1 Timothy 6 Cross References - WNT

¹ Let all who are under the yoke of slavery hold their own masters to be deserving of honour, so that the name of God and the Christian teaching may not be spoken against. ² And those who have believing masters should not be wanting in respect towards them because they are their brethren, but should serve them all the more willingly because those who profit by the faithful service rendered are believers and are friends. ³ So teach and exhort. If any one is a teacher of any other kind of doctrine, and refuses assent to wholesome instructions--those of our Lord Jesus Christ--and the teaching that harmonizes with true godliness, ⁴ he is puffed up with pride and has no true knowledge, but is crazy over discussions and controversies about words which give rise to envy, quarrelling, revilings, ill-natured suspicions, ⁵ and persistent wranglings on the part of people whose intellects are disordered and they themselves blinded to all knowledge of the truth; who imagine that godliness means gain. ⁶ And godliness *is* gain, when associated with contentment; ⁷ for we brought nothing into the world, nor can we carry anything out of it; ⁸ and if we have food and clothing, with these we will be satisfied. ⁹ But people who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many unwise and pernicious ways which sink mankind in destruction and ruin. ¹⁰ For from love of money all sorts of evils arise; and some have so hankered after money as to be led astray from the faith and be pierced through with countless sorrows. ¹¹ But you, O man of God, must flee from these things; and strive for uprightness, godliness, good faith, love, fortitude, and a forgiving temper. ¹² Exert all your strength in the honourable struggle for the faith; lay hold of the Life of the Ages, to which you were called, when you made your noble profession of faith before many witnesses. ¹³ I charge you--as in the presence of God who gives life to all creatures, and of Christ Jesus who at the bar of Pontius Pilate made a noble profession of faith-- ¹⁴ that you keep God's commandments stainlessly and without reproach till the Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ For, as its appointed time, this will be brought about by the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone possesses immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, and whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be eternal honour and power! Amen. ¹⁷ Impress on those who are rich in the present age that they must not be haughty nor set their hopes on riches--that unstable foundation--but on God who provides us richly with all things for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ They must be beneficent, rich in noble deeds, open-handed and liberal; ¹⁹ storing up for themselves that which shall be a solid foundation for the future, that they may lay hold of the Life which is life indeed. ²⁰ O Timothy, guard the truths entrusted to you, shunning irreligious and frivolous talk, and controversy with what is falsely called 'knowledge'; ²¹ of which some have spoken boastfully in connexion with the true faith, and have erred. Grace be with you all.

⁹ But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and far more than a prophet.

³⁰ For it is good to bear my yoke, and my burden is light."

¹ Jesus said to His disciples, "It is inevitable that causes of stumbling should come; but alas for him through whom they come!

⁷ So when the angel who had been speaking to him was gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a God-fearing soldier who was in constant attendance on him,

²² Their reply was, "Cornelius, a Captain, an upright and God-fearing man, of whom the whole Jewish nation speaks well, has been divinely instructed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and listen to what you have to say."

¹⁰ Now, therefore, why try an experiment upon God, by laying on the necks of these disciples a yoke which neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear?

²⁴ FOR THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILE NATIONS BECAUSE OF YOU, as Holy Writ declares.

²¹ Were you a slave when God called you? Let not that weigh on your mind. And yet if you can get your freedom, take advantage of the opportunity. ²² For a Christian, if he was a slave when called, is the Lord's freed man, and in the same way a free man, if called, becomes the slave of Christ.

³² Do not be causes of stumbling either to Jews or to Gentiles, nor to the Church of God.

¹ Christ having made us gloriously free--stand fast and do not again be hampered with the yoke of slavery.

⁵ Slaves, be obedient to your earthly masters, with respect and eager anxiety to please and with simplicity of motive as if you were obeying Christ. ⁶ Let it not be in acts of eye-service as if you had but to please men, but as Christ's bondservants who are doing God's will from the heart. ⁷ With right good will, be faithful to your duty as service rendered to the Lord and not to man. ⁸ You well know that whatever right thing any one does, he will receive a requital for it from the Lord, whether he is a slave or a free man.

²² Slaves, be obedient in everything to your earthly masters; not in acts of eye service, as aiming only to please men, but with simplicity of purpose, because you fear the Lord. ²³ Whatever you are doing, let your hearts be in your work, as a thing done for the Lord and not for men. ²⁴ For you know that it is from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. Christ is the Master whose bondservants you are. ²⁵ The man who perpetrates a wrong will find the wrong repaid to him; and with God there are no merely earthly distinctions.

¹⁴ I would therefore have the younger women marry, bear children, rule in domestic matters, and furnish the Adversary with no excuse for slander.

⁵ industrious in their homes, kind, submissive to their husbands, so that the Christian teaching may not be exposed to reproach.

⁸ and healthy language which no one can censure, so that our opponents may feel ashamed at having nothing evil to say against us. ⁹ Exhort slaves to be always obedient to their owners, and to give them satisfaction in everything, not contradicting and not pilfering, ¹⁰ but manifesting perfect fidelity and kind feeling, in order to bring honour to the teaching of our Saviour, God, in all things.

¹² Live honourable lives among the Gentiles, in order that, although they now speak against you as evil-doers, they may yet witness your good conduct, and may glorify God on the day of reward and retribution.

¹⁷ Honour every one. Love the brotherhood, fear God, honour the Emperor. ¹⁸ Household servants, be submissive to your masters, and show them the utmost respect--not only if they are kind and thoughtful, but also if they are unreasonable. ¹⁹ For it is an acceptable thing with God, if, from a sense of duty to Him, a man patiently submits to wrong, when treated unjustly. ²⁰ If you do wrong and receive a blow for it, what credit is there in your bearing it patiently? But if when you do right and suffer for it you bear it patiently, this is an acceptable thing with God.

¹⁶ Yet argue modestly and cautiously, keeping your consciences free from guilt, so that, when you are spoken against, those who slander your good Christian lives may be put to shame.

²⁴ "No man can be the bondservant of two masters; for either he will dislike one and like the other, or he will attach himself to one and think slightingly of the other. You cannot be the bondservants both of God and of gold.

⁸ "As for you, do not accept the title of 'Rabbi,' for one alone is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.

⁴⁰ "But the King will answer them, "'In solemn truth I tell you that in so far as you rendered such services to one of the humblest of these my brethren, you rendered them to myself.'

²⁹ For those whom He has known beforehand He has also pre-destined to bear the likeness of His Son, that He might be the Eldest in a vast family of brothers;

¹⁷ And if some of the branches have been pruned away, and you, although you were but a wild olive, have been grafted in among them and have become a sharer with others in the rich sap of the root of the olive tree,

²⁶ You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus; ²⁷ for all of you who have been baptized into Christ, have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸ In Him the distinctions between Jew and Gentile, slave and free man, male and female, disappear; you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you belong to Christ, then you are indeed true descendants of Abraham, and are heirs in fulfilment of the promise.

⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any importance; but only faith working through love.

¹ Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God: To God's people who are in Ephesus--believers in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵ For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which prevails among you, and of your love for all God's people,

⁶ I mean the truth that the Gentiles are joint heirs with us Jews, and that they form one body with us, and have the same interest as we have in the promise which has been made good in Christ Jesus through the Good News,

² To the people of God and the believing brethren at Colossae who are in Christ. May grace and peace be granted to you from God our Father.

⁴ because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you cherish towards all God's people,

¹¹ In that new creation there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free man, but Christ is everything and is in all of us. ¹² Clothe yourselves therefore, as God's own people holy and dearly loved, with tender-heartedness, kindness, lowliness of mind, meekness, long-suffering;

¹ Masters, deal justly and equitably with your slaves, knowing that you too have a Master in Heaven.

³ Unceasing thanks are due from us to God on your behalf, brethren. They are appropriate because your faith is growing greatly, and the love of every one of you for all the others goes on increasing.

¹¹ Command this and teach this.

¹ Never administer a sharp reprimand to a man older than yourself; but entreat him as if he were your father, and the younger men as brothers;

¹ But as for you, you must speak in a manner that befits wholesome teaching.

¹⁵ Thus speak, exhort, reprove, with all impressiveness. Let no one make light of your authority.

⁸ This is a faithful saying, and on these various points I would have you insist strenuously, in order that those who have their faith fixed on God may be careful to set an example of good actions. For these are not only good in themselves, but are also useful to mankind.

⁵ because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have towards the Lord Jesus and which you manifest towards all God's people; ⁶ praying as I do, that their participation in your faith may result in others fully recognizing all the right affection that is in us toward Christ. ⁷ For I have found great joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of God's people have been, and are, refreshed through you, my brother.

¹⁰ I entreat you on behalf of my own child whose father I have become while in my chains--I mean Onesimus. ¹¹ Formerly he was useless to you, but now--true to his name--he is of great use to you and to me. ¹² I am sending him back to you, though in so doing I send part of myself. ¹³ It was my wish to keep him at my side for him to attend to my wants, as your representative, during my imprisonment for the Good News. ¹⁴ Only I wished to do nothing without your consent, so that his kind action of yours might not be done under pressure, but might be a voluntary one. ¹⁵ For perhaps it was for this reason he was parted from you for a time, that you might receive him back wholly and for ever yours; ¹⁶ no longer as a slave, but as something better than a slave--a brother peculiarly dear to me, and even dearer to you, both as a servant and as a fellow Christian.

¹ Therefore, holy brethren, sharers with others in a heavenly invitation, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest whose followers we profess to be.

¹⁴ For we have, all alike, become sharers with Christ, if we really hold our first confidence firm to the End;

¹ So I exhort the Elders among you--I who am their fellow Elder and have been an eye-witness of the sufferings of the Christ, and am also a sharer in the glory which is soon to be revealed.

¹⁰ and especially those who are abandoned to sensuality--craving, as they do, for polluted things, and scorning control. Fool-hardy and self-willed, they do not tremble when speaking evil of glorious beings;

⁸ Yet in just the same way these dreamers also pollute the body, while they set authority at naught and speak evil of dignities.

²¹ "Caesar's," they replied. "Pay therefore," He rejoined, "what is Caesar's to Caesar; and what is God's to God."

²⁰ and teach them to obey every command which I have given you. And remember, I am with you always, day by day, until the Close of the Age."

¹⁷ But I beseech you, brethren, to keep a watch on those who are causing the divisions among you, and are leading others into sin, in defiance of the instruction which you have received; and habitually to shun them.

⁶ I marvel that you are so readily leaving Him who called you by the grace of Christ, and are adhering to a different Good News. ⁷ For other "Good News" there is none; but there are some persons who are troubling you, and are seeking to distort the Good News concerning Christ.

¹ Moreover, brethren, as you learnt from our lips the lives which you ought to live, and do live, so as to please God, we beg and exhort you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live them more and more truly. ² For you know the commands which we laid upon you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

⁸ Therefore a defiant spirit in such a case provokes not man but God, who puts His Holy Spirit into your hearts.

³ When I was on my journey to Macedonia I begged you to remain on in Ephesus that you might remonstrate with certain persons because of their erroneous teaching

⁶ From these some have drifted away, and have wandered into empty words.

¹⁰ fornicators, sodomites, slave-dealers, liars and false witnesses; and for whatever else is opposed to wholesome teaching

⁷ But worldly stories, fit only for credulous old women, have nothing to do with. ⁸ Train yourself in godliness. Exercise for the body is not useless, but godliness is useful in every respect, possessing, as it does, the promise of Life now and of the Life which is soon coming.

¹³ Provide yourself with an outline of the sound teaching which you have heard from my lips, and be true to the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

³ For a time is coming when they will not tolerate wholesome instruction, but, wanting to have their ears tickled, they will find a multitude of teachers to satisfy their own fancies;

¹ Paul, a bondservant of God and an Apostle of Jesus Christ for building up the faith of God's own people and spreading a full knowledge of the truths of religion,

⁹ holding fast to the faithful Message which he has received, so that he may be well qualified both to encourage others with sound teaching and to reply successfully to opponents.

¹ But as for you, you must speak in a manner that befits wholesome teaching. ² Exhort aged men to be temperate, grave, sober-minded, robust in their faith, their love and their patience.

¹¹ For the grace of God has displayed itself with healing power to all mankind, ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and all the pleasures of this world, and to live sober, upright, and pious lives at the present time, ¹³ in expectation of the fulfilment of our blessed hope--the Appearing in glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ; ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us to purchase our freedom from all iniquity, and purify for Himself a people who should be specially His own, zealous for doing good works.

³ seeing that His divine power has given us all things that are needful for life and godliness, through our knowledge of Him who has appealed to us by His own glorious perfections. ⁴ It is by means of these that He has granted us His precious and wondrous promises, in order that through them you may, one and all, become sharers in the very nature of God, having completely escaped the corruption which exists in the world through earthly cravings. ⁵ But for this very reason--adding, on your part, all earnestness-- along with your faith, manifest also a noble character: along with a noble character, knowledge; ⁶ along with knowledge, self-control; along with self-control, power of endurance; ⁷ along with power of endurance, godliness; along with godliness, brotherly affection; and along with brotherly affection, love.

⁹ Now for some time past there had been a man named Simon living there, who had been practising magic and astonishing the Samaritans, pretending that he was more than human.

²¹ No part or lot have you in this matter, for your heart is not right in God's sight. ²² Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord, in the hope that the purpose which is in your heart may perhaps be forgiven you. ²³ For I perceive that you have fallen into the bitterest bondage of unrighteousness."

² Between these new comers and Paul and Barnabas there was no little disagreement and controversy, until at last it was decided that Paul and Barnabas and some other brethren should go up to consult the Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem on this matter.

¹⁵ But since these are questions about words and names and your Law, you yourselves must see to them. I refuse to be a judge in such matters."

⁸ while on the other hand upon the self-willed who disobey the truth and obey unrighteousness will fall anger and fury, affliction and awful distress,

¹⁶ Have full sympathy with one another. Do not give your mind to high things, but let humble ways content you. DO NOT BE WISE IN YOUR OWN CONCEITS.

¹³ Living as we do in broad daylight, let us conduct ourselves becomingly, not indulging in revelry and drunkenness, nor in lust and debauchery, nor in quarrelling and jealousy.

¹ I now pass to another subject. Receive as a friend a man whose faith is weak, but not for the purpose of deciding mere matters of opinion.

³ you are still unspiritual. For so long as jealousy and strife continue among you, can it be denied that you are unspiritual and are living and acting like mere men of the world?

¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself. If any man imagines that he is wise, compared with the rest of you, with the wisdom of the present age, let him become "foolish" so that he may be wise.

¹ Now as to things which have been sacrificed to idols. This is a subject which we already understand--because we all have knowledge of it. Knowledge, however, tends to make people conceited; it is love that builds us up. ² If any one imagines that he already possesses any true knowledge, he has as yet attained to no knowledge of the kind to which he ought to have attained;

¹⁶ But if any one is inclined to be contentious on the point, we have no such custom, nor have the Churches of God.

¹⁸ for, in the first place, when you meet as a Church, there are divisions among you. This is what I am told, and I believe that there is some truth in it.

²⁰ For you tolerate it, if any one enslaves you, lives at your expense, makes off with your property, gives himself airs, or strikes you on the face.

¹⁵ But if you are perpetually snarling and snapping at one another, beware lest you are destroyed by one another.

²⁰ enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of passion, intrigues, dissensions, factions, envyings; ²¹ hard drinking, riotous feasting, and the like. And as to these I forewarn you, as I have already forewarned you, that those who are guilty of such things will have no share in the Kingdom of God.

²⁶ Let us not become vain-glorious, challenging one another, envying one another.

³ For if there is any one who thinks himself to be somebody when he is nobody, he is deluding himself.

¹⁵ Some indeed actually preach Christ out of envy and contentiousness but there are also others who do it from good will.

³ Do nothing in a spirit of factiousness or of vainglory, but, with true humility, let every one regard the rest as being of more account than himself;

¹⁴ Be ever on your guard against a grudging and contentious spirit,

¹⁸ Let no one defraud you of your prize, priding himself on his humility and on his worship of the angels, and taking his stand on the visions he has seen, and idly puffed up with his unspiritual thoughts.

⁴ and exalts himself above, every so-called 'god' or object of worship, and goes the length of taking his seat in the very temple of God, giving it out that he himself is God.

⁴ and the attention they bestow on mere fables and endless pedigrees, such as lead to controversy rather than to a true stewardship for God, which only exists where there is faith. And I make the same request now.

⁷ They are ambitious to be teachers of the Law, although they do not understand either their own words or what the things are about which they make such confident assertions.

⁶ He ought not to be a new convert, for fear he should be blinded with pride and come under the same condemnation as the Devil.

¹⁴ Bring all this to men's remembrances, solemnly charging them in the presence of God not to waste time in wrangling about mere words, a course which is altogether unprofitable and tends only to the ruin of the hearers.

²³ But avoid foolish discussions with ignorant men, knowing--as you do--that these lead to quarrels;

⁴ treacherous, headstrong, self-important. They will love pleasure instead of loving God,

⁹ But hold yourself aloof from foolish controversies and pedigrees and discussions and wrangling about the Law, for they are useless and vain.

¹⁹ You know this, my dearly-loved brethren. But let every one be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to be angry.

¹⁴ What good is it, my brethren, if a man professes to have faith, and yet his actions do not correspond? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵ Suppose a Christian brother or sister is poorly clad or lacks daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, "I wish you well; keep yourselves warm and well fed," and yet you do not give them what they need; what is the use of that? ¹⁷ So also faith, if it is unaccompanied by obedience, has no life in it--so long as it stands alone. ¹⁸ Nay, some one will say, "You have faith, I have actions: prove to me your faith apart from corresponding actions and I will prove mine to you by my actions.

¹ What causes wars and contentions among you? Is it not the cravings which are ever at war within you for various pleasures? ² You covet things and yet cannot get them; you commit murder; you have passionate desires and yet cannot gain your end; you begin to fight and make war. You have not, because you do not pray;

⁵ Or do you suppose that it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "The Spirit which He has caused to dwell in our hearts yearns jealously over us"? ⁶ But He gives more abundant grace, as is implied in His saying, "GOD SETS HIMSELF AGAINST THE HAUGHTY, BUT TO THE LOWLY HE GIVES GRACE."

¹ Rid yourselves therefore of all ill-will and all deceitfulness, of insincerity and envy, and of all evil speaking. ² Thirst, like newly-born infants, for pure milk for the soul, that by it you may grow up to salvation;

¹² But these men, like brute beasts, created (with their natural instincts) only to be captured or destroyed, are abusive in matters of which they are ignorant, and in their corruption will perish,

¹⁸ For, while they pour out their frivolous and arrogant talk, they use earthly cravings--every kind of immorality--as a bait to entrap men who are just escaping from the influence of those who live in error.

¹⁰ Yet these men are abusive in matters of which they know nothing, and in things which, like the brutes, they understand instinctively--in all these they corrupt themselves.

¹⁶ These men are murmurers, ever bemoaning their lot. Their lives are guided by their evil passions, and their mouths are full of big, boastful words, while they treat individual men with admiring reverence for the sake of the advantage they can gain.

¹⁷ You say, I am rich, and have wealth stored up, and I stand in need of nothing; and you do not know that if there is a wretched creature it is *you* --pitiable, poor, blind, naked.

¹⁷ Just so every good tree produces good fruit, but a poisonous tree produces bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a poisonous tree good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree which does not yield good fruit is cut down and thrown aside for burning. ²⁰ So by their fruits at any rate, you will easily recognize them.

³³ "Either grant the tree to be wholesome and its fruit wholesome, or the tree poisonous and its fruit poisonous; for the tree is known by its fruit.

¹³ "It is written," He said, "'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED THE HOUSE OF PRAYER', but you are making it A ROBBERS' CAVE."

¹³ "But alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you lock the door of the Kingdom of the Heavens against men; you yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow those to enter who are seeking to do so.

¹⁹ And this is the test by which men are judged--the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness more than they loved the Light, because their deeds were wicked. ²⁰ For every wrongdoer hates the light, and does not come to the light, for fear his actions should be exposed and condemned. ²¹ But he who does what is honest and right comes to the light, in order that his actions may be plainly shown to have been done in God.

¹⁸ When, however, Simon saw that it was through the laying on of the Apostles' hands that the Spirit was bestowed, he offered them money. ¹⁹ "Give me too," he said, "that power, so that every one on whom I place my hands will receive the Holy Spirit." ²⁰ "Perish your money and yourself," replied Peter, "because you have imagined that you can obtain God's free gift with money!

²⁴ There was a certain Demetrius, a silversmith, who made miniature silver sanctuaries of Diana, a business which brought great gain to the mechanics in his employ. ²⁵ He called his workmen together, and others who were engaged in similar trades, and said to them, "You men well know that our prosperity depends on this business of ours; ²⁶ and you see and hear that, not in Ephesus only but throughout almost the whole province of Asia, this fellow Paul has led away a vast number of people by inducing them to believe that they are not gods at all that are made by men's hands. ²⁷ There is danger, therefore, not only that this our trade will become of no account, but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana will fall into utter disrepute, and that before long she will be actually deposed from her majestic rank--she who is now worshipped by the whole province of Asia; nay, by the whole world." ²⁸ After listening to this harangue, they became furiously angry and kept calling out, "Great is the Ephesian Diana!"

¹⁷ But I beseech you, brethren, to keep a watch on those who are causing the divisions among you, and are leading others into sin, in defiance of the instruction which you have received; and habitually to shun them. ¹⁸ For men of that stamp are not bondservants of Christ our Lord, but are slaves to their own appetites; and by their plausible words and their flattery they utterly deceive the minds of the simple.

¹⁷ Therefore I warn you, and I implore you in the name of the Master, no longer to live as the Gentiles in their perverseness live, ¹⁸ with darkened understandings, having by reason of the ignorance which is deep-seated in them and the insensibility of their moral nature, no share in the Life which God gives. ¹⁹ Such men being past feeling have abandoned themselves to impurity, greedily indulging in every kind of profligacy.

⁸ and then the Lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will sweep away with the tempest of His anger, and utterly overwhelm by the awful splendour of His Coming. ⁹ The appearing of the Lawless one will be attended by various miracles and tokens and delusive marvels--for so Satan works-- ¹⁰ and by every kind of wicked deception for those who are on the way to perdition because they did not welcome into their hearts the love of the truth, so that they might be saved. ¹¹ And for this reason God sends them a misleading influence that they may believe the lie;

⁶ But, by the authority of the Lord, we command you, brethren, to stand aloof from every brother whose life is disorderly and not in accordance with the teaching which all received from us.

³ not a hard drinker nor given to blows; not selfish or quarrelsome or covetous;

⁸ Deacons, in the same way, must be men of serious demeanour, not double-tongued, nor addicted to much wine, nor greedy of base gain,

⁶ And godliness *is* gain, when associated with contentment;

⁵ and will keep up a make-believe of piety and yet live in defiance of its power. Turn away from people of this sort.

⁸ And just as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so also these false teachers withstand the truth--being, as they are, men of debased intellects, and of no real worth so far as faith is concerned.

¹¹ You must stop the mouths of such men, for they overthrow the faith of whole families, teaching what they ought not, just for the sake of making money.

¹⁵ To the pure everything is pure; but to the polluted and unbelieving nothing is pure, but on the contrary their very minds and consciences are polluted. ¹⁶ They profess to know God; but in their actions they disown Him, and are detestable and disobedient men, and for any good work are utterly useless.

¹² see to it, brethren, that there is never in any one of you--as perhaps there may be--a sinful and unbelieving heart, manifesting itself in revolt from the ever-living God. ¹³ On the contrary encourage one another, day after day, so long as To-day lasts, so that not one of you may be hardened through the deceitful character of sin.

³ Thirsting for riches, they will trade on you with their canting talk. From of old their judgement has been working itself out, and their destruction has not been slumbering.

¹⁵ Forsaking the straight road, they have gone astray, having eagerly followed in the steps of Balaam, the son of Beor, who was bent on securing the wages of unrighteousness.

⁸ Keep guard over yourselves, so that you may not lose the results of your good deeds, but may receive back a full reward. ⁹ No one has God, who instead of remaining true to the teaching of Christ, presses on in advance: but he who remains true to that teaching has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If any one who comes to you does not bring this teaching, do not receive him under your roof nor bid him Farewell. ¹¹ Alas for them; for they have followed in the steps of Cain; for the sake of gain they have rushed on headlong in the evil ways of Balaam; and have perished in rebellion like that of Korah!

³ For all the nations have drunk the wine of the anger provoked by her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich through her excessive luxury."

¹³ Also cinnamon and amomum; odors to burn as incense or for perfume; frankincense, wine, oil; fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep; horses and carriages and slaves; and the lives of men.

³² For all these are questions that Gentiles are always asking; but your Heavenly Father knows that you need these things--all of them. ³³ But make His Kingdom and righteousness your chief aim, and then these things shall all be given you in addition.

¹⁴ The soldiers also once and again inquired of him, "And we, what are we to do?" His answer was, "Neither intimidate any one nor lay false charges; and be content with your pay."

³¹ But make His Kingdom the object of your pursuit, and these things shall be given you in addition. ³² "Dismiss your fears, little flock: your Father finds a pleasure in giving you the Kingdom.

³ And not only so: we also exult in our sufferings, knowing as we do, that suffering produces fortitude; ⁴ fortitude, ripeness of character; and ripeness of character, hope; ⁵ and that this hope never disappoints, because God's love for us floods our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

²⁸ Now we know that for those who love God all things are working together for good--for those, I mean, whom with deliberate purpose He has called.

¹⁷ For this our light and transitory burden of suffering is achieving for us a preponderating, yes, a vastly preponderating, and eternal weight of glory;

²¹ For, with me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

¹¹ I do not refer to this through fear of privation, for (for my part) I have learned, whatever be my outward experiences, to be content. ¹² I know both how to live in humble circumstances and how to live amid abundance. I am fully initiated into all the mysteries both of fulness and of hunger, of abundance and of want. ¹³ I have strength for anything through Him who gives me power.

⁸ Train yourself in godliness. Exercise for the body is not useless, but godliness is useful in every respect, possessing, as it does, the promise of Life now and of the Life which is soon coming.

⁸ and if we have food and clothing, with these we will be satisfied.

⁵ Your lives should be untainted by love for money. Be content with what you have; for God Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER, NEVER LET GO YOUR HAND: I WILL NEVER NEVER FORSAKE YOU."

²⁰ "But God said to him, "'Foolish man, this night your life is demanded from you; and these preparations--for whom shall they be?' ²¹ "So is it with him who amasses treasure for himself, but has no riches in God."

²² "But in course of time the beggar died; and he was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died, and had a funeral. ²³ And in Hades, being in torment, he looked and saw Abraham in the far distance, and Lazarus resting in his arms.

¹¹ give us to-day our bread for the day;

²⁵ For this reason I charge you not to be over-anxious about your lives, inquiring what you are to eat or what you are to drink, nor yet about your bodies, inquiring what clothes you are to put on. Is not the life more precious than its food, and the body than its clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds which fly in the air: they do not sow or reap or store up in barns, but your Heavenly Father feeds them: are not you of much greater value than they? ²⁷ Which of you by being over-anxious can add a single foot to his height? ²⁸ And why be anxious about clothing? Learn a lesson from the wild lilies. Watch their growth. They neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ and yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his magnificence could array himself like one of these. ³⁰ And if God so clothes the wild herbage which to-day flourishes and to-morrow is thrown into the oven, is it not much more certain that He will clothe you, you men of little faith? ³¹ Do not be over-anxious, therefore, asking 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'

⁵ Your lives should be untainted by love for money. Be content with what you have; for God Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER, NEVER LET GO YOUR HAND: I WILL NEVER NEVER FORSAKE YOU." ⁶ So that we fearlessly say, "THE LORD IS MY HELPER; I WILL NOT BE AFRAID: WHAT CAN MAN DO TO ME?"

²² He who has received the seed among the thorns is the man who hears the Message, but the cares of the present age and the delusions of riches quite stifle the Message, and it becomes unfruitful.

²² On hearing those words the young man went away much cast down; for he had much property.

¹⁵ and said, "What are you willing to give me if I betray him to you?" So they weighed out to him thirty shekels,

³ Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He was condemned, smitten with remorse he brought back the thirty shekels to the High Priests and Elders ⁴ and said, "I have sinned, in betraying to death one who is innocent." "What does that matter to us?" they replied; it is your business." ⁵ Flinging the shekels into the Sanctuary he left the place, and went and hanged himself.

¹⁹ but worldly cares and the deceitfulness of wealth and the excessive pursuit of other objects come in and stifle the Message, and it becomes unfruitful.

³⁵ for it will come on all dwellers on the face of the whole earth.

⁴ While it remained unsold, was not the land your own? And when sold, was it not at your own disposal? How is it that you have cherished this design in your heart? It is not to men you have told this lie, but to God." ⁵ Upon hearing these words Ananias fell down dead, and all who heard the words were awe-struck.

²⁰ "Perish your money and yourself," replied Peter, "because you have imagined that you can obtain God's free gift with money!

²² to put away, in regard to your former mode of life, your original evil nature which is doomed to perish as befits its misleading impulses,

⁹ and remembers that a law is not enacted to control a righteous man, but for the lawless and rebellious, the irreligious and sinful, the godless and profane--for those who strike their fathers or their mothers, for murderers,

⁷ It is needful also that he bear a good character with people outside the Church, lest he fall into reproach or a snare of the Devil.

²⁶ and recover sober-mindedness and freedom from the Devil's snare, though they are now entrapped by him to do his will.

¹ Come, you rich men, weep aloud and howl for your sorrows which will soon be upon you. ² Your treasures have rotted, and your piles of clothing are moth-eaten; ³ your gold and your silver have become covered with rust, and the rust on them will give evidence against you, and will eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded up wealth in these last days. ⁴ I tell you that the pay of the labourers who have gathered in your crops--pay which you are keeping back--is calling out against you; and the outcries of those who have been your reapers have entered into the ears of the Lord of the armies of Heaven.

¹⁵ Forsaking the straight road, they have gone astray, having eagerly followed in the steps of Balaam, the son of Beor, who was bent on securing the wages of unrighteousness. ¹⁶ But he was rebuked for his transgression: a dumb ass spoke with a human voice and checked the madness of the Prophet.

¹⁵ Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If any one loves the world, there is no love in his heart for the Father. ¹⁶ For the things in the world--the cravings of the earthly nature, the cravings of the eyes, the show and pride of life--they all come, not from the Father, but from the world. ¹⁷ And the world, with its cravings, is passing away, but he who does God's will continues for ever.

¹⁶ "Brethren, it was necessary that the Scripture should be fulfilled--the prediction, I mean, which the Holy Spirit uttered by the lips of David, about Judas, who acted as guide to those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷ For Judas was reckoned as one of our number, and a share in this ministry was allotted to him." ¹⁸ (Now having bought a piece of ground with the money paid for his wickedness he fell there with his face downwards, and, his body bursting open, he became disembowelled. ¹⁹ This fact became widely known to the people of Jerusalem, so that the place received the name, in their language, of Achel-damach, which means 'The Field of Blood.')

⁹ But people who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many unwise and pernicious ways which sink mankind in destruction and ruin.

²¹ of which some have spoken boastfully in connexion with the true faith, and have erred. Grace be with you all.

¹⁰ For Demas has deserted me--loving, as he does, the present age--and has gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.

¹⁹ My brethren, if one of you strays from the truth and some one brings him back,

⁷ But when righteous Lot was sore distressed by the gross misconduct of immoral men He rescued him. ⁸ (For their lawless deeds were torture, day after day, to the pure soul of that righteous man--all that he saw and heard whilst living in their midst.)

¹⁴ Yet I have a few things against you, because you have with you some that cling to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling-block in the way of the descendants of Israel--to eat what had been sacrificed to idols, and commit fornication. ¹⁵ So even you have some that cling in the same way to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

¹⁹ Therefore let us aim at whatever makes for peace and mutual upbuilding of character.

¹⁸ Flee from fornication. Any other sin that a human being commits lies outside the body; but he who commits fornication sins against his own body.

¹⁴ Therefore, my dear friends, avoid all connection with the worship of idols.

¹ Be eager in your pursuit of this Love, and be earnestly ambitious for spiritual gifts, but let it be chiefly so in order that you may prophesy.

²² The Spirit, on the other hand, brings a harvest of love, joy, peace; patience towards others, kindness, benevolence; ²³ good faith, meekness, self-restraint.

⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever wins respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovable, whatever is of good repute--if there is any virtue or anything deemed worthy of praise--cherish the thought of these things. ⁹ The doctrines and the line of conduct which I taught you--both what you heard and what you saw in me-- hold fast to them; and God who gives peace will be with you.

¹² Let no one think slightingly of you because you are a young man; but in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, be an example for your fellow Christians to imitate.

¹⁰ She must have been true to her one husband, and well reported of for good deeds, as having brought up children, received strangers hospitably, washed the feet of God's people, given relief to the distressed, and devoted herself to good works of every kind.

²⁰ O Timothy, guard the truths entrusted to you, shunning irreligious and frivolous talk, and controversy with what is falsely called 'knowledge';

²² Keep a strong curb, however, on your youthful cravings; and strive for integrity, good faith, love, peace, in company with all who pray to the Lord with pure hearts.

¹⁷ so that the man of God may himself be complete and may be perfectly equipped for every good work.

¹¹ For the grace of God has displayed itself with healing power to all mankind, ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and all the pleasures of this world, and to live sober, upright, and pious lives at the present time,

¹⁴ but may rather be restored. Persistently strive for peace with all men, and for that growth in holiness apart from which no one will see the Lord.

¹¹ LET HIM TURN FROM EVIL, AND DO GOOD; LET HIM INQUIRE FOR PEACE AND GO IN PURSUIT OF IT.

⁸ "And I tell you that every man who shall have acknowledged me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. ⁹ But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.

²⁸ Now we know that for those who love God all things are working together for good--for those, I mean, whom with deliberate purpose He has called. ²⁹ For those whom He has known beforehand He has also pre-destined to bear the likeness of His Son, that He might be the Eldest in a vast family of brothers; ³⁰ and those whom He has pre-destined He also has called; and those whom He has called He has also declared free from guilt; and those whom He has declared free from guilt He has also crowned with glory.

²³ in order to make known His infinite goodness towards the subjects of His mercy whom He has prepared beforehand for glory, ²⁴ even towards us whom He has called not only from among the Jews but also from among the Gentiles?

⁹ that if with your mouth you confess Jesus as Lord and in your heart believe that God brought Him back to life, you shall be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart men believe and obtain righteousness, and with the mouth they make confession and obtain salvation.

²⁵ But every competitor in an athletic contest practices abstemiousness in all directions. They indeed do this for the sake of securing a perishable wreath, but we for the sake of securing one that will not perish. ²⁶ That is how I run, not being in any doubt as to my goal. I am a boxer who does not inflict blows on the air,

⁷ by the proclamation of the truth, by the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness, wielded in both hands;

¹³ For, by the practical proof of it which you exhibit in this service, you cause God to be extolled for your fidelity to your professed adherence to the Good News of the Christ, and for the liberality of your contributions for them and for all who are in need,

³ For, though we are still living in the world, it is no worldly warfare that we are waging. ⁴ The weapons with which we fight are not human weapons, but are mighty for God in overthrowing strong fortresses. ⁵ For we overthrow arrogant 'reckonings,' and every stronghold that towers high in defiance of the knowledge of God, and we carry off every thought as if into slavery--into subjection to Christ;

¹⁰ In conclusion, strengthen yourselves in the Lord and in the power which His supreme might imparts. ¹¹ Put on the complete armour of God, so as to be able to stand firm against all the stratagems of the Devil. ¹² For ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood, but with the despotisms, the empires, the forces that control and govern this dark world--the spiritual hosts of evil arrayed against us in the heavenly warfare. ¹³ Therefore put on the complete armour of God, so that you may be able to stand your ground on the day of battle, and, having fought to the end, to remain victors on the field. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, first fastening round you the girdle of truth and putting on the breastplate of uprightness ¹⁵ as well as the shoes of the Good News of peace-- a firm foundation for your feet. ¹⁶ And besides all these take the great shield of faith, on which you will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the Wicked one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. ¹⁸ Pray with unceasing prayer and entreaty on every fitting occasion in the Spirit, and be always on the alert to seize opportunities for doing so, with unwearied persistence and entreaty on behalf of all God's people,

¹² I do not say that I have already won the race or have already reached perfection. But I am pressing on, striving to lay hold of the prize for which also Christ has laid hold of me. ¹³ Brethren, I do not imagine that I have yet laid hold of it. But this one thing I do--forgetting everything which is past and stretching forward to what lies in front of me, ¹⁴ with my eyes fixed on the goal I push on to secure the prize of God's heavenward call in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ and let the peace which Christ gives settle all questionings in your hearts, to which peace indeed you were called as belonging to His one Body; and be thankful.

¹² and imploring you to live lives worthy of fellowship with God who is inviting you to share His own Kingship and glory.

⁸ But let us, belonging--as we do--to the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹ For God has not pre-destined us to meet His anger, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ;

¹⁴ To this blessing God has called you by our Good News, so that you may have a share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ This is the charge which I entrust to you, my son Timothy, in accordance with the inspired instructions concerning you which were given me long ago, that being equipped with them as your armour you may be continually fighting the good fight,

¹³ I charge you--as in the presence of God who gives life to all creatures, and of Christ Jesus who at the bar of Pontius Pilate made a noble profession of faith--

¹⁹ storing up for themselves that which shall be a solid foundation for the future, that they may lay hold of the Life which is life indeed.

⁹ For He saved us and called us with a holy call, not in accordance with our desserts, but in accordance with His own purpose and the free grace which He bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before the commencement of the Ages,

⁷ I have gone through the glorious contest; I have run the race; I have guarded the faith.

¹⁸ He added an oath, in order that, through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for Him to prove false, we may possess mighty encouragement--we who, for safety, have hastened to lay hold of the hope set before us.

²³ You will rejoice to hear that our brother Timothy has been set at liberty. If he comes soon, I will see you with him.

⁹ not requiting evil with evil nor abuse with abuse, but, on the contrary, giving a blessing in return, because a blessing is what you have been called by God to inherit.

¹⁰ And God, the giver of all grace, who has called you to share His eternal glory, through Christ, after you have suffered for a short time, will Himself make you perfect, firm, and strong.

²⁵ And this is the promise which He Himself has given us--the Life of the Ages.

³ Be mindful, therefore, of the lessons you have received and heard. Continually lay them to heart, and repent. If, however, you fail to rouse yourself and keep awake, I shall come upon you suddenly like a thief, and you will certainly not know the hour at which I shall come to judge you.

¹¹ Meanwhile Jesus was brought before the Governor, and the latter put the question, "Are you the King of the Jews?" "I am their King," He answered.

²¹ For just as the Father awakens the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom He wills.

²⁶ For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He has also given to the Son to have life in Himself.

⁶ "I am the Way," replied Jesus, "and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

²⁵ "All this I have spoken to you while still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will teach you everything, and will bring to your memories all that I have said to you.

³⁶ "My kingdom," replied Jesus, "does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my subjects would have resolutely fought to save me from being delivered up to the Jews. But, as a matter of fact, my kingdom has not this origin." ³⁷ "So then *you* are a king!" rejoined Pilate. "Yes," said Jesus, "you say truly that I am a king. For this purpose I was born, and for this purpose I have come into the world--to give testimony for the truth. Every one who is a friend of the truth listens to my voice."

¹¹ "You would have had no power whatever over me," replied Jesus, "had it not been granted you from above. On that account he who has delivered me up to you is more guilty than you are."

²⁵ Nor is He ministered to by human hands, as though He needed anything--but He Himself gives to all men life and breath and all things.

⁵ For there is but one God and but one Mediator between God and men--Christ Jesus, Himself man;

²¹ I solemnly call upon you, in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels, to carry out these instructions of mine without prejudice, and to do nothing from partiality.

¹² Exert all your strength in the honourable struggle for the faith; lay hold of the Life of the Ages, to which you were called, when you made your noble profession of faith before many witnesses.

⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the truthful witness, the first of the dead to be born to Life, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins with His own blood,

¹⁴ "And to the minister of the Church at Laodicea write as follows: "'This is what the Amen says--the true and faithful witness, the Beginning and Lord of God's Creation.

⁶ He also said, "They have now been fulfilled. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To those who are thirsty I will give the privilege of drinking from the well of the Water of Life without payment.

¹ Then he showed me the river of the Water of Life, bright as crystal, issuing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

⁸ who will also keep you stedfast to the very End, so that you will be free from reproach on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷ that He might present the Church to Himself a glorious bride, without spot or wrinkle or any other defect, but to be holy and unblemished.

⁶ For of this I am confident, that He who has begun a good work within you will go on to perfect it in preparation for the day of Jesus Christ.

¹⁰ so that you may be men of transparent character, and may be blameless, in preparation for the day of Christ,

¹⁵ so that you may always prove yourselves to be blameless and spotless--irreproachable children of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as heavenly lights in the world,

²² He has now, in His human body, reconciled to God by His death, to bring you, holy and faultless and irreproachable, into His presence;

¹⁷ And tell Archippus to discharge carefully the duties devolving upon him as a servant of the Lord.

¹³ Thus He will build up your characters, so that you will be faultlessly holy in the presence of our God and Father at the Coming of our Lord Jesus with all His holy ones.

²³ And may God Himself who gives peace, make you entirely holy; and may your spirits, souls and bodies be preserved complete and be found blameless at the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹ But with respect to the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to meet Him, we entreat you, brethren,

⁸ and then the Lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will sweep away with the tempest of His anger, and utterly overwhelm by the awful splendour of His Coming.

¹¹ Command this and teach this. ¹² Let no one think slightingly of you because you are a young man; but in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, be an example for your fellow Christians to imitate. ¹³ Till I come, bestow your attention on reading, exhortation and teaching. ¹⁴ Do not be careless about the gifts with which you are endowed, which were conferred on you through a divine revelation when the hands of the elders were placed upon you. ¹⁵ Habitually practise these duties, and be absorbed in them; so that your growing proficiency in them may be evident to all. ¹⁶ Be on your guard as to yourself and your teaching. Persevere in these things; for by doing this you will make certain your own salvation and that of your hearers.

¹ I solemnly implore you, in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is about to judge the living and the dead, and by His Appearing and His Kingship:

¹³ in expectation of the fulfilment of our blessed hope--the Appearing in glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ;

¹⁴ how much more certainly shall the blood of Christ, who strengthened by the eternal Spirit offered Himself to God, free from blemish, purify your consciences from lifeless works for you to serve the ever-living God?

²⁸ so the Christ also, having been once offered in sacrifice in order that He might bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, separated from sin, to those who are eagerly expecting Him, to make their salvation complete.

⁷ The sorrow comes in order that the testing of your faith--being more precious than that of gold, which perishes and yet is proved by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the re-appearing of Jesus Christ.

¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ--as of an unblemished and spotless lamb.

¹⁴ Therefore, dear friends, since you have these expectations, earnestly seek to be found in His presence, free from blemish or reproach, in peace.

² Dear friends, we are now God's children, but what we are to be in the future has not yet been fully revealed. We know that if Christ reappears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.

²⁴ But to Him who is able to keep you safe from stumbling, and cause you to stand in the presence of His glory free from blemish and full of exultant joy--

⁷ He is coming in the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and so will those who pierced Him; and all the nations of the earth will gaze on Him and mourn. Even so. Amen.

¹³ and bring us not into temptation, but rescue us from the Evil one.'

¹¹ and is not in accordance with the Good News of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

¹⁷ Now to the immortal and invisible King of the Ages, who alone is God, be honour and glory to the Ages of the Ages! Amen.

⁶ who gave Himself as the redemption price for all--a fact testified to at its own appointed time,

¹⁴ They will make war upon the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them; for He is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those who accompany Him--called, as they are, and chosen, and faithful--shall share in the victory."

¹⁶ And on His outer garment and on His thigh He has a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

¹⁸ No human eye has ever seen God: the only Son, who is in the Father's bosom--He has made Him known.

⁴⁶ No one has ever seen the Father--except Him who is from God. He has seen the Father.

⁵⁸ "In most solemn truth," answered Jesus, "I tell you that before Abraham came into existence, I am."

⁹ "Have I been so long among you," Jesus answered, "and yet you, Philip, do not know me? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How can *you* ask me, 'Cause us to see the Father'?

²⁵ To Him who has it in His power to make you strong, as declared in the Good News which I am spreading, and the proclamation concerning Jesus Christ, in harmony with the unveiling of the Truth which in the periods of past Ages remained unuttered, ²⁶ but has now been brought fully to light, and by the command of the God of the Ages has been made known by the writings of the Prophets among all the Gentiles to win them to obedience to the faith-- ²⁷ to God, the only wise, through Jesus Christ, even to Him be the glory through all the Ages! Amen.

²¹ to Him be the glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, world without end! Amen.

²⁰ And to our God and Father be the glory throughout the Ages of the Ages! Amen.

¹⁵ Christ is the visible representation of the invisible God, the Firstborn and Lord of all creation.

⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and to-day--yes, and to the ages to come.

⁵ This is the Message which we have heard from the Lord Jesus and now deliver to you--God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness.

²⁵ to the only God our Saviour--through Jesus Christ our Lord, be ascribed glory, majesty, might, and authority, as it was before all time, is now, and shall be to all the Ages! Amen.

⁶ and has formed us into a Kingdom, to be priests to God, His Father--to Him be ascribed the glory and the power until the Ages of the Ages. Amen.

⁸ "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "He who is and was and evermore will be--the Ruler of all."

¹⁶ In His right hand He held seven stars, and a sharp, two-edged sword was seen coming from His mouth; and His glance resembled the sun when it is shining with its full strength. ¹⁷ When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if I were dead. But He laid His right hand upon me and said, "Do not be afraid: I am the First and the Last, and the ever-living One. ¹⁸ I died; but I am now alive until the Ages of the Ages, and I have the keys of the gates of Death and of Hades!

¹¹ saying, "It is fitting, O our Lord and God, That we should ascribe unto Thee the glory and the honor and the power; For Thou didst create all things, And because it was Thy will they came into existence, and were created."

¹² "Even so!" they cried: "The blessing and the glory and the wisdom and the thanks and the honor and the power and the might are to be ascribed to our God, until the Ages of the Ages! Even so!"

³ And I heard a loud voice, which came from the throne, say, "God's dwelling place is among men and He will dwell among them and they shall be His peoples. Yes, God Himself will be among them.

⁵ And there will be no night there; and they have no need of lamplight or sunlight, for the Lord God will shine upon them, and they will be kings until the Ages of the Ages."

³² For all these are questions that Gentiles are always asking; but your Heavenly Father knows that you need these things--all of them.

²³ So Jesus said to His disciples, "I solemnly tell you that it is with difficulty that a rich man will enter the Kingdom of the Heavens.

⁵⁷ Towards sunset there came a wealthy inhabitant of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who himself also had become a disciple of Jesus.

²⁴ The disciples were amazed at His words. Jesus, however, said again, "Children, how hard a struggle is it for those who trust in riches to enter the Kingdom of God!

¹⁵ And to the people He said, "Take care, be on your guard against all covetousness, for no one's life consists in the superabundance of his possessions." ¹⁶ And He spoke a parable to them. "A certain rich man's lands," He said, "yielded abundant crops, ¹⁷ and he debated within himself, saying, "'What am I to do? for I have no place in which to store my crops.' ¹⁸ "And he said to himself, "'This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and in them I will store up all my harvest and my wealth; ¹⁹ and I will say to my life, "'Life, you have ample possessions laid up for many years to come: take your ease, eat, drink, enjoy yourself.'

² There was a man there called Zacchaeus, who was the local surveyor of taxes, and was wealthy.

⁹ Turning towards him, Jesus replied, "To-day salvation has come to this house, seeing that he too is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

¹⁷ and yet by His beneficence He has not left His existence unattested--His beneficence, I mean, in sending you rain from Heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and joyfulness."

²⁷ Upon their arrival they called the Church together and proceeded to report in detail all that God, working with them, had done, and how He had opened for the Gentiles the door of faith.

²⁰ This is true; yet it was their unbelief that cut them off, and you only stand through your faith.

⁵ For be well assured that no fornicator or immoral person and no money-grubber--or in other words idol-worshipper--has any share awaiting him in the Kingdom of Christ and of God.

¹⁶ Let the teaching concerning Christ remain as a rich treasure in your hearts. In all wisdom teach and admonish one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and sing with grace in your hearts to God.

⁹ For when others speak of us they report the reception we had from you, and how you turned from your idols to God, to be bondservants of the true and ever-living God,

¹⁵ But, for fear I may be hindered, I now write, so that you may have rules to guide you in dealing with God's household. For this is what the Church of the ever-living God is, and it is the pillar and foundation-stone of the truth.

¹⁰ and here is the motive of our toiling and wrestling, because we have our hopes fixed on the ever-living God, who is the Saviour of all mankind, and especially of believers.

¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and all the pleasures of this world, and to live sober, upright, and pious lives at the present time,

⁶ which He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

⁹ Let a brother in humble life rejoice when raised to a higher position; ¹⁰ but a rich man should rejoice in being brought low, for like flowers among the herbage rich men will pass away.

⁶ Give back to her as she has given; repay her in accordance with her doings, twice as much; in the bowl that she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. ⁷ She has freely glorified herself and revelled in luxury; equally freely administer torment to her, and woe. For in her heart she boasts, saying, 'I sit enthroned as Queen: no widow am I: I shall never know sorrow.'

³³ And if you are kind to those who are kind to you, what credit is it to you? Even bad men act thus. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is it to you? Even bad men lend to their fellows so as to receive back an equal amount. ³⁵ Nevertheless love your enemies, be beneficent; and lend without hoping for any repayment. Then your recompense shall be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

²¹ "So is it with him who amasses treasure for himself, but has no riches in God."

¹² Also to His host, who had invited Him, He said, "When you give a breakfast or a dinner, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbours, lest perhaps they should invite you in return and a requital be made you. ¹³ But when you entertain, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind; ¹⁴ and you will be blessed, because they have no means of requiting you, but there will be requital for you at the Resurrection of the righteous."

⁴⁴ And all the believers kept together, and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold their lands and other property, and distributed the proceeds among all, according to every one's necessities.

³⁴ And, in fact, there was not a needy man among them, for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the money which they realised, ³⁵ and gave it to the Apostles, and distribution was made to every one according to his wants. ³⁶ In this way Joseph, whom the Apostles gave the name of Bar-nabas--signifying 'Son of Encouragement' --a Levite, a native of Cyprus, ³⁷ sold a farm which he had, and brought the money and gave it to the Apostles.

³⁶ Among the disciples at Jaffa was a woman called Tabitha, or, as the name may be translated, 'Dorcas.' Her life was wholly devoted to the good and charitable actions which she was constantly doing.

³⁸ It tells how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, so that He went about everywhere doing acts of kindness, and curing all who were being continually oppressed by the Devil--for God was with Jesus.

²⁹ So the disciples decided to send relief, every one in proportion to his means, to the brethren living in Judaea.

⁸ The teacher must do the same in his teaching; and he who exhorts others, in his exhortation. He who gives should be liberal; he who is in authority should be energetic and alert; and he who succours the afflicted should do it cheerfully.

¹³ Relieve the necessities of God's people; always practise hospitality.

² On the first day of every week let each of you put on one side and store up at his home whatever gain has been granted to him; so that whenever I come, there may then be no collections going on.

¹ But we desire to let you know, brethren, of the grace of God which has been bestowed on the Churches of Macedonia; ² how, while passing through great trouble, their boundless joy even amid their deep poverty has overflowed to increase their generous liberality.

⁹ For you know the condescending goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ--how for your sakes He became poor, though He was rich, in order that you through His poverty might grow rich.

¹² For, assuming the earnest willingness, the gift is acceptable according to whatever a man has, and not according to what he has not.

⁶ But do not forget that he who sows with a niggardly hand will also reap a niggardly crop, and that he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ⁷ Let each contribute what he has decided upon in his own mind, and not do it reluctantly or under compulsion. "IT IS A CHEERFUL GIVER THAT GOD LOVES." ⁸ And God is able to bestow every blessing on you in abundance, so that richly enjoying all sufficiency at all times, you may have ample means for all good works. ⁹ As it is written, "HE HAS SCATTERED ABROAD, HE HAS GIVEN TO THE POOR, HIS ALMSGIVING REMAINS FOR EVER." ¹⁰ And God who continually supplies seed for the sower and bread for eating, will supply you with seed and multiply it, and will cause your almsgiving to yield a plentiful harvest. ¹¹ May you be abundantly enriched so as to show all liberality, such as through our instrumentality brings thanksgiving to God. ¹² For the service rendered in this sacred gift not only helps to relieve the wants of God's people, but it is also rich in its results and awakens a chorus of thanksgiving to God. ¹³ For, by the practical proof of it which you exhibit in this service, you cause God to be extolled for your fidelity to your professed adherence to the Good News of the Christ, and for the liberality of your contributions for them and for all who are in need, ¹⁴ while they themselves also in supplications on your behalf pour out their longing love towards you because of God's surpassing grace which is resting upon you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for His unspeakably precious gift!

¹⁰ So then, as we have opportunity, let us labour for the good of all, and especially of those who belong to the household of the faith.

¹⁸ I have enough of everything--and more than enough. My wants are fully satisfied now that I have received from the hands of Epaphroditus the generous gifts which you sent me--they are a fragrant odor, an acceptable sacrifice, truly pleasing to God. ¹⁹ But my God--so great is His wealth of glory in Christ Jesus--will fully supply every need of yours.

¹⁴ who gave Himself for us to purchase our freedom from all iniquity, and purify for Himself a people who should be specially His own, zealous for doing good works.

¹⁶ And do not forget to be kind and liberal; for with sacrifices of that sort God is greatly pleased.

⁵ Listen, my dearly-loved brethren. Has not God chosen those whom the world regards as poor to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which He has promised to those that love Him?

¹⁷ But if any one has this world's wealth and sees that his brother man is in need, and yet hardens his heart against him--how can such a one continue to love God?

¹¹ My dear friend, do not follow wrong examples, but right ones. He who habitually does what is right is a child of God: he who habitually does what is wrong has not seen God.

¹⁹ "Do not lay up stores of wealth for yourselves on earth, where the moth and wear-and-tear destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But amass wealth for yourselves in Heaven, where neither the moth nor wear-and-tear destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your wealth is, there also will your heart be.

⁴¹ Every one who receives a prophet, because he is a prophet, will receive a prophet's reward, and every one who receives a righteous man, because he is a righteous man, will receive a righteous man's reward. ⁴² And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink because he is a disciple, I solemnly tell you that he will not lose his reward."

²¹ "If you desire to be perfect," replied Jesus, "go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; and come, follow me."

³⁴ "Then the King will say to those at His right, "'Come, my Father's blessed ones, receive your inheritance of the Kingdom which has been divinely intended for you ever since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For when I was hungry, you gave me food; when I was thirsty, you gave me drink; when I was homeless, you gave me a welcome; ³⁶ when I was ill-clad, you clothed me; when I was sick, you visited me; when I was in prison, you came to see me.' ³⁷ "'When, Lord,' the righteous will reply, 'did we see Thee hungry, and feed Thee; or thirsty, and give Thee drink? ³⁸ When did we see Thee homeless, and give Thee a welcome? or ill-clad, and clothe Thee? ³⁹ When did we see Thee sick or in prison, and come to see Thee?' ⁴⁰ "But the King will answer them, "'In solemn truth I tell you that in so far as you rendered such services to one of the humblest of these my brethren, you rendered them to myself.'

⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who digs and goes deep, and lays the foundation on the rock; and when a flood comes, the torrent bursts upon that house, but is unable to shake it, because it is securely built. ⁴⁹ But he who has heard and not practised is like a man who has built a house upon the soft soil without a foundation, against which the torrent bursts, and immediately it collapses, and terrible is the wreck and ruin of that house."

³³ Sell your possessions and give alms. Provide yourselves with purses that will never wear out, a treasure inexhaustible in Heaven, where no thief can come nor moth consume.

⁹ "But I charge you, so to use the wealth which is ever tempting to dishonesty as to win friends who, when it fails, shall welcome you to the tents that never perish.

²⁵ "'Remember, my child,' said Abraham, 'that you had all your good things during your lifetime, and that Lazarus in like manner had his bad things. But, now and here, he is receiving consolation and you are in agony.

² "In a certain town," He said, "there was a judge who had no fear of God and no respect for man.

²² On receiving this answer Jesus said to him, "There is still one thing wanting in you. Sell everything you possess and give the money to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; and then come, follow me."

⁸ He who sows in the field of his lower nature, will from that nature reap destruction; but he who sows to serve the Spirit will from the Spirit reap the Life of the Ages. ⁹ Let us not abate our courage in doing what is right; for in due time we shall reap a reward, if we do not faint.

¹⁷ I pray that Christ may make His home in your hearts through your faith; so that having your roots deep and your foundations strong, in love, you may become mighty to grasp the idea,

¹⁴ with my eyes fixed on the goal I push on to secure the prize of God's heavenward call in Christ Jesus.

¹⁹ Yet God's solid foundation stands unmoved, bearing this inscription, "THE LORD KNOWS THOSE WHO REALLY BELONG TO HIM." And this also, "LET EVERY ONE WHO NAMES THE NAME OF THE LORD RENOUNCE ALL WICKEDNESS."

⁴ to an inheritance imperishable, undefiled and unfading, which has been reserved in Heaven for you,

¹⁸ A few of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also encountered him. Some of them asked, "What has this beggarly babbler to say?" "His business," said others, "seems to be to cry up some foreign gods." This was because he had been telling the Good News of Jesus and the Resurrection.

²¹ (For all the Athenians and their foreign visitors used to devote their whole leisure to telling or hearing about something new.)

²² While boasting of their wisdom they became utter fools,

² The privilege is great from every point of view. First of all, because the Jews were entrusted with God's truth.

¹⁹ For so it stands written, "I WILL EXHIBIT THE NOTHINGNESS OF THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE INTELLIGENT I WILL BRING TO NOUGHT." ²⁰ Where is your wise man? Where your expounder of the Law? Where your investigator of the questions of this present age? Has not God shown the world's wisdom to be utter foolishness? ²¹ For after the world by its wisdom--as God in His wisdom had ordained--had failed to gain the knowledge of God, God was pleased, by the apparent foolishness of the Message which we preach, to save those who accepted it. ²² Seeing that Jews demand miracles, and Greeks go in search of wisdom, ²³ while we proclaim a Christ who has been crucified--to the Jews a stumbling-block, to Gentiles foolishness,

⁶ Yet when we are among mature believers we do speak words of wisdom; a wisdom not belonging, however, to the present age nor to the leaders of the present age who are soon to pass away.

¹⁹ This world's wisdom is "foolishness" in God's sight; for it is written, "HE SNARES THE WISE WITH THEIR OWN CUNNING."

⁸ Take care lest there be some one who leads you away as prisoners by means of his philosophy and idle fancies, following human traditions and the world's crude notions instead of following Christ.

⁴ It so increases that we ourselves make honourable mention of you among the Churches of God because of your patience and faith amid all your persecutions and amid the afflictions which you are enduring.

¹⁵ So then, brethren, stand your ground, and hold fast to the teachings which you have received from us, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

⁷ But worldly stories, fit only for credulous old women, have nothing to do with.

⁴ he is puffed up with pride and has no true knowledge, but is crazy over discussions and controversies about words which give rise to envy, quarrelling, revilings, ill-natured suspicions, ⁵ and persistent wranglings on the part of people whose intellects are disordered and they themselves blinded to all knowledge of the truth; who imagine that godliness means gain.

¹¹ But you, O man of God, must flee from these things; and strive for uprightness, godliness, good faith, love, fortitude, and a forgiving temper.

¹⁴ that you keep God's commandments stainlessly and without reproach till the Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹² That indeed is the reason why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know in whom my trust reposes, and I am confident that He has it in His power to keep what I have entrusted to Him safe until that day. ¹³ Provide yourself with an outline of the sound teaching which you have heard from my lips, and be true to the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ That precious treasure which is in your charge, guard through the Holy Spirit who has His home in our hearts.

¹ You then, my child, must be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶ But from irreligious and frivolous talk hold aloof, for those who indulge in it will proceed from bad to worse in impiety,

¹⁴ But you must cling to the things which you have learnt and have been taught to believe, knowing who your teachers were, ¹⁵ and that from infancy you have known the sacred writings which are able to make you wise to obtain salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ Every Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for convincing, for correction of error, and for instruction in right doing;

⁴ To Titus my own true child in our common faith. May grace and peace be granted to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.

¹⁴ and not give attention to Jewish legends and the maxims of men who turn their backs on the truth.

⁷ To all God's loved ones who are in Rome, called to be saints. May grace and peace be granted to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁰ And before long, God the giver of peace will crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

²³ Gaius, my host, who is also the host of the whole Church, greets you. So do Erastus, the treasurer of the city, and Quartus our brother.

¹⁸ I Paul add with my own hand this final greeting. Be mindful of me in my imprisonment. Grace be with you.

¹⁹ holding fast to faith and a clear conscience, which some have cast aside and have made shipwreck of their faith.

¹⁰ For from love of money all sorts of evils arise; and some have so hankered after money as to be led astray from the faith and be pierced through with countless sorrows.

¹⁸ In the matter of the truth they have gone astray, saying that the Resurrection is already past, and so they are overthrowing the faith of some.

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

¹⁵ Every one here sends you greeting. Greet the believers who hold us dear. May grace be with you all.

¹ For, since the Law exhibits only an outline of the blessings to come and not a perfect representation of the things themselves, the priests can never, by repeating the same sacrifices which they continually offer year after year, give complete freedom from sin to those who draw near. ² For then would not the sacrifices have ceased to be offered, because the consciences of the worshippers--who in that case would now have been cleansed once for all--would no longer be burdened with sins? ³ But in those sacrifices sins are recalled to memory year after year. ⁴ For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. ⁵ That is why, when He comes into the world, He says, "SACRIFICE AND OFFERING THOU HAS NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY THOU HAST PREPARED FOR ME. ⁶ IN WHOLE BURNT-OFFERINGS AND IN SIN-OFFERINGS THOU HAST TAKEN NO PLEASURE. ⁷ THEN I SAID, 'I HAVE COME--IN THE ROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN CONCERNING ME--TO DO THY WILL, O GOD.'" ⁸ After saying the words I have just quoted, "SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS OR WHOLE BURNT-OFFERINGS AND SIN-OFFERINGS THOU HAST NOT DESIRED OR TAKEN PLEASURE IN" --all such being offered in obedience to the Law-- ⁹ He then adds, "I HAVE COME TO DO THY WILL." He does away with the first in order to establish the second. ¹⁰ It is through that divine will that we have been set free from sin, through the offering of Jesus Christ as our sacrifice once for all. ¹¹ And while every priest stands ministering, day after day, and constantly offering the same sacrifices--though such can never rid us of our sins-- ¹² this Priest, on the contrary, after offering for sins a single sacrifice of perpetual efficacy, took His seat at God's right hand,

²⁵ Grace be with you all! Amen.