2 Timothy Cross References - WNT

¹ Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, for proclaiming the promise of the Life which is in Christ Jesus: ² To Timothy my dearly-loved child. May grace, mercy and peace be granted to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. ³ I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience--as my forefathers did--that night and day I unceasingly remember you in my prayers, ⁴ being always mindful of your tears, and longing to see you that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ For I recall the sincere faith which is in your heart--a faith which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and then in your mother Eunice, and, I am fully convinced, now dwells in you also. ⁶ For this reason let me remind you to rekindle God's gift which is yours through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For the Spirit which God has given us is not a spirit of cowardice, but one of power and of love and of sound judgement. ⁸ Do not be ashamed then to bear witness for our Lord and for me His prisoner; but rather share suffering with me in the service of the Good News, strengthened by the power of God. 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, ¹⁰ but which has now been plainly revealed through the Appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus. He has put an end to death and has brought Life and Immortality to light through the Good News, ¹¹ of which I have been appointed a preacher, Apostle and teacher, to the Gentiles. 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. ¹⁵ Of this you are aware, that all the Christians in Roman Asia have deserted me: and among them Phygelus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶ May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus; for many a time he cheered me and he was not ashamed of my chain. ¹⁷ Nay, when he was here in Rome, he took great pains to inquire where I was living, and at last he found me. ¹⁸ (The Lord grant that he may obtain mercy at His hands on that day!) And you yourself well know all the services which he rendered me in Ephesus.

²⁴ "In most solemn truth I tell you that he who listens to my teaching and believes Him who sent me, has the Life of the Ages, and does not come under judgement, but has passed over out of death into Life.

³⁹ "You search the Scriptures, because you suppose that in them you will find the Life of the Ages; and it is those Scriptures that yield testimony concerning me; ⁴⁰ and yet you are unwilling to come to me that you may have Life.

⁴⁰ For this is my Father's will, that every one who fixes his gaze on the Son of God and believes in Him should have the Life of the Ages, and I will raise him to life on the last day."

⁵⁴ He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has the Life of the Ages, and I will raise him up on the last day.

²⁸ I give them the Life of the Ages, and they shall never, never perish, nor shall any one wrest them from my hand.

³ And in this consists the Life of the Ages--in knowing Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.

¹ Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an Apostle, set apart to proclaim God's Good News,

²¹ in order that as sin has exercised kingly sway in inflicting death, so grace, too, may exercise kingly sway in bestowing a righteousness which results in the Life of the Ages through Jesus Christ our Lord.

²³ For the wages paid by Sin are death; but God's free gift is the Life of the Ages bestowed upon us in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹ Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God--and our brother Sosthenes:

¹ Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God--and our brother Timothy: To the Church of God in Corinth, with all God's people throughout Greece.

²⁰ For all the promises of God, whatever their number, have their confirmation in Him; and for this reason through Him also our "Amen" acknowledges their truth and promotes the glory of God through our faith.

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,

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.

² in hope of the Life of the Ages which God, who is never false to His word, promised before the commencement of the Ages.

¹⁵ And because of this He is the negotiator of a new Covenant, in order that, since a life has been given in atonement for the offences committed under the first Covenant, those who have been called may receive the eternal inheritance which has been promised to them.

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.

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

¹¹ And that testimony is to the effect that God has given us the Life of the Ages, and that this Life is in His Son. ¹² He who has the Son has the Life: he who has not the Son of God has not the Life. ¹³ I write all this to you in order that you who believe in the Son of God may know for certain that you already have the Life of the Ages.

¹ He also came to Derbe and to Lystra. At Lystra he found a disciple, Timothy by name--the son of a Christian Jewess, though he had a Greek father.

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.

¹⁹ Do not be revengeful, my dear friends, but give way before anger; for it is written, "'REVENGE BELONGS TO ME: I WILL PAY BACK,' says the Lord."

¹ Therefore, my brethren, dearly loved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand firm in the Lord, my dearly-loved ones.

² To Timothy, my own true son in the faith. May grace, mercy and peace be granted to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

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

³⁷ and then being a widow of eighty-four years. She was never absent from the Temple, but worshipped, by day and by night, with fasting and prayer.

³ "I am a Jew, born at Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I was carefully trained at the feet of Gamaliel in the Law of our forefathers, and, like all of you to-day, was zealous for God.

¹ Then Paul, fixing a steady gaze on the Sanhedrin, said, "Brethren, it is with a perfectly clear conscience that I have discharged my duties before God up to this day."

¹⁴ But this I confess to you--that in the way which they style a heresy, I worship the God of our forefathers, believing everything that is taught in the Law or is written in the Prophets,

¹⁶ This too is my own earnest endeavour--always to have a clear conscience in relation to God and man.

⁴ "The kind of life I have lived from my youth upwards, as exemplified in my early days among my nation and in Jerusalem, is known to all the Jews.

²³ For there stood by my side, last night, an angel of the God to whom I belong, and whom also I worship,

⁸ First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for what He has done for all of you; for the report of your faith is spreading through the whole world. ⁹ I call God to witness--to whom I render priestly and spiritual service by telling the Good News about His Son-- how unceasingly I make mention of you in His presence,

¹ I am telling you the truth as a Christian man--it is no falsehood, for my conscience enlightened, as it is, by the Holy Spirit adds its testimony to mine--

¹² For the reason for our boasting is this--the testimony of our own conscience that it was in holiness and with pure motives before God, and in reliance not on worldly wisdom but on the gracious help of God, that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and above all in our relations with you.

¹⁴ and how in devotion to Judaism I outstripped many men of my own age among my people, being far more zealous than they on behalf of the traditions of my forefathers.

¹⁶ offer never ceasing thanks on your behalf while I make mention of you in my prayers.

² We continually give thanks to God because of you all, while we make mention of you in our prayers. ³ For we never fail to remember your works of faith and labours of love and your persistent and unwavering hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father;

¹⁰ while night and day, with intense earnestness, we pray that we may see your faces, and may bring to perfection whatever may be still lacking in your faith?

⁵ But the end sought to be secured by exhortation is the love which springs from a pure heart, a clear conscience and a sincere faith.

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

⁵ For I recall the sincere faith which is in your heart--a faith which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and then in your mother Eunice, and, I am fully convinced, now dwells in you also.

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.

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

²² So you also now have sorrow; but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be glad, and your gladness no one will take away from you.

²⁴ As yet you have not asked for anything in my name: ask, and you shall receive, that your hearts may be filled with gladness.

¹⁹ serving the Lord in all humility, and with tears, and amid trials which came upon me through the plotting of the Jews--

³¹ Therefore be on the alert; and remember that, night and day, for three years, I never ceased admonishing every one, even with tears.

³⁷ and with loud lamentation they all threw their arms round his neck, and kissed him lovingly, ³⁸ grieved above all things at his having told them that after that day they were no longer to see his face. And they went with him to the ship.

¹¹ For I am longing to see you, in order to convey to you some spiritual help, so that you may be strengthened;

³⁰ But I entreat you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love which His Spirit inspires, to help me by wrestling in prayer to God on my behalf, ³¹ asking that I may escape unhurt from those in Judaea who are disobedient, and that the service which I am going to Jerusalem to render may be well received by the Church there, ³² in order that if God be willing I may come to you with a glad heart, and may enjoy a time of rest with you.

⁸ For God is my witness how I yearn over all of you with tender Christian affection.

²⁶ I send him because he is longing to see you all and is distressed at your having heard of his illness.

¹⁷ But we, brethren, having been for a short time separated from you in bodily presence, though not in heart, endeavoured all the more earnestly, with intense longing, to see you face to face.

⁹ Make an effort to come to me speedily.

²¹ Make an effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren.

⁴ And we write these things in order that our joy may be made complete.

¹⁷ For the Lamb who is in front of the throne will be their Shepherd, and will guide them to watersprings of Life, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes."

⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death shall be no more; nor sorrow, nor wail of woe, nor pain; for the first things have passed away."

⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, and said of him, "Look! here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceitfulness!"

²⁶ For the King, to whom I speak freely, knows about these matters. I am not to be persuaded that any detail of them has escaped his notice; for these things have not been done in a corner.

²¹ and being absolutely certain that whatever promise He is bound by He is able also to make good.

³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither the lower ranks of evil angels nor the higher, neither things present nor things future, nor the forces of nature,

⁵ One man esteems one day more highly than another; another esteems all days alike. Let every one be thoroughly convinced in his own mind.

¹⁴ As one who lives in union with the Lord Jesus, I know and am certain that in its own nature no food is 'impure'; but if people regard any food as impure, to them it is.

¹⁴ But as to you, brethren, I am convinced-- yes, I Paul am convinced--that, even apart from my teaching, you are already full of goodness of heart, and enriched with complete Christian knowledge, and are also competent to instruct one another.

⁶ by purity of life, by knowledge, by patience, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love;

⁶ If you warn the brethren of these dangers you will be a good and faithful servant of Christ Jesus, inwardly feeding on the lessons of the faith and of the sound teaching of which you have been, and are, so close a follower.

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.

⁹ But we, even while we speak in this tone, have a happier conviction concerning you, my dearly-loved friends--a conviction of things which point towards salvation.

¹³ All these died in the possession of faith. They had not received the promised blessings, but had seen them from a distance and had greeted them, and had acknowledged themselves to be foreigners and strangers here on earth;

²² Now that, through your obedience to the truth, you have purified your souls for cherishing sincere brotherly love, you must love another heartily and fervently.

¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one--to each according to his individual capacity; and then started from home. ¹⁶ Without delay the one who had received the five talents went and employed them in business, and gained five more. ¹⁷ In the same way he who had the two gained two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received the one went and dug a hole and buried his master's money. ¹⁹ "After a long lapse of time the master of those servants returned, and had a reckoning with them. ²⁰ The one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, and said, "'Sir, it was five talents that you entrusted to me: see, I have gained five more.' ²¹ "'You have done well, good and trustworthy servant,' replied his master; 'you have been trustworthy in the management of a little, I will put you in charge of much: share your master's joy.' ²² "The second, who had received the two talents, came and said, "'Sir, it was two talents you entrusted to me: see, I have gained two more.' ²³ "'Good and trustworthy servant, you have done well,' his master replied; 'you have been trustworthy in the management of a little, I will put you in charge of much: share your master's joy.' ²⁴ "But, next, the man who had the one talent in his keeping came and said, "'Sir, I knew you to be a severe man, reaping where you had not sown and garnering what you had not winnowed. ²⁵ So being afraid I went and buried your talent in the ground: there you have what belongs to you.' ²⁶ "'You wicked and slothful servant,' replied his master, 'did you know that I reap where I have not sown, and garner what I have not winnowed? ²⁷ Your duty then was to deposit my money in some bank, and so when I came I should have got back my property with interest. ²⁸ So take away the talent from him, and give it to the man who has the ten.' ²⁹ (For to every one who has, more shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him who has nothing, even what he has shall be taken away.) ³⁰ 'But as for this worthless servant, put him out into the darkness outside: *there* will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.'

¹³ And he called ten of his servants and gave each of them a pound, instructing them to trade with the money during his absence.

¹⁷ Then the Apostles placed their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 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.

⁶ and when Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy.

⁶ But since we have special gifts which differ in accordance with the diversified work graciously entrusted to us, if it is prophecy, let the prophet speak in exact proportion to his faith; ⁷ if it is the gift of administration, let the administrator exercise a sound judgement in his duties. 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.

¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit.

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.

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.

² proclaim God's message, be zealous in season and out of season; convince, rebuke, encourage, with the utmost patience as a teacher.

² or of teaching about ceremonial washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and the last judgement.

¹⁰ Whatever be the gifts which each has received, you must use them for one another's benefit, as good stewards of God's many-sided kindness. ¹¹ If any one preaches, let it be as uttering God's truth; if any one renders a service to others, let it be in the strength which God supplies; so that in everything glory may be given to God in the name of Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the might to the Ages of the Ages. Amen.

¹² For this reason I shall always persist in reminding you of these things, although you know them and are stedfast believers in truth which you already possess.

¹ This letter which I am now writing to you, dear friends, is my second letter. In both my letters I seek to revive in your honest minds the memory of certain things,

⁵ I desire to remind you--although the whole matter is already familiar to you--that the Lord saved a people out of the land of Egypt, but afterwards destroyed those who had no faith.

³⁵ whereupon the people came out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and they found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were terrified.

¹⁹ "I have given you power to tread serpents and scorpions underfoot, and to trample on all the power of the Enemy; and in no case shall anything do you harm.

¹⁷ "But on coming to himself he said, "'How many of my father's hired men have more bread than they want, while I here am dying of hunger!

⁴⁹ And remember that I am about to send out my Father's promised gift to rest upon you. But, as for you, wait patiently in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."

²⁷ Peace I leave with you: my own peace I give to you. It is not as the world gives its greetings that I give you peace. Let not your hearts be troubled or dismayed.

⁸ and yet you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and Samaria and to the remotest parts of the earth."

⁸ And Stephen, full of grace and power, performed great marvels and signs among the people.

²² Saul, however, gained more and more influence, and as for the Jews living in Damascus, he bewildered them with his proofs that Jesus is the Christ.

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.

²⁴ But even the sacrifice of my life I count as nothing, if only I may perfect my earthly course, and be faithful to the duty which the Lord Jesus has entrusted to me of proclaiming, as of supreme importance, the Good News of God's grace.

¹³ His reply was, "What can you mean by thus breaking my heart with your grief? Why, as for me, I am ready not only to go to Jerusalem and be put in chains, but even to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus."

¹¹ In all the synagogues also I punished them many a time, and tried to make them blaspheme; and in my wild fury I chased them even to foreign towns.

²⁵ "I am not mad, most noble Festus," replied Paul; "I am speaking words of sober truth.

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.

¹⁵ You have not for the second time acquired the consciousness of being--a consciousness which fills you with terror. But you have acquired a deep inward conviction of having been adopted as sons--a conviction which prompts us to cry aloud, "Abba! our Father!"

⁴ And my language and the Message that I proclaimed were not adorned with persuasive words of earthly wisdom, but depended upon truths which the Spirit taught and mightily carried home;

¹³ For if we have been beside ourselves, it has been for God's glory; or if we are now in our right senses, it is in order to be of service to you. ¹⁴ For the love of Christ overmasters us, the conclusion at which we have arrived being this--that One having died for all, His death was their death,

²² The Spirit, on the other hand, brings a harvest of love, joy, peace; patience towards others, kindness, benevolence;

⁸ and moreover he has informed us of your love, which is inspired by the Spirit.

¹⁵ and might set at liberty all those who through fear of death had been subject to lifelong slavery.

¹⁸ Love has in it no element of fear; but perfect love drives away fear, because fear involves pain, and if a man gives way to fear, there is something imperfect in his love.

³⁸ Every one, however, who has been ashamed of me and of my teachings in this faithless and sinful age, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in His Father's glory with the holy angels."

²⁶ For whoever shall have been ashamed of me and my teachings, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own and the Father's glory and in that of the holy angels.

²⁷ And you also are witnesses, because you have been with me from the first.

³⁵ This statement is the testimony of an eye-witness, and it is true. He knows that he is telling the truth--in order that you also may believe.

⁴¹ They, therefore, left the Sanhedrin and went their way, rejoicing that they had been deemed worthy to suffer disgrace on behalf of the NAME.

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the Good News. It is God's power which is at work for the salvation of every one who believes--the Jew first, and then the Gentile.

¹⁷ and if children, then heirs too--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ; if indeed we are sharers in Christ's sufferings, in order that we may also be sharers in His glory. ¹⁸ Why, what we now suffer I count as nothing in comparison with the glory which is soon to be manifested in us.

³⁶ As it stands written in the Scripture, "FOR THY SAKE THEY ARE, ALL DAY LONG, TRYING TO KILL US. WE HAVE BEEN LOOKED UPON AS SHEEP DESTINED FOR SLAUGHTER."

³³ in agreement with the statement of Scripture, "SEE, I AM PLACING ON MOUNT ZION A STONE FOR PEOPLE TO STUMBLE AT, AND A ROCK FOR THEM TO TRIP OVER, AND YET HE WHOSE FAITH RESTS UPON IT SHALL NEVER HAVE REASON TO FEEL ASHAMED."

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,

⁶ Thus my testimony as to the Christ has been confirmed in your experience,

⁹ God, it seems to me, has exhibited us Apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; for we have come to be a spectacle to all creation--alike to angels and to men. ¹⁰ We, for Christ's sake, are labeled as "foolish"; you, as Christians, are men of shrewd intelligence. We are mere weaklings: you are strong. You are in high repute: we are outcasts. ¹¹ To this very moment we endure both hunger and thirst, with scanty clothing and many a blow. ¹² Homes we have none. Wearily we toil, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we bear it patiently; ¹³ when slandered, we try to conciliate. We have come to be regarded as the mere dirt and filth of the world--the refuse of the universe, even to this hour.

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

²³ Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as if I were out of my mind.) Much more am I His servant; serving Him more thoroughly than they by my labours, and more thoroughly also by my imprisonments, by excessively cruel floggings, and with risk of life many a time. ²⁴ From the Jews I five times have received forty lashes all but one. ²⁵ Three times I have been beaten with Roman rods, once I have been stoned, three times I have been shipwrecked, once for full four and twenty hours I was floating on the open sea. ²⁶ I have served Him by frequent travelling, amid dangers in crossing rivers, dangers from robbers; dangers from my own countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles; dangers in the city, dangers in the Desert, dangers by sea, dangers from spies in our midst; ²⁷ with labour and toil, with many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, in frequent fastings, in cold, and with insufficient clothing.

⁹ but His reply has been, "My grace suffices for you, for power matures in weakness." Most gladly therefore will I boast of my infirmities rather than complain of them--in order that Christ's power may overshadow me. ¹⁰ In fact I take pleasure in infirmities, in the bearing of insults, in distress, in persecutions, in grievous difficulties--for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹ For this reason I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles--

¹³ Therefore I entreat you not to lose heart in the midst of my sufferings on your behalf, for they bring you honour.

¹ I, then, the prisoner for the Master's sake, entreat you to live and act as becomes those who have received the call that you have received--

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,

⁷ And I am justified in having this confidence about you all, because, both during my imprisonment and when I stand up in defence of the Good News or to confirm its truth, I have you in my heart, sharers as you all are in the same grace as myself.

¹⁰ I long to know Christ and the power which is in His resurrection, and to share in His sufferings and die even as He died;

¹³ I have strength for anything through Him who gives me power.

¹¹ Since His power is so glorious, may you be strengthened with strength of every kind, and be prepared for cheerfully enduring all things with patience and long-suffering;

²⁴ Now I can find joy amid my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my own person whatever is lacking in Christ's afflictions on behalf of His Body, the Church.

⁴ For even when we were with you, we forewarned you, saying, "We are soon to suffer affliction;" and this actually happened, as you well know.

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

¹⁶ May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus; for many a time he cheered me and he was not ashamed of my chain.

³ As a good soldier of Christ Jesus accept your share of suffering.

⁹ For preaching the Good News I suffer, and am even put in chains, as if I were a criminal: yet the word of God is not imprisoned.

¹¹ Faithful is the saying: "If we died with Him, we shall also live with Him; ¹² "If we patiently endure pain, we shall also share His Kingship; "If we disown Him, He will also disown us;

⁵ But as for you, you must exercise habitual self-control, and not live a self-indulgent life, but do the duty of an evangelist and fully discharge the obligations of your office.

¹⁷ The Lord, however, stood by me and filled me with inward strength, that through me the Message might be fully proclaimed and that all the Gentiles might hear it; and I was rescued from the lion's jaws.

⁵ whom God in His power is guarding through faith for a salvation that even now stands ready for unveiling at the End of the Age.

¹³ On the contrary, in the degree that you share in the sufferings of the Christ, rejoice, so that at the unveiling of His glory you may also rejoice with triumphant gladness. ¹⁴ You are to be envied, if you are being reproached for bearing the name of Christ; for in that case the Spirit of glory-- even the Spirit of God--is resting upon you. ¹⁵ But let not one of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evil-doer, or as a spy upon other people's business.

¹⁴ And we have seen and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

¹¹ And that testimony is to the effect that God has given us the Life of the Ages, and that this Life is in His Son. ¹² He who has the Son has the Life: he who has not the Son of God has not the Life.

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--

² This is the John who taught the truth concerning the Word of God and the truth told us by Jesus Christ-- a faithful account of what he had seen.

⁹ I John, your brother, and a sharer with you in the sorrows and Kingship and patient endurance of Jesus, found myself in the island of Patmos, on account of the Word of God and the truth told us by Jesus.

¹¹ But they have gained the victory over him because of the blood of the Lamb and of the testimony which they have borne, and because they held their lives cheap and did not shrink even from death.

¹⁰ Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he exclaimed, "Oh, do not do that. I am a fellow bondservant of yours and a fellow bondservant of your brethren who have borne testimony to Jesus. Worship God." Testimony to Jesus is the spirit which underlies Prophecy.

²¹ She will give birth to a Son, and you are to call His name JESUS for He it is who will save His People from their sins."

²⁵ About that time Jesus exclaimed, "I heartily praise Thee, Father, Lord of Heaven and of earth, that Thou hast hidden these things from sages and men of discernment, and hast unveiled them to babes. ²⁶ Yes, Father, for such has been Thy gracious will.

²¹ On that same occasion Jesus was filled by the Holy Spirit with rapturous joy. "I give Thee fervent thanks," He exclaimed, "O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that Thou hast hidden these things from sages and men of understanding, and hast revealed them to babes. Yes, Father, for such has been Thy gracious will.

³⁷ Every one whom the Father gives me will come to me, and him who comes to me I will never on any account drive away.

²⁸ I give them the Life of the Ages, and they shall never, never perish, nor shall any one wrest them from my hand. ²⁹ What my Father has given me is more precious than all besides; and no one is able to wrest anything from my Father's hand.

⁹ "I am making request for them: for the world I do not make any request, but for those whom Thou hast given me. Because they are Thine,

²⁴ "Father, those whom Thou hast given me--I desire that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see the glory--my glory--my gift from Thee, which Thou hast given me because Thou didst love me before the creation of the world.

⁴⁷ praising God and being regarded with favour by all the people. Also, day by day, the Lord added to their number those whom He was saving.

¹⁸ SAYS THE LORD, WHO HAS BEEN MAKING THESE THINGS KNOWN FROM AGES LONG PAST.'

²⁰ For on the ground of obedience to Law no man living will be declared righteous before Him. Law simply brings a sure knowledge of sin.

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. ³¹ What then shall we say to this? If God is on our side, who is there to appear against us? ³² He who did not withhold even His own Son, but gave Him up for all of us, will He not also with Him freely give us all things? ³³ Who shall impeach those whom God has chosen? God declares them free from guilt. ³⁴ Who is there to condemn them? Christ Jesus died, or rather has risen to life again. He is also at the right hand of God, and is interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from Christ's love? Shall affliction or distress, persecution or hunger, nakedness or danger or the sword? ³⁶ As it stands written in the Scripture, "FOR THY SAKE THEY ARE, ALL DAY LONG, TRYING TO KILL US. WE HAVE BEEN LOOKED UPON AS SHEEP DESTINED FOR SLAUGHTER." ³⁷ Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who has loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither the lower ranks of evil angels nor the higher, neither things present nor things future, nor the forces of nature, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which rests upon us in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹¹ and even then, though they were not then born and had not done anything either good or evil, yet in order that God's electing purpose might not be frustrated, based, as it was, not on their actions but on the will of Him who called them, she was told,

²⁴ even towards us whom He has called not only from among the Jews but also from among the Gentiles?

⁵ In the same way also at the present time there has come to be a remnant whom God in His grace has selected. ⁶ But if it is in His grace that He has selected them, then His choice is no longer determined by human actions. Otherwise grace would be grace no longer.

¹⁸ For the Message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are on the way to perdition, but it is the power of God to those whom He is saving.

²¹ Therefore let no one boast about his human teachers. ²² For everything belongs to you--be it Paul or Apollos or Peter, the world or life or death, things present or future--everything belongs to you;

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has crowned us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ; ⁴ even as, in His love, He chose us as His own in Christ before the creation of the world, that we might be holy and without blemish in His presence.

⁹ when He made known to us the secret of His will. And this is in harmony with God's merciful purpose

¹¹ In Him we Jews have been made heirs, having been chosen beforehand in accordance with the intention of Him whose might carries out in everything the design of His own will,

⁵ caused us, dead though we were through our offences, to live with Christ--it is by grace that you have been saved--

⁸ For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves. It is God's gift, and is not on the ground of merit-- ⁹ so that it may be impossible for any one to boast.

¹¹ Such was the eternal purpose which He had formed in Christ Jesus our Lord,

⁷ God has not called us to an unclean life, but to one of purity.

¹³ And from us thanks are always due to God on your behalf--brethren whom the Lord loves--because God from the beginning has chosen you for salvation through the Spirit's sanctifying influence and your belief in the truth. 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.

¹ Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God our Saviour and Christ Jesus our hope:

⁴ But when the goodness of God our Saviour, and His love to man, dawned upon us, not in consequence of things which we, ⁵ as righteous men, had done, but as the result of His own mercy He saved us by means of the bath of regeneration and the renewal of our natures by the Holy Spirit,

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.

¹⁵ but--in imitation of the holy One who has called you--you also must be holy in all your habits of life. ¹⁶ Because it stands written, "YOU ARE TO BE HOLY, BECAUSE I AM HOLY."

²⁰ He was pre-destined indeed to this work, even before the creation of the world, but has been plainly manifested in these last days for the sake of you who, through Him,

⁹ But you are a chosen race, a priesthood of kingly lineage, a holy nation, a people belonging specially to God, that you may make known the perfections of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.

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. ²¹ And it is to this you were called; because Christ also suffered on your behalf, leaving you an example so that you should follow in His steps.

⁸ And all the inhabitants of the earth will be found to be worshipping him: every one whose name is not recorded in the Book of Life--the Book of the Lamb who has been offered in sacrifice ever since the creation of the world.

⁸ "The Wild Beast which you have seen was, and is not, and yet is destined to re-ascend, before long, out of the bottomless pit and go his way into perdition. And the inhabitants of the earth will be filled with amazement--all whose names are not in the Book of Life, having been recorded there ever since the creation of the world--when they see the Wild Beast: because he was, and is not, and yet is to come.

¹¹ For a Saviour who is the Anointed Lord is born to you to-day, in the town of David.

³¹ Which Thou hast made ready in the sight of all nations-- ³² A light to shine upon the Gentiles, And the glory of Thy people Israel."

³⁶ If, however, your whole body is penetrated with light, and has no part dark, it will be so lighted, all of it, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light."

⁷ So he said to the gardener, "'See, this is the third year I have come to look for fruit on this fig-tree and cannot find any. Cut it down. Why should so much ground be actually wasted?'

⁹ The true Light was that which illumines every man by its coming into the world.

⁴² and they said to the woman, "We no longer believe in Him simply because of your statements; for we have now heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world."

²⁴ "In most solemn truth I tell you that he who listens to my teaching and believes Him who sent me, has the Life of the Ages, and does not come under judgement, but has passed over out of death into Life. ²⁵ "In most solemn truth I tell you that a time is coming--nay, has already come--when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will live. ²⁶ For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He has also given to the Son to have life in Himself. ²⁷ And He has conferred on Him authority to act as Judge, because He is the Son of Man. ²⁸ Wonder not at this. For a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and will come forth-- ²⁹ they who have done what is right to the resurrection of Life, and they whose actions have been evil to the resurrection of judgement.

⁴⁰ and yet you are unwilling to come to me that you may have Life.

²⁵ "I am the Resurrection and the Life," said Jesus; "he who believes in me, even if he has died, he shall live; ²⁶ and every one who is living and is a believer in me shall never, never die. Do you believe this?"

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

³¹ But these have been recorded in order that you may believe that He is the Christ, the Son of God, and that, through believing, you may have Life through His name.

³¹ God has exalted Him to His right hand as Chief Leader and as Saviour, to give Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.

²³ "It is from among David's descendants that God, in fulfilment of His promise, has raised up a Saviour for Israel, even Jesus.

⁷ to those on the one hand who, by lives of persistent right-doing, are striving for glory, honour and immortality, the Life of the Ages;

³¹ Do we then by means of this faith abolish the Law? No, indeed; we give the Law a firmer footing.

¹⁷ For if, through the transgression of the one individual, Death made use of the one individual to seize the sovereignty, all the more shall those who receive God's overflowing grace and gift of righteousness reign as kings in Life through the one individual, Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ It follows then that just as the result of a single transgression is a condemnation which extends to the whole race, so also the result of a single decree of righteousness is a life-giving acquittal which extends to the whole race.

⁶ This we know--that our old self was nailed to the cross with Him, in order that our sinful nature might be deprived of its power, so that we should no longer be the slaves of sin;

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--

⁵ Therefore form no premature judgements, but wait until the Lord returns. He will both bring to light the secrets of darkness and will openly disclose the motives that have been in people's hearts; and then the praise which each man deserves will come to him from God.

²⁶ The last enemy that is to be overthrown is Death;

⁵³ For so it must be: this perishable nature must clothe itself with what is imperishable, and this mortality must clothe itself with immortality. ⁵⁴ But when this perishable nature has put on what is imperishable, and this mortality has put on immortality, then will the words of Scripture be fulfilled, "DEATH HAS BEEN SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY." ⁵⁵ "WHERE, O DEATH, IS THY VICTORY? WHERE, O DEATH, IS THY STING?"

⁴ Yes, we who are in this tent certainly do sigh under our burdens, for we do not wish to lay aside that with which we are now clothed, but to put on more, so that our mortality may be absorbed in Life.

⁴ Christ has become nothing to any of you who are seeking acceptance with God through the Law: you have fallen away from grace.

¹⁸ the eyes of your understanding being enlightened so that you may know what is the hope which His call to you inspires, what the wealth of the glory of His inheritance in God's people,

²⁶ the truth which has been kept secret from all ages and generations, but has now been revealed to His people, ²⁷ to whom it was His will to make known how vast a wealth of glory for the Gentile world is implied in this truth--the truth that 'Christ is in you, the hope of glory.'

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.

¹ Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, for proclaiming the promise of the Life which is in Christ Jesus:

³ And at the appointed time He clearly made known His Message in the preaching with which I was entrusted by the command of God our Saviour: 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.

¹¹ For the grace of God has displayed itself with healing power to all mankind,

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

⁴ But when the goodness of God our Saviour, and His love to man, dawned upon us, not in consequence of things which we,

¹⁴ Since then the children referred to are all alike sharers in perishable human nature, He Himself also, in the same way, took on Him a share of it, in order that through death He might render powerless him who had authority over death, that is, the Devil, ¹⁵ and might set at liberty all those who through fear of death had been subject to lifelong slavery.

³² But continually recall to mind the days now past, when on being first enlightened you went through a great conflict and many sufferings.

²⁰ He was pre-destined indeed to this work, even before the creation of the world, but has been plainly manifested in these last days for the sake of you who, through Him, ²¹ are faithful to God, who raised Him from among the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are resting upon God.

¹ Simon Peter, a bondservant and Apostle of Jesus Christ: To those to whom there has been allotted the same precious faith as that which is ours through the righteousness of our God and of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

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.

¹¹ And so a triumphant admission into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be freely granted to you.

²⁰ For if, after escaping from the pollutions of the world through a full knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, people are once more entangled in these pollutions and are overcome, their last state has become worse than their first.

² so that you may recall the words spoken long ago by the holy Prophets, and the commandments of our Lord and Saviour given you through your Apostles.

¹⁸ But be always growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be all glory, both now and to the day of Eternity!

² the Life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness, and we declare unto you the Life of the Ages which was with the Father and was manifested to us--

⁷ "'Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches. To him who overcomes I will give the privilege of eating the fruit of the Tree of Life, which is in the Paradise of God.'

¹ After these things I saw another angel coming down from Heaven, armed with great power. The earth shone with his splendor,

¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were thrown into the Lake of fire; this is the Second Death--the Lake of fire.

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. ² On either side of the river, midway between it and the main street of the city, was the Tree of Life. It produced twelve kinds of fruit, yielding a fresh crop month by month, and the leaves of the tree served as medicine for the nations.

¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their robes clean, that they may have a right to the Tree of Life, and may go through the gates into the city.

¹⁷ The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come;' and whoever hears, let him say, 'Come;' and let those who are thirsty come. Whoever will, let him take the Water of Life, without payment.

¹⁵ "Go," replied the Lord; "he is a chosen instrument of Mine to carry My name to the Gentiles and to kings and to the descendants of Israel.

⁷ in which I have been appointed to serve, in virtue of the work which God, in the exercise of His power within me, has graciously entrusted to me. ⁸ To me who am less than the least of all God's people has this work been graciously entrusted--to proclaim to the Gentiles the Good News of the exhaustless wealth of Christ,

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.

⁷ and of which I have been appointed a herald and an Apostle (I am speaking the truth: it is not a fiction), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

²² Many will say to me on that day, "'Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy name expelled demons, and in Thy name performed many mighty works?'

²¹ AND ON HIS NAME SHALL THE NATIONS REST THEIR HOPES."

³⁶ "But as to that day and the exact time no one knows--not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

¹² "I tell you that it will be more endurable for Sodom on the great day than for that town.

⁴⁶ and Jesus cried out in a loud voice, and said, "Father, to Thy hands I entrust my spirit." And after uttering these words He yielded up His spirit.

³⁹ And this is the will of Him who sent me, that of all that He has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it to life on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is my Father's will, that every one who fixes his gaze on the Son of God and believes in Him should have the Life of the Ages, and I will raise him to life on the last day."

⁴⁴ "no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; then I will raise him to life on the last day.

²⁸ I give them the Life of the Ages, and they shall never, never perish, nor shall any one wrest them from my hand. ²⁹ What my Father has given me is more precious than all besides; and no one is able to wrest anything from my Father's hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one."

¹¹ I am now no longer in the world, but they are in the world and I am coming to Thee. "Holy Father, keep them true to Thy name--the name which Thou hast given me to bear--that they may be one, even as we are. ¹² While I was with them, I kept them true to Thy name--the name Thou hast given me to bear--and I kept watch over them, and not one of them is lost but only he who is doomed to destruction--that the Scripture may be fulfilled.

¹⁵ I do not ask that Thou wilt remove them out of the world, but that Thou wilt protect them from the Evil one.

⁵⁹ So they stoned Stephen, while he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

¹⁶ For I will let him know the great sufferings which he must pass through for My sake."

⁴⁶ Then, throwing off all reserve, Paul and Barnabas said, "We were bound to proclaim God's Message to you first. But since you spurn it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of the Life of the Ages--well, we turn to the Gentiles.

⁵⁰ But the Jews influenced the gentlewomen of rank who worshipped with them, and also the leading men in the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of the district.

⁵ And when a hostile movement was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with the sanction of their magistrates, to maltreat and stone them, ⁶ the Apostles, having become aware of it, made their escape into the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe, and the neighbouring country.

²⁷ But, when the seven days were nearly over, the Jews from the province of Asia, having seen Paul in the Temple, set about rousing the fury of all the people against him. ²⁸ They laid hands on him, crying out, "Men of Israel, help! help! This is the man who goes everywhere preaching to everybody against the Jewish people and the Law and this place. And besides, he has even brought Gentiles into the Temple and has desecrated this holy place." ²⁹ (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and imagined that Paul had brought him into the Temple.) ³⁰ The excitement spread through the whole city, and the people rushed in crowds to the Temple, and there laid hold of Paul and began to drag him out; and the Temple gates were immediately closed. ³¹ But while they were trying to kill Paul, word was taken up to the Tribune in command of the battalion, that all Jerusalem was in a ferment.

²¹ "'Go,' He replied; 'I will send you as an Apostle to nations far away.'" ²² Until they heard this last statement the people listened to Paul, but now with a roar of disapproval they cried out, "Away with such a fellow from the earth! He ought not to be allowed to live." ²³ And when they continued their furious shouts, throwing their clothes into the air and flinging dust about, ²⁴ the Tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and be examined by flogging, in order to ascertain the reason why they thus cried out against him.

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.

¹² And again Isaiah says, "THERE SHALL BE THE ROOT OF JESSE AND ONE WHO RISES UP TO RULE THE GENTILES. ON HIM SHALL THE GENTILES BUILD THEIR HOPES." ¹³ May God, the giver of hope, fill you with continual joy and peace because you trust in Him--so that you may have abundant hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

¹³ the true character of each individual's work will become manifest. For the day of Christ will disclose it, because that day is soon to come upon us clothed in fire, and as for the quality of every one's work-- the fire is the thing which will test it.

¹² so that we should be devoted to the extolling of His glorious attributes--we who were the first to fix our hopes on Christ. ¹³ And in Him you Gentiles also, after listening to the Message of the truth, the Good News of your salvation--having believed in Him--were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit;

¹ For this reason I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles-- ² if, that is, you have heard of the work which God has graciously entrusted to me for your benefit, ³ and that by a revelation the truth hitherto kept secret was made known to me as I have already briefly explained it to you. ⁴ By means of that explanation, as you read it, you can judge of my insight into the truth of Christ ⁵ which in earlier ages was not made known to the human race, as it has now been revealed to His holy Apostles and Prophets through the Spirit-- 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,

²⁰ in fulfilment of my eager expectation and hope that I shall never have reason to feel ashamed, but that by my perfect freedom of speech Christ will be glorified in me, now as always, either by my life or by my death.

⁸ Nay, I even reckon all things as pure loss because of the priceless privilege of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. And for His sake I have suffered the loss of everything, and reckon it all as mere refuse, in order that I may win Christ and be found in union with Him,

²¹ who, in the exercise of the power which He has even to subject all things to Himself, will transform this body of our humiliation until it resembles His own glorious body.

¹⁶ for they still try to prevent our preaching to the Gentiles so that they may find salvation. They thus continually fill up the measure of their own sins, and God's anger in its severest form has overtaken them.

⁴ But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that daylight should surprise you like a thief;

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

⁸ Do not be ashamed then to bear witness for our Lord and for me His prisoner; but rather share suffering with me in the service of the Good News, strengthened by the power of God.

¹⁸ (The Lord grant that he may obtain mercy at His hands on that day!) And you yourself well know all the services which he rendered me in Ephesus.

¹⁰ But you have intimately known my teaching, life, aims, faith, patience, love, resignation, ¹¹ and the persecutions and sufferings which I have endured; the things which happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. You know the persecutions I endured, and how the Lord delivered me out of them all. ¹² And indeed every one who is determined to live a godly life as a follower of Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

⁸ From this time onward there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who love the thought of His Appearing.

¹⁶ At my first defence I had no one at my side, but all deserted me. May it not be laid to their charge. ¹⁷ The Lord, however, stood by me and filled me with inward strength, that through me the Message might be fully proclaimed and that all the Gentiles might hear it; and I was rescued from the lion's jaws.

¹⁸ For inasmuch as He has Himself felt the pain of temptation and trial, He is also able instantly to help those who are tempted and tried.

²⁵ Hence too He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, seeing that He ever lives to plead for them.

² simply fixing our gaze upon Jesus, our Prince Leader in the faith, who will also award us the prize. He, for the sake of the joy which lay before Him, patiently endured the cross, looking with contempt upon its shame, and afterwards seated Himself-- where He still sits--at the right hand of the throne of God.

¹⁶ If, however, any one suffers because he is a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God for being permitted to bear that name.

¹⁹ Therefore also, let those who are suffering in accordance with the will of God entrust their souls in well-doing to a faithful Creator.

²⁰ a schoolmaster for the dull and ignorant, a teacher of the young, because in the Law you possess an outline of real knowledge and an outline of the truth:

¹⁷ But thanks be to God that though you were once in thraldom to Sin, you have now yielded a hearty obedience to that system of truth in which you have been instructed.

²⁷ Only let the lives you live be worthy of the Good News of the Christ, in order that, whether I come and see you or, being absent, only hear of you, I may know that you are standing fast in one spirit and with one mind, fighting shoulder to shoulder for the faith of the Good News.

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.

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

²¹ but test all such, and retain hold of the good.

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

¹⁴ and the grace of our Lord came to me in overflowing fulness, conferring faith on me and the love which is in Christ Jesus.

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,

¹⁴ That precious treasure which is in your charge, guard through the Holy Spirit who has His home in our hearts.

² All that you have been taught by me in the hearing of many witnesses, you must hand on to trusty men who shall themselves, in turn, be competent to instruct others also.

¹⁴ But you must cling to the things which you have learnt and have been taught to believe, knowing who your teachers were,

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.

⁸ and healthy language which no one can censure, so that our opponents may feel ashamed at having nothing evil to say against us.

⁶ but Christ was faithful as a Son having authority over God's house, and we are that house, if we hold firm to the End the boldness and the hope which we boast of as ours.

¹⁴ Inasmuch, then, as we have in Jesus, the Son of God, a great High Priest who has passed into Heaven itself, let us hold firmly to our profession of faith.

²³ Let us hold firmly to an unflinching avowal of our hope, for He is faithful who gave us the promises.

³ Dear friends, since I am eager to begin a letter to you on the subject of our common salvation, I find myself constrained to write and cheer you on to the vigorous defense of the faith delivered once for all to God's people.

²⁵ Only that which you already possess, cling to until I come.

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 I am coming quickly: cling to that which you already possess, so that your wreath of victory be not taken away from you.

¹¹ If therefore you have not proved yourselves faithful in dealing with the wealth that is tainted with fraud, who will entrust to you the true good?

¹⁷ That Spirit the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him. You know Him, because He remains by your side and is in you.

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

⁹ You, however, are not devoted to earthly, but to spiritual things, if the Spirit of God is really dwelling in you; whereas if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, such a one does not belong to Him.

¹¹ And if the Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead is dwelling in you, He who raised up Christ from the dead will give Life also to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who dwells in you.

¹³ For if you so live, death is near; but if, through being under the sway of the spirit, you are putting your old bodily habits to death, you will live.

¹⁶ Do you not know that you are God's Sanctuary, and that the Spirit of God has His home within you?

¹⁹ Or do you not know that your bodies are a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is within you--the Spirit whom you have from God?

¹⁷ And if I preach willingly, I receive my wages; but if against my will, a stewardship has nevertheless been entrusted to me.

¹⁶ Therefore for the future we know no one simply as a man. Even if we have known Christ as a man, yet now we do so no longer.

¹⁹ We are to tell how God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not charging men's transgressions to their account, and that He has entrusted to us the Message of this reconciliation. ²⁰ On Christ's behalf therefore we come as ambassadors, God, as it were, making entreaty through our lips: we, on Christ's behalf, beseech men to be reconciled to God.

⁷ Indeed, when they saw that I was entrusted with the preaching of the Good News to the Gentiles as Peter had been with that to the Jews--

²² in whom you also are being built up together to become a fixed abode for God through the Spirit.

¹⁸ Do not over-indulge in wine--a thing in which excess is so easy--

¹¹ Jesus, called Justus, also sends greeting. These three are Hebrew converts. They alone among such have worked loyally with me for the Kingdom of God--they are men who have been a comfort to me.

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

⁶ Then Paul and his companions passed through Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Message in the province of Asia.

¹⁰ This went on for two years, so that all the inhabitants of the province of Asia, Jews as well as Greeks, heard the Lord's Message.

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."

³¹ A few of the public officials, too, who were friendly to him, sent repeated messages entreating him not to venture into the Theatre.

¹⁶ For Paul's plan was to sail past Ephesus, so as not to spend much time in the province of Asia; since he was very desirous of being in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of the Harvest Festival.

¹⁹ The Churches in the province of Asia send you greetings; and Aquila and Prisca, in hearty Christian love, do the same, together with the Church which meets at their house.

²¹ Everybody concerns himself about his own interests, not about those of Jesus Christ.

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. ¹¹ Luke is the only friend I now have with me. Call for Mark on your way and bring him with you, for he is a great help to me in my ministry.

¹⁶ At my first defence I had no one at my side, but all deserted me. May it not be laid to their charge.

⁷ "Blessed are the compassionate, for they shall receive compassion.

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."

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.'

²⁰ For these reasons, then, I have invited you here, that I might see you and speak to you; for it is for the sake of Him who is the hope of Israel that this chain hangs upon me."

¹⁸ They have refreshed my spirit, and yours. Acknowledge such men as these.

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.

²⁰ to spread which I am an ambassador in chains--so that when telling them I may speak out boldly as I ought.

¹⁹ Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.

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.

²⁰ Yes, brother, do me this favour for the Lord's sake. Refresh my heart in Christ.

¹⁰ For God is not unjust so that He is unmindful of your labour and of the love which you have manifested towards Himself in having rendered services to His people and in still rendering them.

³⁴ For you not only showed sympathy with those who were imprisoned, but you even submitted with joy when your property was taken from you, being well aware that you have in your own selves a more valuable possession and one which will remain.

³⁰ After this Paul lived for fully two years in a hired house of his own, receiving all who came to see him. ³¹ He announced the coming of the Kingdom of God, and taught concerning the Lord Jesus Christ without let or hindrance.

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.

⁷² He dealt pitifully with our forefathers, And remembered His holy covenant,

⁷⁸ Through the tender compassion of our God, Through which the daybreak from on high will come to us,

³ and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many other women, all of whom contributed to the support of Jesus and His Apostles.

¹ During the stay of Apollos in Corinth, Paul, after passing through the inland districts, came to Ephesus, where he found a few disciples.

²³ for all alike have sinned, and all consciously come short of the glory of God, ²⁴ gaining acquittal from guilt by His free unpurchased grace through the deliverance which is found in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵ No, indeed; the solution is found in His words to Moses, "WHEREVER I SHOW MERCY IT SHALL BE NOTHING BUT MERCY, AND WHEREVER I SHOW COMPASSION IT SHALL BE SIMPLY COMPASSION." ¹⁶ And from this we learn that everything is dependent not on man's will or endeavour, but upon God who has mercy. For the Scripture said to Pharaoh, ¹⁷ "IT IS FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE THAT I HAVE LIFTED YOU SO HIGH--THAT I MAY MAKE MANIFEST IN YOU MY POWER, AND THAT MY NAME MAY BE PROCLAIMED FAR AND WIDE IN ALL THE EARTH." ¹⁸ This is a proof that wherever He chooses He shows mercy, and wherever he chooses He hardens the heart. ¹⁹ "Why then does God still find fault?" you will ask; "for who is resisting His will?" ²⁰ Nay, but who are you, a mere man, that you should cavil against GOD? SHALL THE THING MOULDED SAY TO HIM WHO MOULDED IT, "WHY HAVE YOU MADE ME THUS?" ²¹ Or has not the potter rightful power over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for more honourable and another for less honourable uses? ²² And what if God, while choosing to make manifest the terrors of His anger and to show what is possible with Him, has yet borne with long-forbearing patience with the subjects of His anger who stand ready for destruction, ²³ in order to make known His infinite goodness towards the subjects of His mercy whom He has prepared beforehand for glory,

⁸ I shall remain in Ephesus, however, until the time of the Harvest Festival,

¹ As to the services which are being rendered to God's people, it is really unnecessary for me to write to you.

⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the intense love which He bestowed on us,

¹⁹ For what is our hope or joy, or the crown of which we boast? Is it not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His Coming?

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

¹² Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.

¹⁰ There were Prophets who earnestly inquired about that salvation, and closely searched into it--even those who spoke beforehand of the grace which was to come to you.

¹ "To the minister of the Church in Ephesus write as follows: "'This is what He who holds the seven stars in the grasp of His right hand says--He who walks to and fro among the seven lampstands of gold.