But now, quite apart from Law, the Divine Righteousness stands revealed, and to it the Law and the Prophets bear witness--

⁷ Even for an upright man scarcely any one will die. For a really good man perhaps some one might even dare to die.

¹ There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in union with Christ Jesus;

²⁹ For those whom God chose from the first he also destined from the first to be transformed into likeness to his Son, so that his Son might be the eldest among many Brothers.

³⁷ Yet amidst all these things we more than conquer through him who loved us!

¹⁶ If the first handful of dough in holy, so is the whole mass; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

³³ Oh! the unfathomable wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments, how untraceable his ways! Yes-- ³⁴ 'Who has ever comprehended the mind of the Lord? Who has ever become his counselor?

³⁶ For all things are from him, through him, and for him. And to him be all glory for ever and ever! Amen.

⁴ Who are you, that you should pass judgment on the servant of another? His standing or falling concerns his own master. And stand he will, for his Master can enable him to stand.

¹⁸ He who serves the Christ in this way pleases God, and wins the approval of his fellow men.

⁴ Whatever was written in the Scriptures in days gone by was written for our instruction, so that, through patient endurance, and through the encouragement drawn from the Scriptures, we might hold fast to our hope.

⁷ Therefore always receive one another as friends, just as the Christ himself received us, to the glory of God.

¹⁸ For I will not dare to speak of anything but what Christ has done through me to win the obedience of the Gentiles--

²⁶ For Macedonia and Greece have been glad to make a collection for the poor among Christ's People at Jerusalem.

³³ May God, the giver of peace, be with you all. Amen.

² And I ask you to give her a Christian welcome--one worthy of Christ's People--and to aid her in any matter in which she may need your assistance. She has proved herself a staunch friend to me and to many others.

² And I ask you to give her a Christian welcome--one worthy of Christ's People--and to aid her in any matter in which she may need your assistance. She has proved herself a staunch friend to me and to many others. ³ Give my greeting to Prisca and Aquila, my fellow-workers in the Cause of Christ Jesus,

³ Give my greeting to Prisca and Aquila, my fellow-workers in the Cause of Christ Jesus, ⁴ Who risked their own lives to save mine. It is not I alone who thank them, but all the Churches among the Gentiles thank them also. ⁵ Give my greeting, also, to the Church that meets at their house, as well as to my dear friend Epaenetus, one of the first in Roman Asia to believe in Christ; ⁶ To Mary, who worked hard for you; ⁷ To Andronicus and Junias, my countrymen and once my fellow- prisoners, who are men of note among the Apostles, and who became Christians before I did; ⁸ To my dear Christian friend Ampliatus; ⁹ To Urban, our fellow-worker in the Cause of Christ, and to my dear friend Stachys;

¹¹ To my countryman Herodion; to the Christians in the household of Narcissus; ¹² To Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who have worked hard for the Master; to my dear friend Persis, for she has done much hard work for the Master;

¹⁴ To Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the Brothers with them;

¹⁹ Every one has heard of your ready obedience. It is true that I am very happy about you, but I want you to be well versed in all that is good, and innocent of all that is bad. ²⁰ And God, the giver of peace, will before long crush Satan under your feet. May the blessing of Jesus, our Lord, be with you. ²¹ Timothy, my fellow-worker, sends you his greetings, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my countrymen, send theirs.

²³ My host Gaius, who extends his hospitality to the whole Church, sends you his greeting; and Erastus, the City Treasurer, and Quartus, our Brother, add theirs.

¹⁰ But I appeal to you, Brothers, by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to agree in what you profess, and not to allow divisions to exist among you, but to be united-of one mind and of one opinion. ¹¹ For I have been informed, my Brothers, by the members of Chloe's household, that party feeling exists among you. ¹² I mean this, that every one of you says either 'I follow Paul,' or 'I Apollos,' or 'I Kephas,' or 'I Christ.' ¹³ You have rent the Christ in pieces! Was it Paul who was crucified for you? or were you baptized into the Faith of Paul? ¹⁴ I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,

²³ We are proclaiming Christ crucified!-to the Jews an obstacle, to the Gentiles mere folly,

³⁰ But you, by your union with Christ Jesus, belong to God; and Christ, by God's will, became not only our Wisdom, but also our Righteousness, Holiness, and Deliverance,

¹ For my own part, Brothers, when I came to you, it was with no display of eloquence or philosophy that I came to tell the hidden purpose of God; ² For I had determined that, while with you, I would know nothing but Jesus Christ-and him crucified!

⁷ No, it is a divine philosophy that we teach, one concerned with the hidden purpose of God-that long-hidden philosophy which God, before time began, destined for our glory.

³ While there exist among you jealousy and party feeling, is it not true that you are worldly, and are acting merely as other men do?

¹ Let men look upon us as Christ's servants, and as stewards of the hidden truths of God.

⁹ I told you, in my letter, not to associate with immoral people- - ¹⁰ Not, of course, meaning men of the world who are in immoral, or who are covetous and grasping, or who worship idols; for then you would have to leave the world altogether. ¹¹ But, as things are, I say that you are not to associate with any one who, although a Brother in name, is immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or abusive, or a drunkard, or grasping-no, not even to sit at table with such people.

¹⁷ In any case, a man should continue to live in the condition which the Lord has allotted to him, and in which he was when God called him. This is the rule that I lay down in every Church.

¹⁸ To begin with, I hear you and, to some extent, I believe it. ¹⁹ Indeed, there must be actual parties among you, for so only will the men of real worth become known.

²⁰ Brothers, do not show yourselves children in understanding. In wickedness be infants, but in understanding show yourselves men.

¹⁰ But it is through the love of God that I am what I am, and the love that he showed me has not been wasted. No, I have toiled harder than any of them, and yet it was not I, but the love of God working with me.

⁵⁸ Therefore, my dear Brothers, stand firm, unshaken, always diligent in the Lord's work, for you know that, in union with him, your toil is not in vain.

¹ With reference to the Collection for Christ's People, I want you to follow the instructions that I gave to the Churches in Galatia. ² On the first day of every week each of you should put by what he can afford, so that no collections need be made after I have come. ³ On my arrival, I will send any persons, whom you may authorize by letter, to carry your gift to Jerusalem; ⁴ And, if it appears to be worth while for me to go also, they shall go with me.

¹⁵ I have another request to make of you, Brothers. You remember Stephanas and his household, and that they were the first-fruits gathered in from Greece, and set themselves to serve Christ's People. ¹⁶ I want you, on your part, to show deference to such men as these, as well as to every fellow laborer and earnest worker.

¹⁹ The Churches in Roman Asia send you their greetings. Aquila and Prisca and the Church that meets at their house send you many Christian greetings. ²⁰ All our brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a sacred kiss. ²¹ I, Paul, add this greeting in my own handwriting.

²³ May the blessing of the Lord Jesus be with you.

¹ To the Church of God in Corinth, and to all Christ's People throughout Greece, from Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, and from Timothy, a Brother.

¹⁹ The Son of God, Christ Jesus, whom we--Silas, Timothy, and I- -proclaimed among you, never wavered between 'Yes' and 'No.' With him it has always been 'Yes.'

⁹ I had this further object, also, in what I wrote--to ascertain whether you might be relied upon to be obedient in everything.

¹⁷ Unlike many people, we are not in the habit of making profit out of God's Message; but in all sincerity, and bearing God's commission, we speak before him in union with Christ.

¹ Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or are we like some who need letters of commendation to you, or from you?

² No, we have renounced the secrecy prompted by shame, refusing to adopt crafty ways, or to tamper with God's Message, and commending ourselves to every man's conscience, in the sight of God, by our exhibition of the Truth. ³ And, even if the Good News that we bring is veiled, it is veiled only in the case of those who are on the path to Ruin--

⁵ (For it is not ourselves that we proclaim, but Christ Jesus, as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.)

¹⁷ Therefore, if any one is in union with Christ, he is a new being! His old life has passed away; a new life has begun!

²¹ Him who never knew sin God made to be Sin, on our behalf; so that we, through union with him, might become the Righteousness of God.

²² We are also sending with them another of our Brothers, whose earnestness we have many a time proved in many ways, and whom we now find made even more earnest by his great confidence in you.

² I know, of course, your willingness to help, and I am always boasting of it to the Macedonians. I tell them that you in Greece have been ready for a year past; and it was really your zeal that stimulated most of them.

³ Yet I fear that it may turn out that, just as the Serpent by his craftiness deceived Eve, so your minds may have lost the loyalty and purity due from you to the Christ.

¹³ Men of this stamp are false apostles, treacherous workers, disguising themselves as Apostles of Christ! ¹⁴ And no wonder; for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of Light. ¹⁵ It is not surprising, therefore, if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of Righteousness. But their end will be in accordance with their actions.

²³ Are they 'Servants of Christ'? Though it is madness to talk like this, I am more so than they! I have had more of toil, more of imprisonment! I have been flogged times without number. I have been often at death's door.

¹² Greet one another with a sacred kiss.

¹⁴ May the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion with the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

⁴ Gave himself for our sins, in accordance with the will of God and Father, ⁵ To whom be ascribed all glory for ever and ever. Amen.

⁷ Which is really no Good News at all. But then, I know that there are people who are harassing you, and who want to pervert the Good News of the Christ. ⁸ Yet even if we--or if an angel from Heaven were to tell you any other 'Good News' than that which we told you, may he be accursed! ⁹ We have said it before, and I repeat it now--If any one tells you a 'Good News' other than that which you received, may he be accursed! ¹⁰ Is this, I ask, trying to conciliate men, or God? Am I seeking to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I should not be a servant of Christ.

²² But I was still unknown even by sight to the Christian Churches in Judea;

² It was in obedience to a revelation that I went; and I laid before the Apostles the Good News that I am proclaiming among the Gentiles. I did this privately before those who are thought highly of, for fear that I might possibly be taking, or might have already taken, a course which would prove useless.

⁴ But, on account of the false Brothers who had stolen in, the men who had crept in to spy upon the liberty which we have through union with Christ Jesus, in order to bring us back to slavery--

⁶ Of those who are thought somewhat highly of--what they once were makes no difference to me; God does not recognize human distinctions--those, I say, who are thought highly of added nothing to my Message.

⁸ And Scripture, foreseeing that God would pronounce the Gentiles righteous as the result of faith, foretold the Good News to Abraham in the words--'Through thee all the Gentiles shall be blessed.'

⁶ If a man is in union with Christ Jesus, neither is circumcision nor the omission of it anything, but faith, working through love, is everything.

¹¹ See in what large letters I am writing with my own hand.

¹⁵ For neither is circumcision nor the omission of it anything; but a new nature is everything.

¹⁸ May the blessing of Jesus Christ, our Lord, rest on your souls, Brothers. Amen.

¹ To Christ's People [AT EPHESUS] who are faithful to him, from Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God.

⁴ For he chose us in our union with Christ before the creation of the universe, that we might be holy and blameless in his sight, living in the spirit of love.

⁷ For in him, and through the shedding of his blood, we have found redemption in the pardon of our offenses. ⁸ All this accords with the loving-kindness which God lavished upon us, accompanied by countless gifts of wisdom and discernment, ⁹ When he made known to us his hidden purpose. And it also accords with the good-will which God purposed to exhibit in Christ,

¹⁵ And therefore I, ever since I heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which prevails among you, and of your confidence in all Christ's People, ¹⁶ Have never omitted to thank God on your behalf, whenever I make mention of you in my prayers. ¹⁷ My prayer is that the God of Jesus Christ our Lord, the all- glorious Father, may inspire you with wisdom and true insight through a fuller knowledge of himself; ¹⁸ That your minds may be so enlightened that you may realize the hope given by God's Call, the wealth of the glory of his heritage among Christ's People,

¹⁰ For we are God's handiwork, created, by our union with Christ Jesus, for the good actions in doing which God had pre-arranged that we should spend our lives.

²⁰ You have been built up upon the foundation laid by the Apostles and Prophets, Christ Jesus himself being 'the corner- stone.'

³ And also that it was by direct revelation that the hidden purpose of God was made known to me, as I have already briefly told you. ⁴ And, by reading what I have written, you will be able to judge how far I understand this hidden purpose of God in Christ. ⁵ In former generations it was not made known to mankind, as fully as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to the Apostles and Prophets among Christ's People--

⁹ And to make clear what is God's way of working out that hidden purpose which from the first has been concealed in the mind of the Creator of all things; ¹⁰ So that now to the Archangels and to all the Powers on high should be made known, through the Church, the all-embracing wisdom of God, ¹¹ In accordance with that purpose which runs through all the ages and which he has now accomplished in Jesus, the Christ, our Master.

²⁰ To him who, through his power which is at work within us, is able to do far more than anything that we can ask or conceive-- ²¹ To him be all glory through the Church and through Christ Jesus, for all generations, age after age. Amen.

³ As for unchastity and every kind of impurity, or greed, do not let them even be mentioned among you, as befits Christ's People,

¹⁷ Therefore do not grow thoughtless, but try to understand what the Lord's will is.

¹⁹ And on my behalf also, that, when I begin to speak, words may be given me, so that I may fearlessly make known the inmost truth of the Good News,

¹ To all Christ's People at Philippi, with the Presiding Officers and Assistants, from Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus.

⁹ And what I pray for is this--that your love may grow yet stronger and stronger, with increasing knowledge and all discernment,

²⁷ Under all circumstances let your lives be worthy of the Good News of the Christ: so that, whether I come and see you, or whether I hear of your affairs at a distance, I may know that you are standing firm, animated by one spirit, and joining with one heart in a common struggle for the Faith taught by the Good News,

¹⁵ So as to prove yourselves blameless and innocent-- 'faultless children of God, in the midst of an evil-disposed and perverse generation,' in which you are seen shining like stars in a dark world,

¹⁹ I hope, however, as one who trusts in the Lord Jesus, to send Timothy to you before long, so that I may myself be cheered by receiving news of you. ²⁰ For I have no one but him to send--no one of kindred spirit who would take the same genuine interest in your welfare. ²¹ They are all pursuing their own aims and not those of Christ Jesus.

²¹ They are all pursuing their own aims and not those of Christ Jesus. ²² But you know what Timothy has proved himself to be, and how, like a child working for his father, he worked hard with me in spreading the Good News.

²² But you know what Timothy has proved himself to be, and how, like a child working for his father, he worked hard with me in spreading the Good News. ²³ It is Timothy, then, whom I hope to send, as soon as ever I can foresee how it will go with me.

²⁹ Give him, then, the heartiest of Christian welcomes, and hold such men in great honour. ³⁰ For it was owing to his devotion to the Master's work that he was at the point of death, having risked his own life in the effort to supply what was wanting in the help that you sent me.

² Beware of those 'dogs'! Beware of those mischievous workers! Beware of the men who mutilate themselves! ³ For it is we who are the circumcised--we whose worship is prompted by the Spirit of God, who exult in Christ Jesus, and who do not rely upon external privileges;

¹⁷ Brothers, unite in following my example, and fix your eyes on those who are living by the pattern which we have set you.

¹⁹ The end of such men is Ruin; for their appetites are their God, and they glory in their shame; their minds are given up to earthly things.

¹ So then, my dear Brothers, whom I am longing to see--you who are my joy and my crown, stand fast in union with the Lord, dear friends.

¹⁴ Yet you have acted nobly in sharing my troubles. ¹⁵ And you at Philippi know, as well as I, that in the early days of the Good News--at the time when I had just left Macedonia--no Church, with the one exception of yourselves, had anything to do with me as far as giving and receiving are concerned. ¹⁶ Indeed, even while I was still in Thessalonica, you sent more than once to relieve my wants. ¹⁷ It is not that I am anxious for your gifts, but I am anxious to see the abundant return that will be placed to your account. I have enough of everything, and to spare. ¹⁸ My wants are fully satisfied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts which you sent me--the sweet fragrance of a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. ¹⁹ And my God, out of the greatness of his wealth, will, in glory, fully satisfy your every need, through your union with Christ Jesus. ²⁰ To him, our God and Father, be ascribed all glory for every and ever. Amen.

²³ May the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ rest on your souls.

¹ From Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, and from Timothy, our Brother. ² To Christ's People at Colossae--the Brothers who are faithful to him: May God, our Father, bless you and give you peace. ³ Whenever we pray, we never fail to thank God, the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, about you, ⁴ Now that we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all his People, ⁵ On account of the hope which awaits its fulfillment in Heaven. Of this hope you heard long ago in the true Message of the Good News which reached you-- ⁶ Bearing fruit and growing, as it does, through all the world, just as it did among you, from the very day that you heard of God's loving-kindness, and understood what that loving-kindness really is. ⁷ It is just what you learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow- servant, who, as a minister of the Christ, faithfully represents us, ⁸ And who told us of the love with which the Spirit has inspired you. ⁹ And therefore we, from the very day that we heard this, have never ceased praying for you, or asking that you may possess that deeper knowledge of the will of God, which comes through all true spiritual wisdom and insight.

²⁶ That Truth which has been hidden from former ages and generations. But now it has been revealed to God's People,

²⁶ That Truth which has been hidden from former ages and generations. But now it has been revealed to God's People, ²⁷ To whom it was his pleasure to make known the surpassing glory of that hidden Truth when proclaimed among the Gentiles--'Christ among you! Your Hope of glory!'

²⁹ It is for that I toil, struggling with all the energy which he inspires and which works powerfully within me.

² In the hope that they, being bound to one another by love, and keeping in view the full blessedness of a firm conviction, may be encouraged to strive for a perfect knowledge of God's hidden Truth, ³ Even Christ himself, in whom all treasures of wisdom and knowledge lie hidden. ⁴ I say this to prevent any one from deceiving you by plausible arguments.

⁸ Take care there is not some one who will carry you away by his 'philosophy'--a hollow sham!--following, as it does, mere human traditions, and dealing with puerile questions of this world, and not with Christ.

¹⁶ Let the Message of the Christ dwell in your minds in all its wealth, bringing all wisdom with it. Teach and admonish one another with psalms, and hymns, and sacred songs, full of the loving- kindness of God, lifting your hearts in song to him. ¹⁷ And, whatever you say or do, do everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus; and through him offer thanksgiving to God the father.

²⁴ Since you know that it is from the Master that you will receive the inheritance which will be your recompense. You are serving Christ, the Master.

¹⁰ My fellow-prisoner, Aristarchus, sends you his greeting, and Barnabas's cousin, Mark, sends his. (You have received directions about him. If he comes to you, make him welcome.)

¹² Epaphras, who is one of yourselves, sends you his greeting. He is a servant of Christ Jesus, and is always most earnest in your behalf in his prayers, praying that you may stand firm, with a matured faith and with a sure conviction of all that is in accordance with God's will.

¹⁵ Give my greeting to the Brethren at Laodicea, and to Nymphe, and to the Church that meets at her house.

¹ To the Thessalonian Church in union with God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. May God bless you and give you peace. ² We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all; ³ Recalling continually before our God and Father the efforts that have resulted from your faith, the toil prompted by your love, and the patient endurance sustained by your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

³ Recalling continually before our God and Father the efforts that have resulted from your faith, the toil prompted by your love, and the patient endurance sustained by your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁸ For it was from you that the Lord's Message resounded throughout Macedonia and Greece; and, more than that, your faith in God has become known far and wide; so that there is no need for us to say another word. ⁹ Indeed, in speaking about us, the people themselves tell of the reception you gave us, and how, turning to God from your idols, you became servants of the true and living God,

¹⁴ For you, Brothers, began to follow the example of the Churches of God in Judea which are in union with Jesus Christ; you, in your turn, suffering at the hands of your fellow-citizens, in the same way as those Churches did at the hands of the Jews--

² And sent Timothy, our Brother and God's minister of the Good News of the Christ, to strengthen you, and to encourage you in your faith,

⁶ But, when Timothy recently returned to us from you with good news of your faith and love, and told us how kindly you think of us--always longing, he said, to see us, just as we are longing to see you--

⁶ But, when Timothy recently returned to us from you with good news of your faith and love, and told us how kindly you think of us--always longing, he said, to see us, just as we are longing to see you-- ⁷ On hearing his, we felt encouraged about you, Brothers, in the midst of all our difficulties and troubles, by your faith. ⁸ For it is new life to us to know that you are holding fast to the Lord. ⁹ How can we thank God enough for all the happiness that you are giving us in the sight of our God? ¹⁰ Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face, and make good any deficiency in your faith.

¹³ And so make your hearts strong, and your lives pure beyond reproach, in the sight of our God and Father, at the Coming of our Lord Jesus, with all his Holy Ones.

¹² We beg you, Brothers, to value those who toil among you, and are your leaders in the Lord's service, and give you counsel. ¹³ Hold them in the very greatest esteem and affection for the sake of their work. Live at peace with one another.

²⁶ Greet all the Brothers with a sacred kiss.

²⁸ May the blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

¹ To the Thessalonian Church in union with God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, From Paul, Silas, and Timothy.

¹⁰ to the ruin of those who are on the path to destruction, because they have never received and loved the Truth to their own Salvation.

¹³ But, Brothers, whom the Lord loves, it is our duty always to thank God about you, for, from the first, God chose you for Salvation through the purifying influence of the Spirit, and your belief in the Truth. ¹⁴ To this you were called by the Good News which we brought you, to attain to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁶ And may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and, in his loving-kindness, gave us unfailing consolation and good ground for hope, ¹⁷ Console your hearts, and strengthen you to do and to say all that is right.

³ But the Lord will not fail you; he will give you strength, and guard you from Evil.

⁶ We urge you, Brothers, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to avoid any Brother who is living an ill-ordered life, which is not in agreement with the teaching that you received from us.

¹⁴ If any one disregards what we have said in this letter, mark that man and avoid his company, that he may feel ashamed. ¹⁵ Yet do not think of him as an enemy, but caution him as you would a Brother.

¹⁸ May the blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

² To Timothy, my true Child in the Faith: May God, the Father, and Christ Jesus, our Lord, bless you, and be merciful to you, and give you peace. ³ I beg you, as I did when I was on my way into Macedonia, to remain at Ephesus; that you may instruct certain people there not to teach new and strange doctrines,

¹⁷ To the Immortal King, ever-living, invisible, the one God, be ascribed honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

¹⁰ but--as is proper for women who profess to be religious--with good actions.

¹⁰ They should be tested first, and only appointed to their Office if no objection is raised against them.

¹⁰ With that aim we toil and struggle, for we have set our hopes on the Living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who hold the Faith.

² the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters--with all purity.

⁹ A widow, when her name is added to the list, should not be less than sixty years old; she should have been a faithful wife, ¹⁰ and be well spoken of for her kind actions. She should have brought up children, have shown hospitality to strangers, have washed the feet of her fellow Christians, have relieved those who were in distress, and devoted herself to every kind of good action.

¹⁰ and be well spoken of for her kind actions. She should have brought up children, have shown hospitality to strangers, have washed the feet of her fellow Christians, have relieved those who were in distress, and devoted herself to every kind of good action.

¹⁷ Those Officers of the Church who fill their office well should be held deserving of especial consideration, particularly those whose work lies in preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ The words of Scripture are-- 'Thou shalt not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain.' and again-- 'The worker is worth his wages.'

³ Any one who teaches otherwise, and refuses his assent to sound instruction--the instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ--and to the teaching of religion, ⁴ is puffed up with conceit, not really knowing anything, but having a morbid craving for discussions and arguments. Such things only give rise to envy, quarreling, recriminations, base suspicions, ⁵ and incessant wrangling on the part of these corrupt-minded people who have lost all hold on the Truth, and who think of religion only as a source of gain.

⁵ and incessant wrangling on the part of these corrupt-minded people who have lost all hold on the Truth, and who think of religion only as a source of gain.

¹¹ But do you, Servant of God, avoid all this. Aim at righteousness, piety, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.

¹⁶ who alone is possessed of immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or ever can see--to whom be ascribed honour and power for ever. Amen.

²⁰ Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid the profane prattle and contradictions of what some miscall 'theology,'

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⁹ It was God who saved us, and from him we received our solemn Call--not as a reward for anything that we had done, but in fulfillment of his own loving purpose. For that love was extended to us, through Christ Jesus, before time began, ¹⁰ and has now been made apparent through the Appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus; who has made an end of Death, and has brought Life and Immortality to light by that Good News,

¹⁸ The Lord grant that he may find mercy at the hands of the Lord on 'That Day.' The many services that he rendered at Ephesus you have the best means of knowing.

⁸ Keep before your mind Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David, as told in the Good News entrusted to me;

¹⁶ Avoid profane prattle. Those who indulge in it only get deeper into irreligious ways, ¹⁷ and their teaching will spread like a cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are instances of this. ¹⁸ They have gone completely astray as regards the Truth; they say that a resurrection has already taken place, and so upset some people's faith.

² Men will be selfish, mercenary, boastful, haughty, and blasphemous; disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, impure, ³ incapable of affection, merciless, slanderous, wanting in self-control, brutal, careless of the right, ⁴ treacherous, reckless, and puffed up with pride; they will love pleasure more than they love God; ⁵ and while they retain the outward form of religion, they will not allow it to influence them. Turn your back on such men as these.

⁵ and while they retain the outward form of religion, they will not allow it to influence them. Turn your back on such men as these. ⁶ For among them are to be found those who creep into homes and captivate weak women--women who, loaded with sins, and slaves to all kinds of passions,

¹⁵ and that, from your childhood, you have known the Sacred Writings, which can give you the wisdom that, through belief in Christ Jesus, leads to Salvation. ¹⁶ Everything that is written under divine inspiration is helpful for teaching, for refuting error, for giving guidance, and for training others in righteousness; ¹⁷ so that the Servant of God may be perfect himself, and perfectly equipped for every good action.

¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from all evil, and bring me safe into his Heavenly Kingdom. All glory to him for ever and ever! Amen. ¹⁹ Give my greeting to Prisca and Aquila, and to the household of Onesiphorus. ²⁰ Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Thophimus ill at Miletus.

²² May the Lord be with your soul. God bless you all.

² and is based on the hope of Immortal Life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began,

² and is based on the hope of Immortal Life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began, ³ and has revealed at his own time in his Message, with the proclamation of which I was entrusted by the command of God our Savior.

¹⁰ There are, indeed, many unruly persons--great talkers who deceive themselves, principally converts from Judaism, ¹¹ whose mouths ought to be stopped; for they upset whole households by teaching what they ought not to teach, merely to make questionable gains. ¹² It was a Cretan--one of their own teachers--who said: 'Cretans are always liars, base brutes, and gluttonous idlers'; and his statement is true.

³ So, too, that the older women should be reverent in their demeanor, and that they should avoid scandal, and beware of becoming slaves to drink;

¹⁰ If a man is causing divisions among you, after warning him once or twice, have nothing more to say to him.

² To our dear friend and fellow-worker Philemon, to our sister Apphia, to our fellow-soldier Archippus; and to the Church that meets at Philemon's house;

¹² And I am sending him back to you with this letter--though it is like tearing out of my very heart.

¹⁷ If, then, you count me your friend, receive him as you would me.

²³ Epaphras, who is my fellow-prisoner for Christ Jesus, sends you his greeting;

²⁵ May the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ rest on your souls.

¹⁴ Therefore, since human nature is the common heritage of 'the Children,' Jesus also shared it, in order that by death he might render powerless him whose power lies in death--that is, the Devil-- ¹⁵ and so might deliver all those who, from fear of death, had all their lives been living in slavery.

¹ Therefore, Christian Brothers, you who, all alike, have received the Call from Heaven, fix your attention on Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our Religion.

¹⁰ For God is not unjust; he will not forget the work that you did, and the love that you showed for his Name, in sending help to your fellow Christians--as you are still doing. ¹¹ But our great desire is that every one of you should be equally earnest to attain to a full conviction that our hope will be fulfilled, and that you should keep that hope to the end.

²⁵ And that is why he is able to save perfectly those who come to God through him, living for ever, as he does, to intercede of their behalf.

¹⁴ how much more will the blood of the Christ, who, through his eternal Spirit, offered himself up to God, as a victim without blemish, purify our consciences from a lifeless formality, and fit us for the service of the Living God!

⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and to-day--yes, and for ever!

¹⁵ Through him let us offer, as our sacrifice, continual praise to God--an offering from lips that glorify his Name.

²¹ may God make you perfect in everything that is good, so that you may be able to do his will. May he bring out in us all that is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be all glory for ever and ever. Amen.

²³ You will be glad to hear that our Brother, Timothy, has been set free. If he comes here soon, we will visit you together.

¹ James, a Servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, greets The Twelve Tribes that are living abroad.

¹⁸ Because he so willed, he gave us Life, through the Message of the Truth, so that we should be, as it were, an earnest of still further creations.

¹⁵ Suppose some Brother or Sister should be in want of clothes and of daily bread,

¹³ Who among you claims to be wise and intelligent? Let him show that his actions are the outcome of a good life lived in the humility of true wisdom. ¹⁴ But, while you harbor envy and bitterness and a spirit of rivalry in your hearts, do not boast or lie to the detriment of the Truth. ¹⁵ That is not the wisdom which comes from above; no, it is earthly, animal, devilish. ¹⁶ For, where envy and rivalry exist, there you will also find disorder and all kinds of base actions. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is, before every thing else, pure; then peace-loving, gentle, open to conviction, rich in compassion and good deeds, and free from partiality and insincerity. ¹⁸ And righteousness, its fruit, is sown in peace by those who work for peace.

² and who were chosen in accordance with the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the consecration of the Spirit, to learn obedience, and to be purified by the sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Christ, from Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ. May blessing and peace be yours in ever-increasing measure.

⁷ that the genuineness of your faith--a thing far more precious than gold, which is perishable, yet has to be tested by fire--may win praise and glory and honour at the Appearing of Jesus Christ.

¹⁰ It was this Salvation that the Prophets, who spoke long ago of the blessing intended for you, sought, and strove to comprehend; ¹¹ as they strove to discern what that time could be, to which the Spirit of Christ within them was pointing, when foretelling the sufferings that would befall Christ, and the glories that would follow. ¹² And it was revealed to them that it was not for themselves, but for you, that they were acting as Ministers of the truths which have now been told to you, by those who, with the help of the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven, have brought you the Good News--truths into which even angels long to look.

²⁰ Destined for this before the beginning of the world, he has been revealed in these last days for your sakes,

²² Now that, by your obedience to the Truth, you have purified your lives, so that there is growing up among you a genuine brotherly affection, love one another earnestly with all your hearts; ²³ since your new Life has come, not from perishable, but imperishable, seed, through the Message of the Everliving God.

⁵ and, as living stones, form yourselves into a spiritual House, to be a consecrated Priesthood, for the offering of spiritual sacrifices that will be acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

¹⁰ God, from whom all help comes, and who called you, by your union with Christ, into his eternal glory, will, when you have suffered for a little while, himself perfect, establish, strengthen you.

¹⁰ God, from whom all help comes, and who called you, by your union with Christ, into his eternal glory, will, when you have suffered for a little while, himself perfect, establish, strengthen you. ¹¹ To him be ascribed dominion for ever. Amen.

¹⁴ Greet one another with the kiss of love. May God give his peace to you all in your union with Christ.

¹ But there were false prophets also in the nation, just as there will be false teachers among you, men who will secretly introduce ruinous divisions, disowning even the Lord who bought them, and bringing speedy Ruin upon themselves. ² There will be many, too, who will follow their licentious courses, and cause the Way of the Truth to be maligned. ³ In their covetousness they will try to make you a source of profit by their fabrications; but for a long time past their Sentence has not been standing idle, nor their Ruin slumbering.

¹⁰ especially those who, following the promptings of their lower nature, indulge their polluting passions and despise all control. Audacious and self-willed, they feel no awe of the Mighty, maligning them, ¹¹ even where angels, though excelling them in strength and power, do not bring against them a malignant charge before the Lord. ¹² These men, however, like animals without reason, intended by nature to be caught and killed--these men, I say, malign those of whom they know nothing, and will assuredly perish through their own corruption, ¹³ suffering themselves, as the penalty for the suffering that they have inflicted. They think that pleasure consists in the self-indulgence of the moment. They are a stain and a disgrace, indulging, as they do, in their wanton revelry, even while joining you at your feasts. ¹⁴ They have eyes only for adulteresses, eyes never tired of sin; they entice weak souls; their minds are trained to covet; they live under a curse. ¹⁵ Leaving the straight road, they have gone astray and followed in the steps of Balaam, the son of Beor, who set his heart on the reward for wrong-doing,

¹⁸ With boastful and foolish talk, they appeal to the passions of man's lower nature, and, by their profligacy, entice those who are just escaping from the men who live such misguided lives. ¹⁹ They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to corrupt habits; for a man is the slave of anything to which he gives way. ²⁰ If, after having escaped the polluting influences of the world, through knowing our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, men are again entangled in them, and give way to them, their last state has become worse than their first.

¹⁸ and advance in the love and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. All glory be to him now and for ever.

¹⁹ From us, it is true, they went out, but they had never belonged to us; for, if they had belonged to us, they would have remained among us. They left us that it might be made clear that they do not, any of them, belong to us.

⁸ He who lives sinfully belongs to the Devil, for the Devil has sinned from the first. It was for this that the Son of God appeared, that he might undo the Devil's work.

¹⁴ We know that we have passed out of Death into Life, because we love our Brothers. The man who does not love remains in a state of Death.

¹⁶ We have learned to know what love is from this--that Christ laid down his life on our behalf. Therefore we also ought to lay down our lives on behalf of our Brothers.

¹ Dear friends, do not trust every inspiration, but test each inspiration, to see whether it proceeds from God; because many false Prophets have gone out into the world. ² This is the way by which to know the inspiration of God--All inspiration that acknowledges Jesus Christ as come in our human nature is from God; ³ while all inspiration that does not acknowledge Jesus is not inspiration from God. It is the inspiration of the Anti-Christ; you have heard that it was to come, and it is now already in the world.

¹³ We know that we remain in union with him, and he with us, by this--by his having given us some measure of his Spirit.

²⁰ We realize, too, that the Son of God has come among us, and has given us the discernment to know the True God; and we are in union with the True God by our union with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the True God and he is Immortal Life.

¹ To an eminent Christian Lady, and to her Children, from the Officer of the Church. I sincerely love you all, and not I only, but also all those who have learned to know the Truth.

⁷ I say this because many impostors have left us to go into the world--men who do not acknowledge Jesus as Christ come in our human nature. It is that which marks a man as an impostor and an anti-Christ. ⁸ Take care that you do not lose the fruit of all our work; rather, reap the benefit of it in full. ⁹ Every one who goes beyond the limits of the Teaching of the Christ has failed to find God; the man who keeps to that Teaching--he has found both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If any one comes to you and does not bring this Teaching, do not receive him into your house or welcome him;

¹⁰ If any one comes to you and does not bring this Teaching, do not receive him into your house or welcome him; ¹¹ for the man who welcomes him is sharing with him in his wicked work.

¹ To his dear friend Gaius, whom he sincerely loves, From the Officer of the Church.

¹ To his dear friend Gaius, whom he sincerely loves, From the Officer of the Church. ² Dear friend, I pray that all may be well with you and that you may have good health--I know that all is well with your soul. ³ For it was a great joy to me, when some Brothers came and testified to your fidelity to the Truth--I know that your own life is guided by the Truth. ⁴ Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to hear from time to time that the lives of my Children are guided by the Truth. ⁵ Dear friend, whatever you do for our Brothers is done in a Christian spirit--even when they are strangers to you.

⁵ Dear friend, whatever you do for our Brothers is done in a Christian spirit--even when they are strangers to you. ⁶ They themselves have testified before the Church to your love; and you will do well to help them on their way in a manner worthy of the service of God.

⁶ They themselves have testified before the Church to your love; and you will do well to help them on their way in a manner worthy of the service of God. ⁷ For it was on behalf of the Name that they left their homes, and refused to take anything from the Gentiles. ⁸ We, therefore, ought to give such people a hearty welcome, and so take our share in their work for the Truth. ⁹ I wrote a few lines to the Church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, declines to recognize us. ¹⁰ Therefore, when I come, I shall not forget his conduct in ridiculing us with his wicked tongue. Not content with that, he not only declines to recognize our Brothers himself, but actually prevents those who would, and expels them from the Church.

¹ To those who, having received the Call, have been loved by God the Father and protected by Jesus Christ, From Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and the brother of James.

¹² These are the men who are blots upon your 'Love-feasts,' when they feast together and provide without scruple for themselves alone. They are clouds without rain, driven before the winds; they are leafless trees without a vestige of fruit, dead through and through, torn up by the roots;

¹⁶ These men are always murmuring, and complaining of their lot; they follow where their passions lead them; they have arrogant words upon their lips; and they flatter men for the sake of what they can get from them.

¹⁹ These are the people--animal and unspiritual--who cause divisions.

²⁴ To him who is able to guard you from falling, and to bring you into his glorious presence, blameless and rejoicing- ²⁵ to the one God, our Saviour, be ascribed, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, glory, majesty, power, and dominion, as it was before time began, is now, and shall be for all time to come. Amen.

²⁵ to the one God, our Saviour, be ascribed, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, glory, majesty, power, and dominion, as it was before time began, is now, and shall be for all time to come. Amen.

¹ The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him to make known to his servants, concerning what must shortly take place, and which he sent and revealed by his angel to his servant John,

⁴ From John, to the seven Churches which are in Roman Asia. Blessing and peace be yours from him who is, and who was, and who shall be, and from the seven Spirits that are before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, ' the faithful Witness, the First-born from the dead, and the Ruler of all the Kings of the earth.' To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his own blood-- ⁶ and he made us ' a Kingdom of Priests in the service of God,' his Father! --to Him be ascribed glory and dominion for ever. Amen.

⁸ 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord, the God who is, and who was, and who shall be, the Almighty. ⁹ I, John, who am your Brother, and who share with you in the suffering and kingship and endurance of Jesus, found myself on the island called Patmos, for the sake of the Message of God and the testimony to Jesus.

⁹ I, John, who am your Brother, and who share with you in the suffering and kingship and endurance of Jesus, found myself on the island called Patmos, for the sake of the Message of God and the testimony to Jesus. ¹⁰ I fell into a trance on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like the blast of a trumpet. ¹¹ It said-- 'Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven Churches, to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicaea.'

¹⁷ And, when I saw him, I fell at his feet like one dead. He laid his hand on me and said-- 'Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,

⁹ And, whenever these Creatures give praise and honour and thanks to him who is 'seated on the throne, to him who lives for ever and ever,' ¹⁰ the twenty-four Councillors prostrate themselves before him who is seated on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever, and throw down their crowns before the throne, saying-- ¹¹ 'Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive all praise, and honour, and power, for thou didst create all things, and at thy bidding they came into being and were created.'

⁹ And they are singing a new song--'Thou art worthy to take the book and break its seals, for thou wast sacrificed, and with thy blood thou didst buy for God men of every tribe, and language, and people, and nation, ¹⁰ and didst make them a Kingdom of Priests in the service of our God, and they are reigning upon the earth.' ¹¹ Then, in my vision, I heard the voices of many angels round the throne, and of the Creatures, and of the Councillors. In number they were 'ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands,' ¹² and they cried in a loud voice--'Worthy is the Lamb that was sacrificed to receive all power, and wealth, and wisdom, and might, and honour, and praise, and blessing.' ¹³ And I heard every created thing in the air, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all that is in them crying--'To him who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb be ascribed all blessing, and honour, and praise, and dominion for ever and ever.' ¹⁴ And the four Creatures said 'Amen,' and the Councillors prostrated themselves and worshiped.

¹⁰ And they are crying in a loud voice-- ' Salvation be ascribed to our God who is seated on his throne and to the Lamb.' ¹¹ And all the angels were standing round the throne and the Councillors and the four Creatures, and they prostrated themselves on their faces in front of the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying-- 'Amen. Blessing and praise, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might be ascribed to our God for ever and ever. Amen.'

¹⁰ And I heard a loud voice in Heaven which said-- 'Now has begun the day of the Salvation, and Power, and Dominion of our God, and the Rule of his Christ; for the Accuser of our Brothers has been hurled down, he who has been accusing them before our God day and night.

⁴ These are the men who never defiled themselves in their intercourse with women; they are as pure as virgins. These are the men who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were redeemed as the first-fruits of mankind for God and for the Lamb.

¹ After this, I heard what seemed to be a great shout from a vast throng in Heaven, crying-- 'Hallelujah! To our God belong Salvation, and Glory, and Power, ² for true and righteous are his judgments. For he has passed judgment upon the Great Harlot who was corrupting the earth by her licentiousness, and he has taken vengeance upon her for the blood of his servants.' ³ Again they cried-- 'Hallelujah!' And the smoke from her ruins rises for ever and ever. ⁴ Then the twenty-four Councillors and the Four Creatures prostrated themselves and worshiped God who was seated upon the throne, crying-- 'Amen, Hallelujah!'; ⁵ and from the throne there came a voice which said-- 'Praise our God all you who serve him, You who reverence him, both high and low.' ⁶ Then I heard 'what seemed to be the shout of a vast throng, like the sound of many waters,' and like the sound of loud peals of thunder, crying-- 'Hallelujah! For the Lord is King, our God, the Almighty.

¹⁰ I prostrated myself at the feet of him who spoke to worship him, but he said to me- - 'Forbear; I am your fellow-servant, and the fellow-servant of your Brothers who bear their testimony to Jesus. Worship God. For to bear testimony to Jesus needs the inspiration of the Prophets.'

¹ Then I saw an angel coming down from Heaven, with the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. ² He seized the Dragon, the primeval Serpent (who is the 'Devil' or 'Satan'), and bound him in chains for a thousand years. ³ He flung him into the bottomless pit and locked it, and set his seal upon it; that he should not deceive the nations any more, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be let loose for a while.

²¹ May the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ, be with his People.