Philippians 2 Cross References - Williams

¹ So, if there is any appeal in our union with Christ, if there is any persuasive power in love, if we have any common share in the Spirit, if you have any tenderheartedness and sympathy, ² fill up my cup of joy by living in harmony, by fostering the same disposition of love, your hearts beating in unison, your minds set on one purpose. ³ Stop acting from motives of selfish strife or petty ambition, but in humility practice treating one another as your superiors. ⁴ Stop looking after your own interests only but practice looking out for the interests of others too. ⁵ Keep on fostering the same disposition that Christ Jesus had. ⁶ Though He was existing in the nature of God, He did not think His being on an equality with God a thing to be selfishly grasped, ⁷ but He laid it aside as He took on the nature of a slave and became like other men. ⁸ Because He was recognized as a man, in reality as well as in outward form, He finally humiliated Himself in obedience so as to die, even to die on a cross. ⁹ This is why God has highly exalted Him, and given Him the name that is above every other name, ¹⁰ so that in the name of Jesus everyone should kneel, in heaven, on earth, and in the underworld, ¹¹ and everyone should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the praise of God the Father. ¹² So, my dearly loved friends, as you have always been obedient, so now with reverence and awe keep on working clear down to the finishing point of your salvation not only as though I were with you but much more because I am away; ¹³ for it is God Himself who is at work in you to help you desire it as well as do it. ¹⁴ Practice doing everything without grumbling and disputing, ¹⁵ so that you may prove to be blameless and spotless, faultless children of God in a crooked and perverted age, in which you shine as light-bearers in the world as you continue ¹⁶ to hold up the message of life. That will give me ground for boasting on the day of Christ, because neither my career nor my labor has been a failure. ¹⁷ Yes, even if I am pouring out my life as a libation on the sacrifice and service your faith is rendering, I am glad to do so and congratulate you upon it; ¹⁸ you too must do likewise, be glad of it, and congratulate me. ¹⁹ I hope, with the approval of the Lord Jesus, soon to send Timothy to you, so that I too may be cheered on getting the news about you. ²⁰ For I have no one else with a heart like his who would take such genuine interest in you, ²¹ for most people are looking out for their own interests, not for the interests of Jesus Christ. ²² But you know his tested character, how like a son in fellowship with his father he has toiled with me like a slave in preaching the good news. ²³ So I hope to send him to you just as soon as I can see how my case is going to turn out. ²⁴ Really, I am trusting that by the help of the Lord I soon shall come myself. ²⁵ But I think it proper now to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow-laborer, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger to minister to my needs, ²⁶ for he has been longing to see you and has been homesick because you have heard that he was sick. ²⁷ For he was so sick that he was on the point of dying, but God took pity on him, and not only on him but on me too, to keep me from having one sorrow after another. ²⁸ I very eagerly send him, so that when you see him you may be glad of it, and I may be less sorrowful. ²⁹ So give him a hearty Christian welcome and hold in honor men like him, ³⁰ because he came near dying for the sake of the Lord's work and risked his life to make up for your lack of opportunity to minister to me.

²³ "The virgin will become pregnant and have a son, and they will call Him Immanuel" -- which means "God with us."

¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city that is built upon a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ People do not light a lamp and put it under a peck-measure but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all that are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light shine before people in such a way that they may see your good deeds, and praise your Father in heaven.

⁴⁵ to prove that you are sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun rise on bad as well as good people, and makes the rain come down on doers of right and of wrong alike.

⁴⁸ So you, my followers, ought to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is."

¹⁶ "Listen! I am sending you out as sheep surrounded by wolves. So you must be sensible like serpents and guileless like doves.

²⁷ What I speak to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what you hear whispered in your ears, you must proclaim from housetops.

³² Therefore, everyone who will own me before men I will own before my Father in heaven,

⁴⁰ "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes Him who sent me. ⁴¹ Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive the same reward as a prophet, and whoever welcomes an upright man as such will receive the same reward as the upright man.

¹² And from the days of John the Baptist until the present moment the kingdom of heaven has been continuously taken by storm, and those who take it by storm are seizing it as a precious prize.

²⁷ All things have been entrusted to me by my Father, and no one but the Father perfectly knows the Son, and no one but the Son perfectly knows the Father, and the one to whom the Son chooses to make Him known. ²⁸ Come to me, all of you who toil and carry burdens, and I, yes, I, will lead you into rest. ²⁹ Put on my yoke, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls,

¹⁸ "Here is my Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved, in whom my soul delights itself. I will endow Him with my Spirit, and He will announce a judgment to the heathen.

²¹ On His name the heathen will set their hopes."

⁴⁰ For as Jonah was in the whale's stomach for three days and nights, the Son of Man will be three days and nights in the heart of the earth.

²⁴ Then Jesus said to His disciples: "If anyone wants to be my disciple, he must say 'No' to self, put his cross on his shoulders, and keep on following me.

² And in their presence His appearance was changed and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes turned as white as light.

¹⁷ And Jesus answered, "O you unbelieving and perverted people of the times! How long can I put up with you? Bring him here to me!"

⁶ But whoever leads one of these little ones, who believe in me, to do wrong, had better have a great millstone hung around his neck to sink him to the bottom of the sea.

¹¹ And as they received it, they began to grumble against the owner of the estate,

²⁶ It is not to be so among you, but whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to hold first position among you must be your slave, ²⁸ just as the Son of Man has come, not to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom price to set many free."

²⁸ just as the Son of Man has come, not to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom price to set many free."

³⁶ when I needed clothes you put them on me, when I was sick you looked after me, when I was in prison you came to see me.' ³⁷ Then the upright will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and give you something to eat, or thirsty, and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you to our homes, or needing clothes, and put them on you? ³⁹ When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and come to see you?' ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you did a good deed to one of these most insignificant brothers of mine, you did a good deed to me.'

³⁷ And He took Peter and Zebedee's two sons along with Him and He began to give way to His grief and distress of heart.

³⁹ Then He walked on a few steps and threw Himself upon His face, and in this attitude continued to pray, and say, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass by me; and yet, I pray, not what I want but what you want."

⁴² A second time He went away and prayed, "My Father, if it cannot pass by without my drinking it, your will be done."

²⁹ and made a crown of thorns and set it on His head, and they put a stick in His hand, and kneeling before Him they made sport of Him, saying, "All hail, you king of the Jews!"

¹⁸ Then Jesus came up to them, and said, "Full authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

² Six days after this, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with Him, and led them up on a high mountain, alone by themselves. And in their presence His appearance was changed, ³ and His clothes were shining as white as white could be, yea, whiter than any earthly bleacher could bleach them.

¹² He answered them, "Elijah does come first and gets everything ready, but how is it that the Scripture says about the Son of Man that He will suffer much and be rejected?

³³ Then they reached Capernaum. When He got home, He asked them, "What were you discussing on the way home?" ³⁴ But they had nothing to say, for they had discussed with one another which of them was to be the greatest.

⁴⁴ and whoever wants to hold the first positions among you must be everybody's slave. ⁴⁵ For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom price to set many free."

⁵ It might have been sold for more than sixty dollars, and the money have been given to the poor." So they kept on grumbling at her.

⁶ Now they were both upright in the sight of God, walking without reproach in all the Lord's commands and requirements.

¹⁰ But the angel said to them: "Stop being afraid, for now I bring you good tidings of great joy which is to be for all the people; ¹¹ for today, in the town of David, a Saviour for you has been born, who is to be your Messiah and Lord.

¹¹ for today, in the town of David, a Saviour for you has been born, who is to be your Messiah and Lord.

²⁵ Now there was in Jerusalem a man named Symeon, an upright, devout man; he was expecting to see the consolation of Israel, and he was under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

³⁵ But you must practice loving your enemies, doing good to them, and lending to them, despairing of nothing; so that your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

⁵ And when you leave that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a protest against all the people who do not welcome you."

²⁹ And while He was praying, the look on His face changed, and His clothes turned dazzling white.

⁵⁷ While they were going along the road, a man said to Him, "I will follow you wherever you go." ⁵⁸ But Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, even wild birds have roosts, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." ⁵⁹ He said to another man, "Follow me." But he said, "Let me first go back and bury my father." ⁶⁰ Then He answered him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but you go on and continue to spread the good news of the kingdom of God." ⁶¹ Still another man said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say 'Goodbye' to the homefolks." ⁶² Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow, and then continues to look back, is fitted for service in the kingdom of God."

²² All things have been entrusted to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is but the Father, and who the Father is but the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to make Him known."

⁸ I tell you, everyone who owns me before men the Son of Man will own before the angels of God;

³² Stop being afraid, my little flock, for your Father has gladly chosen to give you the kingdom.

²³ And someone asked Him, "Lord, are only a few to be saved?" And He said to them, ²⁴ "You must struggle on to get in through the narrow door, for I tell you, many will try to get in, but will not succeed,

⁷ When He noticed how the guests were picking out the best places, He told them the following story: ⁸ "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding supper, never take the best place, for someone of greater distinction than you may have been invited, ⁹ so that your host may not come and say to you, 'Make room for this man'; and then in embarrassment you will proceed to take and keep the lowest place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited anywhere, go and take the lowest place, so that when your host comes in, he may say to you, 'My friend, come up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow-guests. ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

²⁶ "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and still more, his own life too, he cannot be a disciple of mine.

¹⁴ I tell you, this man, and not the other, went back home forgiven and accepted by God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

²⁷ Which one, indeed, is the greater, the guest at the table or the servant who waits on him? Is it not the guest at the table? But I am among you as the servant who waits on you.

¹ In the beginning the Word existed; and the Word was face to face with God; yea, the Word was God Himself. ² He is the One who was face to face with God in the beginning.

¹⁴ So the Word became human and lived a little while among us, and we actually saw His glory, the glory of One who is an only Son from His Father, and He was full of spiritual blessing and truth.

¹⁸ No one has ever seen God; the only son, Deity Himself, who lies upon His Father's breast, has made him known.

²⁷ John answered, "A man cannot get anything, unless it is given to him from heaven.

²⁹ It is the bridegroom who has the bride, but the bridegroom's friend, who stands outside and listens to him, is very happy to hear the bridegroom's voice. So this happiness of mine is running over.

³⁵ The Father loves His Son and has put everything in His hands. ³⁶ Whoever trusts in the Son possesses eternal life, but whoever refuses to trust in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God continues to remain on him.

³⁴ Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work.

¹⁸ It was on account of this that the Jews tried all the harder to put Him to death, because He not only persisted in breaking the Sabbath, but also kept on saying that God was His Father, and so was making Himself equal to God.

²² For the Father passes sentence on no one, but He has committed all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all men may honor the Son as they do the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

²³ that all men may honor the Son as they do the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. ²⁴ "I most solemnly say to you, whoever listens to me and believes Him who has sent me possesses eternal life, and will never come under condemnation, but has already passed out of death into life. ²⁵ I most solemnly say to you, a time is coming -- indeed, it is already here -- when the dead will listen to the voice of the Son of God, and those who listen to it will live. ²⁶ For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted to the Son to have life in Himself. ²⁷ He has also granted to Him authority to act as Judge because He is the Son of Man. ²⁸ Stop being surprised at this, for the time is coming when all that are in the graves will listen to His voice, ²⁹ and those who have done good will come out for a resurrection to life, but those who have done evil for a resurrection to condemnation.

³⁵ John was the lamp that kept on burning and shining, and you decided for a time to delight yourselves in his light.

²⁷ Stop toiling for the food that perishes, but toil for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for God the Father has given Him authority to do so." ²⁸ Then they asked Him, "What must we do to perform the works that God demands?" ²⁹ Jesus answered them, "The work that God demands of you is this, to believe in the messenger whom He has sent."

⁴⁵ In the prophets it is written, 'And all men will be taught by God.' Everyone who ever listens to the Father and learns from Him will come to me.

⁶³ The Spirit is what gives life; the flesh does not help at all. The truths that I have told you are spirit and life.

⁶⁵ So He continued, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me, unless it is granted to him by my Father."

⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered Him, "To whom can we go, Lord? You have the message that gives eternal life,

⁵⁸ Then Jesus said to them, "I most solemnly say to you, I existed before Abraham was born." ⁵⁹ At this the Jews took up stones to stone Him, but Jesus made His way out of the temple unperceived.

²² His parents said this, because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone owned Jesus as the Christ, he should be shut out of the synagogues.

¹³ This is because he is a hired man and does not care a straw for the sheep.

¹⁸ No one has taken it from me, but I am giving it as a free gift. I have the right to give it and I have the right to take it back. I have gotten this order from my Father."

³⁰ The Father and I are one."

³³ The Jews retorted, "It is not for a good deed but for blasphemy we are going to stone you; namely, because you, although a mere man, claim to be God."

³⁸ But if I am doing so, even if you will not believe me, believe the deeds, that you may come to know and continue to know that the Father is in union with me and I am in union with the Father."

³ So the sisters sent this message to Jesus, "Lord, listen! the one you love so well is sick." ⁴ When Jesus received the message, He said, "This sickness is not to end in death but is to honor God, that the Son of God through it may be honored."

³⁵ Jesus burst into tears. ³⁶ So the Jews said, "See how tenderly He loved him!"

⁶ He said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and as the carrier of the purse for the Twelve he was in the habit of taking what was put into it.

²⁸ Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came out of heaven, "I have already glorified it and I will again glorify it." ²⁹ The crowd of bystanders on hearing it said that it was thunder; others, however, said, "An angel has spoken to Him!" ³⁰ Jesus answered, "This voice did not come for my sake, but for yours. ³¹ This world is now in process of judgment; the prince of this world is now to be expelled. ³² And if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to me."

⁴² And yet in spite of all this, even among the leading men many came to believe in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not own it, for fear of being turned out of the synagogue,

³ because He was sure that the Father had put everything into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going back to God,

³ because He was sure that the Father had put everything into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going back to God, ⁴ got up from the table, took off His outer clothes, and took a towel and tied it around His waist. ⁵ Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel which was around His waist. ⁶ Thus He came to Simon Peter. Peter said to Him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" ⁷ Jesus answered him, "You do not now understand what I am doing, but by-and-by you will learn." ⁸ Peter said to Him, "You must never wash my feet!" Jesus answered, "Unless I do wash you, you can have no share with me." ⁹ Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, do not stop with my feet, then, but wash my hands and face too!" ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, "Anyone who has taken a bath has no need of washing anything but his feet, but he is clean all over. And you are now clean, though not all of you are." ¹¹ For He knew who was going to betray Him; this is why He said, "You are not all clean." ¹² So when He had washed their feet and had put on His clothes and taken His place at the table, He said to them again: "Do you understand what I have done to you? ¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right in calling me so, for that is what I am.

¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right in calling me so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one another's feet.

¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one another's feet. ¹⁵ For I have set you an example, in order that you too may practice what I have done to you.

²⁰ I most solemnly say to you, whoever welcomes any messenger I send welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes Him who has sent me."

³¹ When he had left, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in Him, ³² and God will through Himself glorify Him, and He will glorify Him at once.

⁹ Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you disciples so long, and yet you, Philip, have not recognized me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Let us see the Father'?

¹³ And anything you ask for as bearers of my name I will do for you, so that the Father may be glorified through the Son.

¹⁸ I will not leave you helpless orphans. I am coming back to you.

²³ Jesus answered him, "If anyone really loves me, he will observe my teaching, and my Father will love him, and both of us will come in face-to-face fellowship with him; yes, we will make our special dwelling place with him.

²⁷ I now leave you the blessing of peace, I give you the blessing of my own peace. I myself do not give it in the way the world gives it. Stop letting your hearts be troubled or timid. ²⁸ You have heard me say that I am going away and coming back to you; if you really loved me, you would rejoice over my telling you that I am going to the Father, because my Father is greater than I.

³¹ but he is coming that the world may know that I love the Father and am doing what the Father has ordered me to do. Get up and let us go away."

¹⁰ If you continue to keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in His love.

¹⁰ If you continue to keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in His love. ¹¹ "I have told you these things, that the joy which I have had may remain in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹² This is my command to you, to keep on loving one another as I have loved you.

¹⁴ He will glorify me, because He will take the things that belong to me and tell them to you. ¹⁵ Everything that the Father has is mine; this is why I have told you, 'He will take the things that are mine and tell them to you.'

²² So you too are now in sorrow, but I am going to see you again, and then your hearts will be happy, and no one can rob you of your happiness.

²² So you too are now in sorrow, but I am going to see you again, and then your hearts will be happy, and no one can rob you of your happiness. ²³ At that time you will ask me no more questions. I most solemnly say to you, the Father will give you, as bearers of my name, whatever you ask Him for. ²⁴ Up to this time you have not asked for anything as bearers of my name, but now you must keep on asking, and you will receive, that your cup of joy may be full to the brim.

¹ When Jesus had said all these things, He lifted His eyes to heaven and said: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that He may glorify you,

¹ When Jesus had said all these things, He lifted His eyes to heaven and said: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that He may glorify you, ² just as you have given Him authority over all mankind to give eternal life to all whom you have given Him. ³ Now eternal life means knowing you as the only true God and knowing Jesus your messenger as Christ.

⁵ So now, Father, glorify me up there in your presence just as you did before the world existed.

¹³ And now I am going to be with you, and I am saying these things while still in the world, that the joy which I experience may be fully experienced in their own souls.

¹⁸ Just as you have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world, too.

²⁸ Thomas answered Him, "My Lord and my God!"

¹⁴ With one mind they were all continuing to devote themselves to prayer, with the women and Mary and His brothers.

¹ When the day of Pentecost had now come, they were all meeting in one mind,

³² I mean Jesus whom God raised from the dead, to which fact we are all witnesses, ³³ So He has been exalted to God's right hand and has received from His Father, as promised, and poured out upon us the Holy Spirit, as you see and hear. ³⁴ For David did not go up to heaven, but he himself says: 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, ³⁵ Until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet."' ³⁶ "Therefore, let all the descendants of Israel understand beyond a doubt that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ."

³⁶ "Therefore, let all the descendants of Israel understand beyond a doubt that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ."

⁴⁰ With many more words he continued to testify and to plead with them to save themselves from that crooked age.

⁴⁶ Day after day they regularly attended the temple; they practiced breaking their bread together in their homes, and eating their food with glad and simple hearts,

³² Now there was but one heart and soul in the vast number of those who had become believers, and not one of them claimed that anything that he had was his own, but they shared everything that they had as common property.

¹² Many signs and wonders were continuously performed by the apostles among the people. And by common consent they all used to meet in Solomon's portico.

³¹ God has exalted to His right hand this very One as our Leader and Saviour, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

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

⁸ So there was great rejoicing in that city.

³³ Justice was denied Him in His humiliation, who can tell of His times? For His life is removed from the earth."

⁶ But get up and go into the city, and there it will be told you what you ought to do."

³⁷ Just at that time it happened that she had been taken ill and had died. They washed her body and laid her out in a room upstairs.

³⁹ So Peter at once got up and went with them. When he reached there, they took him to the room upstairs, and all the widows took their stand around him, crying and showing him the shirts and coats that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. ⁴⁰ Then Peter put them all out of the room, knelt down and prayed, and, turning to the body, said, "Tabitha, get up!" Then she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹ He gave her his hand and lifted her to her feet, and calling in the Lord's people and the widows, he gave her back to them alive.

³⁶ He has sent His message to the descendants of Israel, by telling them the good news of peace through Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all.

³⁸ how God consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and then He went about doing good and curing all who were overpowered by the devil, because God was with Him.

²¹ And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

¹³ Then Paul and his party set sail from Paphos and crossed over to Perga in Pamphylia. Here John quit them and returned to Jerusalem,

²⁶ Brothers, descendants of the race of Abraham, and all among you who reverence God, it is to us that the message of this salvation has been sent.

² So, as a dire disturbance and a serious discussion had been created between Paul and Barnabas and them, they decided that Paul and Barnabas and some others from their number should go up to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles and elders about this question.

⁷ After a lengthy discussion Peter got up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God chose among you that through me the heathen should hear the message of the good news and believe it.

³⁸ Paul, however, did not consider such a man fit to take along with them, the man who deserted them in Pamphylia and did not go on with them to the work. ³⁹ The disagreement was so sharp that they separated, and Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus.

³ Paul wanted this man to join him in his journey; so on account of the Jews in that district he took him and had him circumcised, for everybody knew that his father was a Greek. ⁴ As they journeyed on from town to town, they delivered to the brothers to keep the decisions reached by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. ⁵ So the churches through faith continued to grow in strength and to increase in numbers from day to day. ⁶ Then they crossed Phrygia and Galatia. But because they were prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in Asia, ⁷ they went on to Mysia and tried to get into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them. ⁸ So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. ⁹ There Paul had a vision one night: a man from Macedonia kept standing and pleading with him in these words, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!" ¹⁰ As soon as he had this vision, we laid our plans to get off to Macedonia, because we confidently concluded that God had called us to tell them the good news. ¹¹ So we sailed away from Troy and struck a bee line for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis. ¹² From there we went on to Philippi, a Roman colony, the leading town in that part of Macedonia. In this town we stayed some days.

²⁹ Then the jailer called for lights and rushed in and fell trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas.

²⁴ But now I count as nothing the sacrifice of my life, if only I can finish my race and render the service entrusted to me by the Lord Jesus, of faithfully telling the good news of God's favor.

³⁰ Even from your own number men will appear who will try, by speaking perversions of truth, to draw away the disciples after them.

³⁵ In everything I showed you that by working hard like this we must help those who are weak, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It makes one happier to give than to get.'"

^{38 (44:37)} because they were especially pained at his saying that they would never see his face again. Then they went down to the ship with him.

¹³ Then Paul answered, "What do you mean by crying and breaking my heart? Why, I am ready not only to be bound at Jerusalem but to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus."

¹⁰ They also honored us with many presents, and when we set sail, they supplied us with everything that we needed.

³ about His Son, who on the physical side became a descendant of David, and on the holy, spiritual side

¹¹ For I am longing to see you, to impart to you some spiritual gift, that you may be strengthened;

⁷ eternal life to those who patiently continue doing good and striving for glory, honor, and immortality,

¹ Since we have been given right standing with God through faith, then let us continue enjoying peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² by whom we have an introduction through faith into this state of God's favor, in which we safely stand; and let us continue exulting in the hope of enjoying the glorious presence of God.

⁵ and hope never disappoints us; for through the Holy Spirit that has been given us, God's love has flooded our hearts.

¹⁹ For just as by that man's disobedience the whole race of men were constituted sinners, so by this One's obedience the whole race of men may be brought into right standing with God.

³ For though the law could not do it, because it was made helpless through our lower nature, yet God, by sending His own Son in a body similar to that of our lower nature, and as a sacrifice for sin, passed sentence upon sin through His body,

⁹ But you are not living on the plane of the lower nature, but on the spiritual plane, if the Spirit of God has His home within you. Unless a man has the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. ¹⁰ But if Christ lives in you, although your bodies must die because of sin, your spirits are now enjoying life because of right standing with God. ¹¹ If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead has His home within you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give your mortal bodies life through His Spirit that has His home within you. ¹² So, brothers, we are under obligations, but not to our lower nature to live by the standard set by it; ¹³ for if you live by such a standard, you are going to die, but if by the Spirit you put a stop to the doings of your lower nature, you will live. ¹⁴ For all who are guided by God's Spirit are God's sons. ¹⁵ For you do not have a sense of servitude to fill you with dread again, but the consciousness of adopted sons by which we cry, "Abba," that is, "Father." ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirits that we are God's children;

²⁶ In the same way the Spirit, too, is helping us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself pleads for us with unspeakable yearnings,

² that I have deep grief and constant anguish in my heart;

⁵ the patriarchs, and from them by natural descent the Christ has come, who is exalted over all, God blessed forever. Amen!

¹¹ For even before the twin sons were born, and though they had done nothing either good or bad, that God's purpose in accordance with His choice might continue to stand, conditioned not on men's actions but on God's calling them,

¹⁶ So one's destiny does not depend on his own willing or strenuous actions but on God's having mercy on him.

⁸ But what does it say? "God's message is close to you, on your very lips and in your heart"; that is, the message about faith which we preach. ⁹ For if with your lips you acknowledge the fact that Jesus is Lord, and in your hearts you believe that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

⁹ For if with your lips you acknowledge the fact that Jesus is Lord, and in your hearts you believe that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For in their hearts people exercise the faith that leads to right standing, and with their lips they make the acknowledgment which means salvation.

¹⁰ For in their hearts people exercise the faith that leads to right standing, and with their lips they make the acknowledgment which means salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, "No one who puts his faith in Him will ever be put to shame."

¹¹ For the Scripture says, "No one who puts his faith in Him will ever be put to shame." ¹² But there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is over them all, because He is infinitely kind to all who call upon Him.

¹² But there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is over them all, because He is infinitely kind to all who call upon Him. ¹³ For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. ¹⁴ But how can people call upon One in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in One about whom they have not heard? And how can people hear without someone to preach to them? ¹⁵ And how can men preach unless they are sent to do so? As the Scripture says, "How beautiful are the feet of men who bring the glad news of His good things!"

¹⁵ And how can men preach unless they are sent to do so? As the Scripture says, "How beautiful are the feet of men who bring the glad news of His good things!" ¹⁶ However, they have not all given heed to the good news, for Isaiah says, "Lord, who has put faith in what we told?"

⁴ But how did God reply to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have never bent their knees to Baal."

¹ I beg you, therefore, brothers, through these mercies God has shown you, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies as a living sacrifice, devoted and well-pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.

¹⁰ In brotherly love be affectionate to one another, in personal honors put one another to the fore,

¹⁵ Practice rejoicing with people who rejoice, and weeping with people who weep. ¹⁶ Keep on thinking in harmony with one another. Stop being high-minded but keep on associating with lowly people. Stop being conceited.

¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, live in peace with everybody.

¹¹ Do this in particular because you know the present crisis, that it is high time for you to wake up out of your sleep, for our salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed. ¹² The night has almost passed; the day is at hand. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness, and put on the weapons of light. ¹³ Let us live becomingly for people who are in the light of day, not in carousing and drunkenness, nor in sexual immorality and licentiousness, nor in quarreling and jealousy.

¹³ Let us live becomingly for people who are in the light of day, not in carousing and drunkenness, nor in sexual immorality and licentiousness, nor in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴ Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and put a stop to gratifying the evil desires that lurk in your lower nature.

¹ Make it your practice to receive into full Christian fellowship people who are overscrupulous, but not to criticize their views.

⁹ For Christ died and lived again for the very purpose of being Lord of both the dead and the living.

⁹ For Christ died and lived again for the very purpose of being Lord of both the dead and the living. ¹⁰ Then why should you criticize your brother? Or, why should you look down on your brother? Surely, we shall all stand before God to be judged, ¹¹ for the Scripture says: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall make acknowledgment to God.'"

¹¹ for the Scripture says: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall make acknowledgment to God.'"

¹⁵ For if your brother is hurt because of the food you eat, you are not living by the standard of love. Stop ruining, by what you eat, the man for whom Christ died.

¹⁹ So let us keep on pursuing the things that make for peace and our mutual upbuilding. ²⁰ Stop undoing the work of God just for the sake of food. Everything is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything when it makes another stumble. ²¹ The right thing to do is not to eat meat, or drink wine, or do anything else, that makes your brother stumble. ²² On your part, you must exercise your faith by the standard of yourself in the sight of God. Happy is the man who need not condemn himself for doing the thing that he approves.

¹ It is the duty of us who are strong to bear with the weaknesses of those who are not strong, and not merely to please ourselves.

³ Christ certainly did not please Himself; instead, as the Scripture says, "The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen upon me."

⁵ May God, who gives men patient endurance and encouragement, grant you such harmony with one another, in accordance with the standard which Christ Jesus sets,

⁵ May God, who gives men patient endurance and encouragement, grant you such harmony with one another, in accordance with the standard which Christ Jesus sets, ⁶ that with united hearts and lips you may praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁸ Yes, I mean that Christ has become a servant to Israel to prove God's truthfulness, to make valid His promises to our forefathers, ⁹ and for the heathen peoples to praise God for His mercy, as the Scripture says: "For this I will give thanks to you among the heathen, and will sing praises to your name."

¹² And again Isaiah says: "The noted Son of Jesse will come, even He who rises to rule the heathen; on Him the heathen will set their hope."

¹² And again Isaiah says: "The noted Son of Jesse will come, even He who rises to rule the heathen; on Him the heathen will set their hope." ¹³ May the hope-inspiring God so fill you with perfect joy and peace through your continuing faith, that you may bubble over with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

¹⁶ in making me a minister of Christ Jesus to the heathen peoples, to have me act as a sacrificing minister of the good news, in order that my offering of the heathen peoples to God may be acceptable, consecrated by the Holy Spirit.

²⁸ So, after I have finished this matter and made sure of the results of this contribution for them, I shall come by you on my way to Spain. ²⁹ And I feel sure that when I do come to you, I shall come with Christ's abundant blessing on me.

² that you may give her a Christian welcome in a manner becoming God's people, and give her whatever help she needs from you, for she herself has given protection to many, including myself.

⁴ who once risked their very necks for my life. I am so thankful to them; not only I but also all the churches among the heathen thank them.

¹⁷ But I beg you, brothers, to keep on the lookout for those who stir up divisions and put hindrances in your way, in opposition to the instruction that you had, and always avoid them.

¹⁹ Yes, your obedience has been told to everybody; so I am delighted about you, but I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is bad.

²¹ Timothy, my fellow-worker, wishes to be remembered to you; so do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater too, my fellow-countrymen.

⁸ and to the very end He will guarantee that you are vindicated at the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁰ Now I beg you all, brothers, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, to be harmonious in what you say and not to have factions among you, but to be perfectly harmonious in your minds and judgments.

¹⁰ Now I beg you all, brothers, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, to be harmonious in what you say and not to have factions among you, but to be perfectly harmonious in your minds and judgments.

¹⁰ Now I beg you all, brothers, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, to be harmonious in what you say and not to have factions among you, but to be perfectly harmonious in your minds and judgments. ¹¹ For I have been informed about you, my brothers, by Chloe's people, that there are wranglings among you.

¹¹ For I have been informed about you, my brothers, by Chloe's people, that there are wranglings among you. ¹² I mean this, that one of you says, "I belong to Paul's party," another, "And I belong to Apollos' party," another, "And I belong to Cephas' party," another, "And I belong to Christ's party."

³ Yes, as for myself, it was in weakness and fear and great trembling that I came to you,

³ for you are still unspiritual. For when there are still jealousy and wrangling among you, are you not still unspiritual and living by a human standard?

³ for you are still unspiritual. For when there are still jealousy and wrangling among you, are you not still unspiritual and living by a human standard? ⁴ For when one says, "I belong to Paul's party," and another, "I belong to Apollos' party," are you not acting as mere human creatures? ⁵ Then what is Apollos? Or what is Paul? Mere servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord gave each of us his task.

⁹ for we belong to God as His fellow-workers; you belong to God as His field to be tilled, as His building to be built.

¹⁶ Are you not conscious that you are God's temple, and that the Spirit of God has His permanent home in you?

¹⁴ I do not write this to make you blush with shame but to give you counsel as my dear children.

¹⁷ This is why I have sent Timothy to you. He is a dear child of mine and trustworthy in the Lord's work; he will call to your minds my methods in the work of Christ Jesus, just as I teach them everywhere in every church.

¹⁹ Or, are you not conscious that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit that is in you, whom you have as a gift from God? Furthermore, you are not your own, ²⁰ for you have been bought and actually paid for. So you must honor God with your bodies.

⁶ yet for us there is but one God, the Father, who is the source of all things and the goal of our living, and but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom everything was made and through whom we live.

⁹ But you must see to it that this right of yours does not become a stumbling block to overscrupulous people. ¹⁰ For if somebody sees you, who have an intelligent view of this matter, partaking of a meal in an idol's temple, will he not be emboldened, with his overscrupulous conscience, to eat the food which has been sacrificed to an idol? ¹¹ Yes, the overscrupulous brother, for whom Christ died, is ruined by your so-called knowledge. ¹² Now if in such a way you sin against your brothers and wound their overscrupulous consciences, you are actually sinning against Christ. ¹³ So then, if food can make my brother fall, I will never, no, never, eat meat again, in order to keep my brother from falling.

²⁰ To the Jews I have become like a Jew for the winning of Jews; to men under the law, like one under the law, though I am not under the law myself, to win the men under the law; ²¹ to men who have no written law, like one without any law, though I am not without God's law but specially under Christ's law, to win the men who have no written law. ²² To the overscrupulous I have become overscrupulous, to win the overscrupulous; yes, I have become everything to everybody, in order by all means to save some of them. ²³ And I do it all for the sake of the good news, so as to share with others in its blessings. ²⁴ Do you not know that in a race the runners all run, but only one can get the prize? You must run in such a way that you can get the prize. ²⁵ Any man who enters an athletic contest practices rigid self-control in training, only to win a wreath that withers, but we are in to win a wreath that never withers. ²⁶ So that is the way I run, with no uncertainty as to winning. That is the way I box, not like one that punches the air.

²⁶ So that is the way I run, with no uncertainty as to winning. That is the way I box, not like one that punches the air. ²⁷ But I keep on beating and bruising my body and making it my slave, so that I, after I have summoned others to the race, may not myself become unfit to run.

¹⁰ You must stop grumbling, as some of them did, and for it were destroyed by the destroying angel.

¹³ No temptation has taken hold of you but what is common to human nature. And God is to be trusted not to let you be tempted beyond your strength, but when temptation comes, to make a way out of it, so that you can bear up under it.

²⁴ No one should always be looking after his own welfare, but also that of his neighbor.

³² Stop being stumbling blocks to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God, ³³ just as I myself am in the habit of pleasing everybody in everything, not aiming at my own welfare but at that of as many people as possible, in order that they may be saved.

³³ just as I myself am in the habit of pleasing everybody in everything, not aiming at my own welfare but at that of as many people as possible, in order that they may be saved.

³³ just as I myself am in the habit of pleasing everybody in everything, not aiming at my own welfare but at that of as many people as possible, in order that they may be saved.

³ So I want to inform you that no one speaking under the power of the Spirit of God can say, "Jesus is accursed!" and no one except one under the power of the Holy Spirit can really say, "Jesus is Lord!"

⁶ there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who does all things by putting energy in us all.

¹³ For by one Spirit all of us, Jews or Greeks, slaves or freemen, have been baptized into one body, and were all imbued with one Spirit.

²² No, on the contrary, even those parts of the body that seem to be most delicate are indispensable, ²³ and the parts of it we deem devoid of honor we dress with special honor, and our ill-shaped parts receive more careful attention, ²⁴ while our well-shaped parts do not want for anything. Yes, God has perfectly adjusted the body, giving great honor to its apparently inferior parts, ²⁵ so that there is no disharmony in the body, but all the parts have a common care for one another. ²⁶ If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it. If one part receives an honor, all the parts can share its joy.

²⁶ If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it. If one part receives an honor, all the parts can share its joy.

⁴ Love is so patient and so kind; love never boils with jealousy; it never boasts, is never puffed with pride; ⁵ It does not act with rudeness, or insist upon its rights; it never gets provoked, it never harbors evil thoughts;

⁵ It does not act with rudeness, or insist upon its rights; it never gets provoked, it never harbors evil thoughts;

⁹ For I belong to the lowest rank of the apostles, and am not fit to bear the title apostle, because I once persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by God's unmerited favor I have become what I am, and His unmerited favor shown to me was not bestowed for nothing, for I have toiled more extensively than any of them, and yet it was not I but God's unmerited favor working with me.

²⁴ After that comes the end, when He will turn the kingdom over to God His Father, when He will put an end to all other government, authority, and power; ²⁵ for He must continue to be king until He puts all His enemies under His feet. ²⁶ Death is the last enemy to be stopped, ²⁷ for He has put everything in subjection under His feet. But when He says that everything has been put in subjection to Him, He Himself is evidently excepted who put it all in subjection to Him.

³¹ I protest, by the boasting which I do about you, my brothers, through our union with Christ Jesus our Lord, I myself run the risk of dying every single day!

⁴⁷ The first man was made of the dust of the earth; the second Man is from heaven.

⁵³ For this decaying part of us must put on the body that can never decay, and this part once capable of dying must put on the body that can never die.

⁵⁸ So, my dear brothers, continue to be firm, incapable of being moved, always letting the cup run over in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the service of the Lord is never thrown away.

¹⁰ If Timothy gets there, see that he is at ease among you, for he is devotedly doing the work of the Lord, just as I am.

¹⁷ And I am glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus have come to see me, because they have supplied what you lacked. ¹⁸ Yes, they have cheered my spirit, and yours too. You must deeply appreciate such men.

⁵ For just as my sufferings for Christ are running over the cup, so through Christ my comfort is running over too.

⁵ For just as my sufferings for Christ are running over the cup, so through Christ my comfort is running over too. ⁶ If I am in sorrow, it is on behalf of your comfort and salvation; if I am comforted, it is for the comfort that is experienced by you in your patient endurance of the same sort of sufferings that I am enduring too.

¹⁴ that is, to understand that you have grounds for boasting of me just as I have for boasting of you, on the day of our Lord Jesus.

³ This is the very thing I wrote you, that when I did come I might not be made sad by the very people who ought to make me glad, for I had confidence in you all that my gladness would be gladness to you all.

⁷ so you must do the opposite, freely forgive and comfort him, to keep him from being overwhelmed by his excessive sadness.

⁹ For this is why I wrote you, to see if you would stand the test, to see if you would be obedient in everything.

¹³ I had no rest of spirit, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and left for Macedonia. ¹⁴ But thanks be to God, for He always leads me in His triumphal train, through union with Christ, and everywhere through me keeps spreading the perfume of the knowledge of Him.

⁵ Not that I am myself qualified to consider anything as coming from me myself. No, my qualification comes from God, for

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

¹⁴ For the love of Christ continuously constrains me, because I am convinced that as One died for all, all have died, ¹⁵ and He died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

³ To keep my ministry from being found fault with, I am trying not to put a single hindrance in anybody's way.

¹⁷ Therefore: "'Come out of company with them, and separate from them,' the Lord has said, 'And stop touching what is unclean; then I will welcome you,

² Make room for me in your hearts, I have not wronged or harmed or taken advantage of a single one of you.

⁴ I have the greatest confidence in you; I speak most highly of you. I am fully comforted; in the face of all my sorrow my cup is running over with joy.

⁷ and not only by his coming but by the comfort he had gotten from you, because he kept on telling me how you were longing to see me, how sorry you were, and how loyal you were to me, so that I was gladder still.

¹⁵ Yes, his heart is running over toward you, as he continues recalling how you all obeyed him, with what reverence and trembling you welcomed him.

⁸ I am not saying this in the spirit of a command, but I am simply trying to test the genuineness of your love by the enthusiasm of others. ⁹ For by experience you know the unmerited favor shown by our Lord Jesus Christ; that although He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, in order that by His poverty you might become rich.

²² I send with them another brother of ours, whom I have often in many ways tested and found to be enthusiastic, but now he is more enthusiastic than ever, because of his great confidence in you.

²² I send with them another brother of ours, whom I have often in many ways tested and found to be enthusiastic, but now he is more enthusiastic than ever, because of his great confidence in you. ²³ As for Titus, he is my partner and comrade in the work for you, while these brothers of ours, the representatives of the churches, will bring glory to Christ. ²⁴ So you must furnish them, before all the churches, proof of your love and ground for my praising you so highly.

¹⁴ and so in their prayers for you they will continue longing for you, because of God's surpassing favor shown you.

¹⁸ For it is not the man who keeps on recommending himself who is really approved, but it is the man whom the Lord recommends.

⁷ Did I do wrong in taking a lowly place to let you have an exalted one, in that I preached the good news about God to you without accepting any pay? ⁸ I sponged on other churches by taking pay from them to render service to you, ⁹ and when I was with you and needed money, I never burdened a single one of you for a cent, for the brothers came from Macedonia and supplied what I needed. And so I kept myself, as I shall always do, from being a burden to you in any way.

²⁹ Who is weak without my being weak too? Who is caused to fall without my being fired with indignation?

¹⁵ So in my own case, I will most happily spend my money and myself for your sakes. If I love you much more than I love others, am I to be loved less by you?

²⁰ I repeat it, I am apprehensive that, somehow or other, there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, rivalries, slanders, gossiping, haughty pride, and disorders,

¹¹ Finally, brothers, goodbye! Practice the perfecting of your characters, keep listening to my appeals, continue thinking in harmony and living in peace, and the loving, peace-giving God will be with you.

¹⁴ The spiritual blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the common sharing of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

² I went up under the guidance of a divine revelation. Now I laid before them the good news that I was in the habit of preaching among the heathen, but first I did so privately before the leaders, for fear that my course might be or might have been to no purpose.

¹³ Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us -- for the Scripture says, "Cursed be everyone who is hanged on a tree" --

⁴ but when the proper time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born subject to law,

⁶ And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, "Abba," that is, "Father."

¹¹ I am beginning to fear that I have bestowed my labors on you for nothing.

¹⁵ But if you continue to bite and eat one another, beware lest you are destroyed by one another.

²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, quarreling, jealousy, anger, intrigues, dissensions, party-spirit, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I now warn you, as I have done before, that those who practice such things shall not be heirs of the kingdom of God. ²² But the product of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

²⁶ Let us stop being ambitious for honors, so challenging one another, envying one another.

² Practice bearing one another's burdens, and in this way carry out the law of Christ.

⁷ Do not be deceived anymore; God is not to be scoffed at. A person will reap just what he sows, whatever it is. ⁸ The person who sows to gratify his lower nature will reap destruction from that lower nature, and the person who sows to gratify his higher nature will reap eternal life from the Spirit. ⁹ Let us stop getting tired of doing good, for at the proper time we shall reap if we do not give up.

⁵ He foreordained us to become His sons by adoption through Christ Jesus, to carry out the happy choice of His will,

⁹ He has made known to us the secret of His will, which is in accordance with His purpose which He planned in Christ, ¹⁰ so that, at the coming of the climax of the ages, everything in heaven and on earth should be unified through Christ, ¹¹ in union with whom we were made God's portion, since we had been foreordained in accordance with the purpose of Him who in everything carries out the plan of His will,

¹³ You too, as you have heard the message of the truth, the good news that means your salvation, and as you have trusted in Him too, have been stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit,

¹³ You too, as you have heard the message of the truth, the good news that means your salvation, and as you have trusted in Him too, have been stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is the first installment of our inheritance, so that we may finally come into full possession of the prize of redemption, and praise His glory for it.

²⁰ when He raised Christ from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in heaven, ²¹ far above every other government, authority, power, and dominion, yea, far above every other title that can be conferred, not only in this world but in the world to come. ²² And so He has put all things under His feet and made Him the supreme Head of the church, ²³ which is His body, that is being filled by Him who fills everything everywhere.

⁴ But God, who is so rich in mercy on account of the great love He has for us, ⁵ has made us, though dead because of our shortcomings, live again in fellowship with Christ -- it is by His unmerited favor that you have been saved.

⁸ For it is by His unmerited favor through faith that you have been saved; it is not by anything that you have done, it is the gift of God.

¹⁸ for it is by Him through one Spirit that both of us now have an introduction to the Father. ¹⁹ So you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but you are fellow-citizens of God's people and members of His family; ²⁰ for you are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself the cornerstone. ²¹ In union with Him the whole building is harmoniously fitted together and continues to grow into a temple, sacred through its union with the Lord, ²² and you yourselves, in union with Him, in fellowship with one another, are being built up into a dwelling for God through the Spirit.

¹³ So I beg you not to lose heart over the sorrows that I am suffering for your sake, for they bring you honor. ¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father,

² with perfect humility and gentleness, with patience, lovingly bearing with one another,

⁴ There is but one body and one Spirit, just as there is but one hope resulting from the call you have received;

⁹ What does "He went up" mean, except that He had first gone down into the lower regions of the earth?

⁹ What does "He went up" mean, except that He had first gone down into the lower regions of the earth? ¹⁰ The very One that went down has gone up, too, far above all the heavens, to fill the universe. ¹¹ And He has given some men to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers, ¹² for the immediate equipment of God's people for the work of service, for the ultimate building up of the body of Christ,

³⁰ You must stop offending the Holy Spirit of God by whom you have been stamped for the day of redemption. ³¹ You must remove all bitterness, rage, anger, loud threats, and insults, with all malice. ³² You must practice being kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has graciously forgiven you.

¹ So you must keep on following God's example, as dearly loved children of His, ² and practice living in love, just as Christ loved you too and gave Himself for you as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

² and practice living in love, just as Christ loved you too and gave Himself for you as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

⁷ So you must stop having anything to do with them. ⁸ For at one time you were darkness itself, but now in union with the Lord you are light itself. You must live like children of light,

²¹ keep on living in subordination to one another out of reverence to Christ.

²⁷ that He might present the church to Himself as a splendid bride without a blot or wrinkle or anything like it, but to be consecrated and faultless.

⁵ You slaves must practice obedience to your earthly masters, with reverence and awe, with sincerity of heart, as you would obey Christ,

²¹ That you may also know how I am, Tychicus, our dearly loved brother and a faithful minister in the Lord's service, will give you all the information; ²² that is the very reason I am sending him, to let you know how I am and to cheer your hearts.

¹ Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all God's people in union with Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and assistants:

³ Every time I remember you I thank my God, ⁴ and always do it with joy in every entreaty I make for all of you, ⁵ for your cooperation in spreading the good news, from the first day you heard it until now.

⁸ For God is my witness how I never stop yearning for all of you with the affection Christ Jesus inspires.

¹⁰ so that you may always approve the better things, and be men of transparent character and blameless life,

¹⁵ Some, indeed, are actually preaching Christ because they are moved by jealousy and partisanship, but others are doing so from the motive of good will; ¹⁶ the latter, indeed, are doing so from love to me, for they know that I am providentially put here to defend the good news; ¹⁷ the former are preaching Christ from the motive of rivalry, not in sincerity, supposing that this is making it harder for me to bear my imprisonment.

¹⁹ for I know that through your prayers and a bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my spiritual welfare, ²⁰ in accordance with my eager expectation and hope that I shall never disgrace myself, but that now as always hitherto, by my all-conquering courage, whether by living or dying, Christ will be honored in me.

²⁰ in accordance with my eager expectation and hope that I shall never disgrace myself, but that now as always hitherto, by my all-conquering courage, whether by living or dying, Christ will be honored in me.

²⁰ in accordance with my eager expectation and hope that I shall never disgrace myself, but that now as always hitherto, by my all-conquering courage, whether by living or dying, Christ will be honored in me. ²¹ For to me living means Christ and dying brings gain.

²⁵ Now since I am certain of this, I know that I shall stay on and stay by you all to promote the progress of your faith ²⁶ which will result in your joy; so that, through union with Christ Jesus, you may have more than sufficient ground for boasting about me, through my being with you again.

²⁶ which will result in your joy; so that, through union with Christ Jesus, you may have more than sufficient ground for boasting about me, through my being with you again. ²⁷ Only you must practice living lives that are worthy of the good news, so that whether I come and see you or stay away, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, and that with one purpose you are continuing to cooperate in the fight for faith in the good news.

²⁷ Only you must practice living lives that are worthy of the good news, so that whether I come and see you or stay away, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, and that with one purpose you are continuing to cooperate in the fight for faith in the good news.

²⁹ For it has been graciously granted to you for Christ's sake, not only to trust in Him but also to suffer for Him,

² fill up my cup of joy by living in harmony, by fostering the same disposition of love, your hearts beating in unison, your minds set on one purpose. ³ Stop acting from motives of selfish strife or petty ambition, but in humility practice treating one another as your superiors. ⁴ Stop looking after your own interests only but practice looking out for the interests of others too.

⁶ Though He was existing in the nature of God, He did not think His being on an equality with God a thing to be selfishly grasped,

¹⁴ Practice doing everything without grumbling and disputing,

¹⁶ to hold up the message of life. That will give me ground for boasting on the day of Christ, because neither my career nor my labor has been a failure. ¹⁷ Yes, even if I am pouring out my life as a libation on the sacrifice and service your faith is rendering, I am glad to do so and congratulate you upon it;

¹⁹ I hope, with the approval of the Lord Jesus, soon to send Timothy to you, so that I too may be cheered on getting the news about you. ²⁰ For I have no one else with a heart like his who would take such genuine interest in you,

²² But you know his tested character, how like a son in fellowship with his father he has toiled with me like a slave in preaching the good news. ²³ So I hope to send him to you just as soon as I can see how my case is going to turn out. ²⁴ Really, I am trusting that by the help of the Lord I soon shall come myself. ²⁵ But I think it proper now to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow-laborer, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger to minister to my needs, ²⁶ for he has been longing to see you and has been homesick because you have heard that he was sick. ²⁷ For he was so sick that he was on the point of dying, but God took pity on him, and not only on him but on me too, to keep me from having one sorrow after another.

²⁷ For he was so sick that he was on the point of dying, but God took pity on him, and not only on him but on me too, to keep me from having one sorrow after another. ²⁸ I very eagerly send him, so that when you see him you may be glad of it, and I may be less sorrowful.

³⁰ because he came near dying for the sake of the Lord's work and risked his life to make up for your lack of opportunity to minister to me.

¹ Finally, my brothers, continue to be glad that you are in union with the Lord. I am not tired of writing you the same things over and over: it means your safety.

³ For we are the true circumcision, who by the Spirit of God worship Him, who take pride in Christ Jesus only, and do not rely on outward privileges,

¹³ Brothers, I do not think that I have captured it yet, but here is my one aspiration, so forgetting what is behind me and reaching out for what is ahead of me, ¹⁴ I am pressing onward toward the goal, to win the prize to which God through Jesus Christ is calling us upward. ¹⁵ So let us all who are mature have this attitude. If you have a different attitude, God will make it clear to you. ¹⁶ However, we must continue to live up to that degree of success that we have already reached.

¹ So, my dearly loved brothers, whom I long to see, my joy and crown, by the help of the Lord keep on standing firm, dearly loved friends. ² I beg Euodia and I beg Syntyche to live in harmony by the help of the Lord. ³ And I solemnly beg you, my true comrade, keep on cooperating with those two women, because they shared with me the struggle in spreading the good news, together with Clement and the rest of my fellow-workers, whose names are in the book of life. ⁴ By the help of the Lord always keep up the glad spirit; yes, I will repeat it, keep up the glad spirit.

¹⁰ I was made very happy as a Christian to have your interest in my welfare revived again after so long; because you have always had the interest but not the opportunity to show it.

¹⁵ And you Philippians yourselves know that immediately after the good news was first preached to you, when I left Macedonia, no church but yours went into partnership with me to open an account of credits and debits.

¹⁸ I have received your payment in full, and more too. I am amply supplied after getting the things you sent by Epaphroditus; they are like sweet incense, the kind of sacrifice that God accepts and approves.

⁷ as you learned it from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow-slave. As a faithful minister of Christ for me

¹⁵ Yes, He is the exact likeness of the unseen God, His first-born Son who existed before any created thing, ¹⁶ for it was through Him that everything was created in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen, thrones, dominions, principalities, authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him.

¹⁸ Yes, He is the Head of the church as His body. For He is the beginning, the first-born among the dead, so that He alone should stand first in everything.

²⁴ I am now glad to be suffering for you, and in my own person I am filling in what is lacking in Christ's sufferings for His body, that is, the church.

² that their hearts may be encouraged, by having been knit together in love and by having atoned to the full assurance of understanding, so that they may finally reach the fullest knowledge of the open secret, Christ Himself,

⁵ For though I am far away in person, still I am with you in spirit, and I am glad to note your fine order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

⁸ But now you too must once for all put them all aside -- anger, rage, malice, and abusive, filthy talk from your lips.

¹² So as God's own chosen people, consecrated and dearly loved, you must once for all clothe yourselves with tenderheartedness, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience; you must keep on

⁸ I am sending him to you for the express purpose of letting you know my circumstances, and of cheering your hearts; ⁹ he is accompanied by Onesimus, a faithful and dearly loved brother, who is one of your own number. They will tell you everything that is going on here. ¹⁰ Aristarchus, my fellow-prisoner, wishes to be remembered to you; and so does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas; if he comes to see you, give him a hearty welcome. ¹¹ So does Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only converts from Judaism that are fellow-workers with me here for the kingdom of God, who have proved a real comfort to me.

³ for we can never for a moment before our God forget your energizing faith, your toiling love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁸ Because we were yearning for you so tenderly, we were willing, not only to share with you God's good news, but to lay down our very lives too for you, all because you were so dearly loved by us.

¹⁹ For what is our hope or happiness or crown of boasting, except you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ when He comes?

¹⁹ For what is our hope or happiness or crown of boasting, except you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ when He comes? ²⁰ You, indeed, are our glory and our joy.

² and so I sent my brother Timothy, God's minister in the preaching of the good news of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,

⁵ That was why, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for I was afraid that the tempter had tempted you and our labor might be lost. ⁶ But now, since Timothy has just come back to me from you, and brought me good tidings of your faith and love, and told me how kindly you remembered me and that you are longing to see me as much as I am to see you,

⁶ But now, since Timothy has just come back to me from you, and brought me good tidings of your faith and love, and told me how kindly you remembered me and that you are longing to see me as much as I am to see you, ⁷ this is the very reason, namely, through your faith, brothers, that I have been encouraged about you, in spite of all my distresses and crushing difficulties,

⁷ this is the very reason, namely, through your faith, brothers, that I have been encouraged about you, in spite of all my distresses and crushing difficulties,

⁷ this is the very reason, namely, through your faith, brothers, that I have been encouraged about you, in spite of all my distresses and crushing difficulties, ⁸ for now I am really living, since you are standing firm in the Lord.

⁸ for now I am really living, since you are standing firm in the Lord.

⁸ for now I am really living, since you are standing firm in the Lord. ⁹ For how can I render God enough thanks for you, for all the joy I have on account of you in the presence of our God,

⁹ For how can I render God enough thanks for you, for all the joy I have on account of you in the presence of our God, ¹⁰ as night and day I continue to pray with deepest earnestness and keenest eagerness that I may see your faces and round out to completeness what is lacking in your faith?

¹² We beg you, brothers, to practice showing respect to those who labor among you, who are your leaders in the Lord's work, and who advise you; ¹³ continue to hold them in the highest esteem for the sake of the work they do. Practice living at peace with one another.

¹⁵ Take care that none of you ever pays back evil for evil, but always keep looking for ways to show kindness to one another and everybody.

²³ May God Himself, who gave you peace, consecrate your whole being. May you be safely kept, spirit, soul, and body, so as to be blameless when our Lord Jesus Christ comes back.

³ We always ought to be thanking God for you, brothers, as it is right to do so, because your faith is growing so much and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing

¹¹ With this in view we are always praying for you too, that our God may make you worthy of His call, and by His power fully satisfy your every desire for goodness, and complete every activity of your faith,

¹³ We ought always to be thanking God for you, brothers dearly loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through the Spirit's consecration of you and through your faith in the truth,

¹³ We ought always to be thanking God for you, brothers dearly loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through the Spirit's consecration of you and through your faith in the truth, ¹⁴ and to this end He called you by our preaching of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁶ May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and graciously given us encouragement that is eternal, and a hope that is well-founded, ¹⁷ encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good thing you do or say.

² to Timothy my genuine child in faith: spiritual blessing, mercy, and peace be with you from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹⁷ To the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen. ¹⁸ This is the instruction which I entrust to you, my son Timothy, which is in accordance with the prophetic utterances formerly made about you, that you may, aided by them, continue to fight the good fight,

² So the pastor must be a man above reproach, must have only one wife, must be temperate, sensible, well-behaved, hospitable, skillful in teaching;

¹⁰ They, too, should first be tested till approved, and then, if they are found above reproach, they should serve as deacons.

¹⁶ Undoubtedly the mystery of our religion is a great wonder: "He was made visible in human form; He was vindicated by the Spirit; He was seen by angels; He was proclaimed among the heathen; He was trusted in throughout the world; He was taken up to glory."

⁷ Continue to give these directions so that the people may be without reproach.

¹⁴ So I would have the younger women marry, have children, and keep house, so as not to give our opponents any occasion for slander.

¹⁷ Elders who do their duties well should be considered as deserving twice the salary they get especially those who keep on toiling in preaching and teaching.

²⁰ Those who are guilty reprove in public, so that others may be warned.

³ If anyone teaches different doctrines and refuses to agree with the wholesome messages of our Lord Jesus Christ, the teaching that is in accordance with true religion, ⁴ he is a conceited ignoramus with a morbid appetite for discussions and controversies which lead to envy, quarreling, abuse, base suspicions,

⁴ he is a conceited ignoramus with a morbid appetite for discussions and controversies which lead to envy, quarreling, abuse, base suspicions, ⁵ and perpetual friction between people who are depraved in mind and deprived of truth, who imagine that religion is only a means of gain.

² to my dearly loved child, Timothy: spiritual blessing, mercy, and peace be with you from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

⁴ to see you again, that I may feel the fullest joy ⁵ on being reminded of your genuine faith, a faith that first found a home in the heart of your grandmother Lois, then in the heart of your mother Eunice, and now in yours too, I am sure.

⁹ For He saved us and called us with a holy call, not in accordance with anything that we had done, but in accordance with His own purpose and unmerited favor which was shown us through union with Christ Jesus eternal ages ago,

¹² This is why I am suffering so, but I am not ashamed of it, for I know whom I have trusted and I am absolutely sure that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

¹⁵ You know that everyone here who belongs to the Roman province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

³ Take your share of hardships like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No soldier ever allows himself to be involved in the business affairs of life, so that he may please the officer who enlisted him.

¹⁰ For this reason I am bearing anything for the sake of His chosen people, so that they too may obtain the salvation that comes through Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.

¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God an approved workman who has nothing to be ashamed of, who properly presents the message of truth. ¹⁶ Continue shunning worldly, futile phrases, for they lead on to greater depths of godlessness, ¹⁷ and their message will spread like a cancer; men like Hymenaeus and Philetus,

² For people will be selfish, avaricious, boastful, haughty, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, irreverent,

¹⁰ But you, on your part, have faithfully followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness,

⁶ My life, indeed, is already ebbing out, and the time has come for me to sail away.

¹⁰ for Demas has forsaken me because he loved the present world, and has gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia;

¹⁶ When I first defended myself at court, nobody came to help me, but everybody deserted me. May it never be charged to their account.

⁴ to Titus, my genuine child in our common faith: be spiritual blessing and peace from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.

⁶ each elder must be above reproach, have only one wife, and his children must not be liable to the charge of profligacy or disobedience.

¹⁰ to stop resisting them and stealing from them, but to show such perfect fidelity as to adorn, in everything they do, the teaching of God our Saviour.

¹³ while we are waiting for the realization of our blessed hope at the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Christ Jesus, ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us to ransom us from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people to be His very own, zealous of good works. ¹⁵ You must continue teaching this, and continue exhorting and reproving people, with full authority. Let no one belittle you.

⁴ But when the goodness and lovingkindness of God our Saviour were brought to light, ⁵ He saved us, not for upright deeds that we had done, but in accordance with His mercy, through the bath of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

¹ Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and my brother Timothy, to our dearly loved fellow-worker Philemon, ² to our sister Apphia, to our fellow-soldier Archippus, and to the church that meets at your house:

⁵ because I continue to hear of the love and faith you have in the Lord Jesus and all His people, ⁶ and I pray that their sharing of your faith may result in their recognition in us of everything that is right with reference to Christ. ⁷ Yes, I have felt great joy and encouragement over your love, because the hearts of God's people have been refreshed by you, my brother.

¹³ I would have liked to keep him with me, to wait on me in your stead while I wear these chains for the good news,

²⁰ Yes, brother, I would like some return myself from you in the Lord's work. Through Christ refresh my heart.

²² And have a guest-room ready for me, too, for I hope that through your prayers I shall have the gracious privilege of coming to you.

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

³ He is the reflection of God's glory and the perfect representation of His being, and continues to uphold the universe by His mighty word. After He had procured man's purification from sins, He took His seat at the right hand of God's majesty, ⁴ thus proving Himself to be as much superior to angels as the title He has inherited is superior to theirs.

⁶ Or again, "I will become His Father, and He shall become my Son"? But when He brings again His first-born Son into the world, He says, "And let all the angels worship Him."

⁸ But regarding the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, will stand forever and ever; a righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.

⁹ but we do see Jesus, who was made inferior to the angels for a little while, crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by God's favor He might experience death for every human being.

⁹ but we do see Jesus, who was made inferior to the angels for a little while, crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by God's favor He might experience death for every human being. ¹⁰ For it was appropriate for Him, who is the Final Goal and the First Cause of the universe, in bringing many children to glory, to make the Leader in their salvation perfect through the process of sufferings. ¹¹ For both He who is purifying them and those who are being purified all spring from one Father; so He is not ashamed to call them brothers, ¹² when He says: "I will announce your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise"; ¹³ and again, "I too will put my trust in God"; and again, "Here I am and the children God has given me." ¹⁴ Since then the children mentioned share our mortal nature, He too took on Himself a full share of the same, in order that He by His death might put a stop to the power of him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and set at liberty those who all their lifetime had been subject to slavery because of their dread of death. ¹⁶ For of course it is not angels but descendants of Abraham that He is to help. ¹⁷ Therefore He had to be made like His brothers, so that He could be a sympathetic High Priest, as well as a faithful one, in things relating to God, in order to atone for the people's sins. ¹⁸ For inasmuch as He has suffered Himself by being tempted, He is able to give immediate help to any that are tempted.

¹ Therefore, my Christian brothers, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the Messenger and High Priest whom we profess to follow,

¹ So let us fear that when the promise for us to be admitted to His rest is still remaining valid some one of you may be found to have missed it.

¹¹ So let us do our best to be admitted to that rest, so that not one of us may fail through the same sort of disobedience. ¹² For God's message is alive and full of power in action, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the depths of soul and spirit, to the dividing of joints and marrow, and passing judgment on the thoughts and purposes of the heart.

¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who is incapable of sympathizing with us in our weaknesses, but we have One who was tempted in every respect as we are, and yet without committing any sin.

⁵ So Christ too did not take upon Himself the glory of being appointed High Priest, but it was God who said: "You are my Son; I have today become your Father," ⁶ as also in another passage He says: "You are a priest forever, belonging to the rank of Melchizedek." ⁷ For during His human life He offered up prayers and entreaties, crying aloud with tears to Him who was always able to save Him out of death, and because of His beautiful spirit of worship His prayer was heard. ⁸ Although He was a Son, He learned from what He suffered how to obey, ⁹ and because He was perfectly qualified for it He became the author of endless salvation for all who obey Him,

⁹ and because He was perfectly qualified for it He became the author of endless salvation for all who obey Him,

¹⁰ For God is not so unjust as to forget the work you have done and the love you have shown His name in the service you have rendered for your fellow-Christians, and still are doing. ¹¹ And we desire each one of you to continue to show the same earnestness to the very end, that you may enjoy your hope to the fullest,

¹⁸ so that by these two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge with Him may have encouragement strong enough to make us seize upon the hope that lies ahead of us.

²⁶ For we needed such a High Priest, holy, innocent, unstained, far removed from sinful men, and elevated far above the very heavens,

⁷ Then I said, 'See, I have come, just as the Scripture writes about me in the book, O God, to do your will.'" ⁸ Although at first He said, "You never wished or took delight in sacrifices and offerings, burnt-offerings and sin-offerings" -- all of which are repeatedly offered in accordance with the law -- ⁹ He afterward said, "See, I have come to do your will." He is taking away the first to let the second take its place.

¹ Therefore, as we have so vast a crowd of spectators in the grandstands, let us throw off every impediment and the sin that easily entangles our feet, and run with endurance the race for which we are entered, ² keeping our eyes on Jesus, the perfect leader and example of faith, who, instead of the joy which lay before Him, endured the cross with no regard for its shame, and since has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

¹⁴ Continue to live in peace with everybody and strive for that consecration without which no one can see the Lord.

²⁸ Let us, therefore, be thankful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and in this way continue to serve God acceptably in reverence and fear; ²⁹ for our God, indeed, is a consuming fire.

³ Continue to remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them, and those who are being ill-treated, since you, too, are liable to similar physical punishment.

⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes, forever.

¹⁵ So then, through Christ, let us always offer God the sacrifice of praise; that is, the speech of lips that glorify the name of God. ¹⁶ And stop neglecting to do good and to be generous, for God is highly pleased with just such sacrifices as these. ¹⁷ Continue to obey and to be submissive to your leaders, for they are ever watching in defense of your souls, as men who will have to give account of their trust. Treat them in this way, so that they may work with joy and not with grief.

²¹ perfectly fit you to do His will, He Himself, through Jesus Christ, accomplishing through you what is pleasing to Him. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

² You must consider it the purest joy, my brothers, when you are involved in various trials, ³ for you surely know that what is genuine in your faith produces the patient mind that endures; ⁴ but you must let your endurance come to its perfect product, so that you may be fully developed and perfectly equipped, without any defects.

¹⁶ You must avoid being misled, my dearly loved brothers. ¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect boon is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, in whom there is no variation or changing shadow. ¹⁸ In accordance with His will He made us His children by the message of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

²⁰ for a man's anger does not produce the uprightness that God requires.

⁸ But if you really observe the law of the King in accordance with the Scripture, "You must love your neighbor as you do yourself," you are doing right;

¹⁴ But if you cherish bitter jealousy and rivalry in your hearts, stop being proud of it and stop being false to the standard of truth.

¹⁴ But if you cherish bitter jealousy and rivalry in your hearts, stop being proud of it and stop being false to the standard of truth. ¹⁵ This is not the kind of wisdom that comes down from above; no, it is earthly, human, demoniacal. ¹⁶ For wherever jealousy and rivalry exist, there will be confusion and all sorts of evil practices.

⁵ Or, do you think that the Scripture means nothing when it says, "He jealously yearns for the Spirit that He causes to dwell in your hearts"? ⁶ But He gives a greater spiritual blessing. He says, "God opposes haughty people but blesses humble people."

¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord is willing, we shall live and do this or that."

⁹ Stop muttering against one another, brothers, so as to keep from being judged yourselves. Look! The Judge is standing at the very door.

² the people chosen in accordance with the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the consecration of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with His blood: spiritual blessing and peace to you in increasing abundance. ³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In accordance with His great mercy He has begotten us anew to an ever living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead;

⁶ In such a hope keep on rejoicing, although for a little while you must be sorrow-stricken with various trials,

⁶ In such a hope keep on rejoicing, although for a little while you must be sorrow-stricken with various trials, ⁷ so that the genuineness of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even after it is shown by the test of fire to be genuine, may result in your praise and glory and honor at the unveiling of Jesus Christ. ⁸ You must continue to love Him, although you have never seen Him, but because you do believe in Him, although you do not now see Him, you must continue to rejoice with an unutterable and triumphant joy,

¹⁴ As obedient children, stop molding your character by the evil desires you used to cherish when you did not know any better, ¹⁵ but in accordance with the Holy Being who has called you, you must prove to be holy too, ¹⁶ for the Scripture says: "You ought to be holy, because I am holy." ¹⁷ And if you address as Father, Him who judges everyone impartially in accordance with what he does, you must live reverently all your fleeting stay on earth,

²¹ who through Him trust in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory; so that your faith and hope may rest in God. ²² Since you have purified your souls by obeying the truth, in sincere love for the brotherhood you must love one another heartily and fervently, ²³ because you have been born anew, not from a germ that perishes but from one that does not perish, by the word of the living and everlasting God.

²³ because you have been born anew, not from a germ that perishes but from one that does not perish, by the word of the living and everlasting God.

¹ So once for all get rid of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all sorts of slander, ² and like new-born babies thirst for pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up to final salvation,

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

⁹ But you are the chosen race, the royal priesthood, the consecrated nation, the people to be His very own, to proclaim the perfections of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.

¹¹ Dearly beloved, I beg you as aliens and exiles to keep on abstaining from the evil desires of your lower nature, because they are always at war with the soul. ¹² Keep on living upright lives among the heathen, so that, when they slander you as evildoers, by what they see of your good deeds they may come to praise God on the judgment day.

²¹ Indeed, it was to this kind of living that you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you might follow His footsteps.

²⁴ He bore our sins in His own body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to uprightness. By His wounds you have been healed,

⁸ Finally, you must all live in harmony, be sympathetic, loving as brothers, tenderhearted, humble, ⁹ never returning evil for evil or abuse for abuse, but blessing instead, because it was for this that you were called, to obtain the blessing of heirs.

¹¹ He must turn, too, away from evil and do right; He must seek peace and follow it,

¹⁸ For Christ Himself, once for all, died for our sins, the Innocent for the guilty to bring us to God, being put to death in physical form but made alive in the Spirit,

²² who has gone to heaven and is now at God's right hand, with angels, heavenly authorities and powers made subject to Him.

¹ So then, since Christ has suffered in our physical form, you too must arm yourselves with the same determination. For whoever suffers in his physical form has done with sin,

⁹ Be ungrudgingly hospitable to one another.

⁵ You younger men, on your part, must be submissive to the elders. And you must all put on the servant's apron of humility to one another, because God opposes the haughty but bestows His unmerited favor on the humble.

⁵ Now for this very reason you must do your level best to supplement your faith with moral character, moral character with knowledge, ⁶ knowledge with self-control, self-control with patient endurance, patient endurance with piety, ⁷ piety with brotherly affection, brotherly affection with universal love. ⁸ For if you have these qualities and they continue to increase in you, they will make you neither idle nor unproductive in attaining a full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For whoever lacks these qualities is blind -- or short-sighted-- and forgetful of the cleansing that he has received from his former sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers, be all the more in earnest to make certain to yourselves God's call and choice of you. For if you cultivate these qualities, you will never slip,

¹⁷ For when He received such honor and glory from God the Father, when from the majestic glory there was borne to Him a voice like this, "This is my Son, my Beloved, in whom I take delight,"

¹⁴ Therefore, dearly beloved, since you are expecting this, be in earnest to be found by Him without a blot, without reproach, and at peace.

¹⁸ but instead, you must continue to grow in the spiritual strength and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever!

¹ It is what existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our own eyes, what we have beheld, what our own hands have touched, about the very message of life --

³ I repeat, it is what we have seen and heard that we now announce to you, so that you too may share this fellowship with us, for this fellowship that we have is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ; ⁴ and now we write these things to you to make our joy complete.

⁶ Whoever claims, "I am always in union with Him," ought to live as He lived.

¹ See what wonderful love the Father has bestowed on us in letting us be called God's children, and that is what we are! This is why the world does not know what we are, because it has never come to know Him. ² Dearly beloved, we are now God's children, but what we are going to be has not been unveiled. We know that if it is unveiled, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. ³ And everyone who has this hope in him tries to make himself as pure as He is.

¹⁶ We know what love is from the fact that He laid down His life for us; and so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

²⁴ Whoever practices obedience to His commands remains in union with Him and He in union with him; and in this way we know that He remains in union with us, by the Spirit that He has given us.

² In this way you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spiritual utterance which owns that Jesus Christ has come in human form comes from God,

⁷ Dearly beloved, let us practice loving one another, because love originates with God, and everyone who practices loving is a child of God and knows God by experience. ⁸ Whoever does not love has never come to know God by experience, because God is love.

¹² No one has ever seen God; yet if we practice loving one another, God remains in union with us, and our love for Him attains perfection in our hearts,

¹⁵ Whoever owns that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in union with him and he in union with God. ¹⁶ So we know by experience and trust the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever continues to love continues in union with God and God in union with him.

⁴ I am happy to find that some of your children are living by the truth, just as we had been commanded from the Father to do.

⁷ For many impostors have gone out into the world, men who do not own that Jesus Christ continues to come in human form. A person like this is the impostor and the Antichrist.

¹² Though I have much to write you, I do not choose to do so with paper and ink, but I hope to come to see you and talk with you face to face, so that your happiness may be complete,

³ For I am happy to have some brothers come and testify to the truth that is in you, since you are living by the truth. ⁴ I have no greater spiritual blessing than this, to hear that my children are living by the truth.

⁴ I have no greater spiritual blessing than this, to hear that my children are living by the truth.

¹⁰ So, if I come, I will remind you of what he is doing, how with malicious insinuations he is talking about me. Not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers himself, he interferes with those who want to do so, and tries to put them out of the church.

¹⁴ I hope to see you very soon and will talk it over face to face. Goodbye. Our friends wish to be remembered to you. Remember me to our friends individually.

¹⁶ These persons are grumblers, ever complaining about their lot. They live to satisfy their evil passions, their lips boast arrogant things, and they flatter others for personal gain.

⁵ and from Jesus Christ the trustworthy witness, the First-born of the dead, and the Sovereign of the kings of the earth. To Him who ever loves us and once for all released us from our sins by His blood,

¹⁷ So when I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He laid His right hand upon me and said: "Do not be afraid any more. I am the First and the Last; ¹⁸ yea, the ever-living One. I once was dead, but now I live forever and ever. I carry the keys of death and the underworld.

⁵ Whoever conquers will be clothed this way -- in white clothes -- and I will never blot his name out of the book of life, but I will own him as mine in the presence of my Father and His angels.

⁹ I will make some, who claim to be Jews although they are not, but are lying -- I will make them come and fall at your feet and find out that I have loved you.

²¹ I will give to him who conquers the privilege of taking his seat with me on my throne, just as I have conquered and taken my seat with my Father on His throne.

¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who is seated on the throne, and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and they throw their crowns in front of the throne, and say:

¹² saying in a loud voice: "The Lamb that was slaughtered deserves to receive power, riches, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing." ¹³ Then I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, underneath the earth, and on the sea, and all that they contain, say: "Blessing, honor, glory, and power be to Him who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb forever." ¹⁴ Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the elders fell down and worshiped.

¹⁵ Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and loud voices were heard in heaven, saying, "The sovereignty of the world has come into the possession of our Lord and His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever."

¹¹ But they have conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the message to which they bore testimony, because they did not cling to life but courted death.

¹⁶ On His garment and on His thigh He has this title written: King of kings and Lord of lords.

¹³ The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and the underworld gave up the dead that were in them, and they were all judged in accordance with what they had done.

⁶ He further said to me: "They have come true. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I myself, without cost, will give to anyone who is thirsty water from the springs of living water.

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." Let everyone who hears this say, "Come." Let everyone who is thirsty come. Let everyone who wishes come and take the living water without any cost.