Part 2

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, 10 asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last find the way to come to you. 11 For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen youó12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have some harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish: 15 so I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth, 19 for what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world his invisible nature, even his eternal power and deity, has been clearly seen, being understood by the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; 21 for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural. 27 And the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error. 28 And since they did not see fit to retain the knowledge of God, God gave them over to a base mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of wickedness, evil, covetousness, depravity. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. 2 1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, whoever you are who judge another; for in whatever point you pass judgment on him you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who do such things. 3 Do you think, O man, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do the same yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume upon the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not know that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But by your hardness and your impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 For he "will render to each one according to his works": 7 to those who by patience in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality. 12 All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous in the sight of God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 When Gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts accusing or else excusing them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. 17 But if you call yourself a Jew, and rely on the law and boast of your relation to God 18 and know his will and approve of what is excellent, because you are instructed in the law, 19 and if you are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truthó21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 For, as it is written, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." 25 Circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law; but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a breaker of the law. 28 For he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something outward and in the flesh. 29 He is a Jew who is one inwardly; and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, and not by the written code. His praise is not from men but from God. 3 1 Then what advantage has the Jew, or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way! To begin with, they are entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 What if some did not have faith? Will their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 Certainly not! Let God be true, though every man a liar. As it is written: "That you may be justified in your words and prevail when you are judged." 5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unjust to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6 Certainly not! For then how could God judge the world? 7 But if through my falsehood God's truthfulness abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 Why not say ñ as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we sayó"Let us do evil that good may come"? Their condemnation is just. 9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? Certainly not; for we have already charged that all men, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin. 10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside, together they have become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." 13 "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to practice deceit." "The poison of asps is under their lips." 14 "Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness." 15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their ways are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they do not know." 18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes." 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no flesh will be justified in his sight by works of the law, for through the law comes knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God has been revealed apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. For there is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as an atoning sacrifice by his blood, to be received through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over sins committed beforehand; 26 and it was to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where then is our boasting? It is excluded. On what law? On the law of works? No, but on the law of faith. 28 For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since there is one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through their faith. 31 Do we then nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we uphold the law. 4 1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." 4 Now to him who works, his wages are not reckoned as a gift but as his due. 5 And to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness. 6 So also David describes the blessedness of the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: 7 "Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not reckon his sin." 9 Is this blessedness only upon the circumcised, or also upon the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it reckoned to him? Was it after he had been circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness which he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be reckoned to them. 12 And he is also the father of the circumcised who are not only circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith which our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. 13 The promise to Abraham and his descendants, that he would be heir of the world, was not through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the law are to be the heirs, faith has no value and the promise is void, 15 because the law brings wrath, for where there is no law there is no transgression. 16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all his descendantsónot only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations") in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls things that do not exist as though they did. 18 In hope, he believed against hope, so that he became the father of many nations; as he had been told, "So shall your descendants be." 19 And he did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why it was "reckoned to him as righteousness." 23 But the words, "it was reckoned to him," were written not for his sake alone, 24 but for us also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered to death for our sins and was raised for our justification. 5 1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6 When we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Why, one will hardly die for a righteous manóthough perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved through him from the wrath of God. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation. 12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all men, because all men sinned. (13 For sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man's trespass many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16 And the free gift is not like the effect of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the gift following many trespasses brings justification. 17 For if, by the one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.) 18 So then, as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. 20 Law came in, that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 6 1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. 9 For we know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So you also, consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you obey its passions. 13 Do not yield your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but yield yourselves to God as men who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that if you yield yourselves to any one to obey as slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, whether of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you once yielded your members to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now yield your members to righteousness for holiness. 20 When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But then what return did you get from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the return you get is holiness and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 7 1 Do you not know, brethrenófor I am speaking to those who know the lawóthat the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and though she marries another man, she is not an adulteress. 4 Likewise, my brethren, you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit to God. 5 While we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once held us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. 7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed, I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." 8 But sin, finding opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetous desire. For apart from the law sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 The very commandment which was to bring life I found to be death to me. 11 For sin, finding opportunity in the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Certainly not! But it was sin, working death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, so that through the commandment sin might become sinful beyond measure. 14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For I do not do what I want to do, but I do what I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 So then, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will to do what is good, but I cannot do it. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do; but the evil I do not want to do is what I do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law, at war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to Godóthrough Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I of myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. 8 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weakened through the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin: he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so; 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ he does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although your body is dead because of sin, your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you. 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtorsónot to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirsóheirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, in order that we may also be glorified with him. 18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits with eager expectation for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in birth pangs together until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 And those whom he predestined, he also called; those whom he called, he also justified; and those whom he justified, he also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also give us all things with him? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 9 1 I am speaking the truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 Of them are the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, forever blessed. Amen. 6 But it is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel, 7 nor are they all children of Abraham because they are his descendants; but, "Through Isaac shall your descendants be named." 8 In other words, it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are reckoned as descendants. 9 For this is what the promise said: "About this time I will return and Sarah shall have a son." 10 And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our father Isaac, 11 though the twins were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God's purpose of election might stand, not because of works but because of his call, 12 she was told, "The older will serve the younger." 13 As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." 14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Certainly not! 15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16 So it depends not upon man's will or exertion, but upon God's mercy. 17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh, "I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I may show my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth." 18 Therefore he has mercy on whom he wills, and he hardens the heart of whom he wills. 19 You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?" 21 Does not the potter have right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? 22 What if God, choosing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for the vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea: "I will call them who were not my people 'my people,' and her who was not beloved I will call 'my beloved.'" 26 "And it will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.'" 27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved. 28 For the Lord will carry out his sentence on the earth with speed and finality." 29 And as Isaiah said: "Unless the Lord of hosts had left us children, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah." 30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; 31 but Israel, who pursued the law of righteousness, has not attained that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone that will make men stumble, and a rock that will make them fall; and he who believes in him will not be put to shame." 10 1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but it is not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law, that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "The man who does those things shall live by them." 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 or "Who will descend into the abyss?" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his mouth and so is saved. 11 The scripture says, "No one who believes in him will be put to shame." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches on all who call upon him. 13 For, "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 14 How then can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without a preacher? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!" 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?" 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. 18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for "Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world." 19 Again I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, "I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation; by a foolish nation I will make you angry." 20 But Isaiah is very bold and says, "I was found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me." 21 But of Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people." 11 1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Certainly not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?ó 3 "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." 4 But what is God's reply to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal." 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 And if it is by grace, then it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace. 7 What then? Israel did not obtain what it sought. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, down to this very day." 9 And David says: "Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. 10 Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever." 11 So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? Certainly not! But through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness mean! 13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse to jealousy the kinsmen of my flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole lump is holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the rest to share the root of the olive tree, 18 do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast only by faith. So do not be proud, but stand in awe. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who fell, but kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not persist in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and were grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree! 25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; 27 and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins." 28 As regards the gospel they are enemies of God, for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. 30 Just as you were once disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may receive mercy. 32 For God has bound all men over to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all. 33 Oh, the depth of the riches and of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out! 34 "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" 35 "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?" 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. 12 1 I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For by the grace given to me I say to every one among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned him. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, let us use it in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be genuine. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. 12 Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be faithful in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but have regard for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," says the Lord. 20 No, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 13 1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore he who resists the authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will have praise from him. 4 For he is God's servant to you for good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is God's servant, an avenger to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God's ministers, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay all of them their dues: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. 8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not covet," and any other commandment there may be, are summed up in this sentence, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 11 And do this, knowing the hour, that now it is full time for you to wake from sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. 14 1 As for the man who is weak in faith, accept him, but not for disputes over opinions. 2 One believes he may eat anything, but the man whose faith is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not, and let not him who does not eat pass judgment on him who eats; for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will be made to stand, for the Master is able to make him stand. 5 One man esteems one day as better than another; another man esteems every day alike. Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. 10 Why do you judge your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." 12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another anymore, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in our brother's way. 14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15 If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not by your eating destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let your good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit; 18 he who serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 Let us therefore pursue what makes for peace and for mutual edification. 20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is right not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself for what he approves. 23 But he who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not act from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. 15 1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me." 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of patience and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore, welcome one another, just as Christ also welcomed you, to the glory of God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised to show God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs, 9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written: "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name"; 10 and again it says: "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people!" 11 and again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and praise him, all you peoples"; 12 And again, Isaiah says: "There shall be a root of Jesse; and he who shall rise to rule over the Gentiles, in him the Gentiles shall hope." 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. 14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brethren, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. 15 But I have written very boldly to you on some points, so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God, 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deedó19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit, so that from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 And so I have made it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on another man's foundation, 21 but as it is written: "They shall see who have not been told of him, and those who have not heard shall understand." 22 This is the reason why I have often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any place for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through, and to be helped by you on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 Now, however, I am going to Jerusalem with aid for the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 27 They were pleased to do it, and indeed they are in debt to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. 28 When therefore I have completed this, and have delivered to them this fruit, I shall go on by way of you to Spain. 29 And I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. 30 Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, 31 that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God's will I may come to you with joy, and together with you be refreshed. 33 The God of peace be with you all. Amen. 16 1 I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, 2 that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she has need from you, for she has been a helper of many and of myself also. 3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I but also all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks; 5 greet also the church that meets in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert of Asia for Christ. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners; they are men of note among the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys my beloved. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those workers in the Lord. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. 17 I urge you, brethren, to take note of those who cause divisions and difficulties, contrary to the doctrine which you have learned; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth and flattering words they deceive the hearts of the simple. 19 For your obedience has become known to all, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. 20 And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 21 Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you, as do Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen. 22 I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. 23 Gaius, who is my host and the host of the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, and Quartus, our brother. 25 Now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret for long ages 26 but is now revealed and made known to all nations through the prophetic writings, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faithó27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Romans, page 1

The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians

1 1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 3 grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I thank my God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledgeó6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you eagerly wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ; 8 who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 10 I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For I have been informed by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you, my brethren. 12 What I mean is this, that each one of you says, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ." 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I am thankful that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. 16 (Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any one else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospelónot with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will frustrate." 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to fleshly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong, 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no flesh may boast before God. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 therefore, as it is written, "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord." 2 1 When I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. 6 Yet we do speak a wisdom among the mature, a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away. 7 But we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and which God destined for our glory before the ages. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written, "No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived what God has prepared for those who love him," 10 God has revealed them to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit which is in him? Even so no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand the things freely given to us by God. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But the spiritual man judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. 3 1 But I, brethren, could not address you as spiritual men, but as carnal men, as infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food; for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, even now you are not ready, 3 for you are still carnal. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not carnal, and are you not walking like mere men? 4 For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not mere men? 5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord assigned to each one. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can any one lay than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. 14 If any man's work which he has built on it survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. 16 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 If any one destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and that temple you are. 18 Let no one deceive himself. If any one among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become a fool so that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their own craftiness"; 20 and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile." 21 So then let no one boast of men. For all things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future; all belong to you, 23 and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God. 4 1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by any human court; I do not even judge myself. 4 I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not acquitted by this. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts. Then every man will receive his praise from God. 6 Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that in us you may learn not to go beyond what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in favor of one against the other. 7 For who regards you as different? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? 8 You are already filled! You have already become rich! You have become kings without us! And indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you. 9 For, I think that God has exhibited us apostles last of all, like men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. 11 To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and we are poorly clothed, and roughly treated, and homeless; 12 and we toil, working with our own hands. When we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; 13 when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the scum of the world, the refuse of all things. 14 I do not write this to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15 For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you, be imitators of me. 17 For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. 18 Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out, not the words of these arrogant people, but their power. 20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 21 What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness? 5 1 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: a man has his father's wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to have mourned? Let the one who has done this be removed from your midst. 3 For though I am absent in body, I am present in spirit, and have already passed judgment on the one who has committed this, as if I were present. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10 not at all meaning the immoral people of this world, or with the greedy and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any one who bears the name of brother if he is an immoral person, or greedy, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindlerónot even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you." 6 1 When any one of you has a grievance against a brother, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you not competent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life! 4 So if you have disputes about such matters, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? 5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no man among you wise enough to decide between his brethren, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 7 Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 Instead, you yourselves defraud and do wrong, and you even do this to your brethren. 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. 12 "All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 "Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food"óbut God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord, and he will also raise us up. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, "The two shall become one flesh." 17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one spirit with him. 18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body. 7 1 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 But because of immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this by way of concession, not of command. 7 I wish that all men were as I myself am. But each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. 8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I. 9 But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. 10 To the married I give charge, not I but the Lord, that the wife should not separate from her husband 11 (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife. 12 But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy. 15 But if the unbelieving partner leaves, let him do so; in such a case the brother or sister is not bound. For God has called us to peace. 16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? 17 Only, let each one lead the life which the Lord has assigned to him, and in which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. 18 Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what counts. 20 Each one should remain in the state in which he was called. 21 Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it trouble youóbut if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22 For he who was called in the Lord as a slave is the Lord's freedman; likewise he who was free when called is Christ's slave. 23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brethren, let each one remain with God in that condition in which he was called. 25 Now concerning virgins, I have no command of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. 26 I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek marriage. 28 But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have troubles in this flesh, and I am trying to spare you. 29 I mean, brethren, the appointed time has grown very short; so that from now on, those who have wives should live as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn, as though they were not mourning; and those who rejoice, as though they were not rejoicing; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; 31 and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it. For the form of this world is passing away. 32 But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the affairs of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; 33 but a married man is concerned about the affairs of the world, how he may please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman, and the virgin, is concerned about the affairs of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but the married woman is concerned about the affairs of the world, how she may please her husband. 35 This I say for your own benefit, not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is good and to secure undivided devotion to the Lord. 36 But if any man thinks that he is not acting properly toward his betrothed, if she is past her youth, and if it must be so, let him do what he wishes, he does not sin; let them marry. 37 But he who stands firm in his heart, being under no constraint, but has control over his own will, and has decided this in his own heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. 38 So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who does not marry her will do better. 39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. 40 But in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is; and I think that I also have the Spirit of God. 8 1 Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by him. 4 Therefore concerning the eating of food sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we exist. 7 However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, being accustomed to idols, eat food as really sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 But food will not commend us to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. 9 But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if a man sees you, who have knowledge, at table in an idol's temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be encouraged to eat food sacrificed to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak man is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food causes my brother to fall, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to fall. 9 1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 3 This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4 Do we not have the right to food and drink? 5 Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? 8 Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Does not the Law say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Or is he speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12 If others share this right of support from you, do not we all the more? Nevertheless, we did not make use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living from the gospel. 15 But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion. For woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if it is not of my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in my preaching I may offer the gospel free of charge, and so not make full use of my right in the gospel. 19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews; to those under the law I became as one under the lawóthough not being myself under the lawóso that I might win those under the law. 21 To those who are without law, I became as one without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, so that I might by all means save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I do not run aimlessly. I do not box as a man beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. 10 1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and all ate the same spiritual food; 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things are examples for us, not to desire evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play." 8 We must not indulge in immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. 9 We must not put the Lord to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents. 10 Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written down for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man. And God is faithful, who will not let you be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible men; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider Israel after the flesh; are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar? 19 What do I mean then? That a thing offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but I say that the things pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? 23 "All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25 Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience; 26 for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it." 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you want to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising questions of conscience. 28 But if anyone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who informed you and for conscience' sakeó29 the other man's conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another's conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? 31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 23 just as I try to please all men in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. 11 1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. 2 I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her headóit is the same as if her head were shaved. 6 For if a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, let her cover her head. 7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. 8 For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman was made from man, so also man is born of woman. And all things are from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 If anyone wants to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor do the churches of God. 17 But in the following instructions, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and I partly believe it. 19 For there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 Therefore when you meet together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat, 21 for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal, and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? No, I will not. 23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way he took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world. 33 So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come. 12 1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to mute idols, however you may have been moved. 3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of working, but the same God who works all of them in all men. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the working of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another distinguishing between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as he wills. 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one bodyówhether Jews or Greeks, slaves or freeóand we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body is not made up of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason be any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason be any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But now God has arranged the members in the body, each one of them, just as he desired. 19 If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and those parts of the body which we think less honorable we treat with the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 while our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving the greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then those having gifts of healings, helps, administrations, and those speaking in various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts. 13 And I will show you a still more excellent way. 1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I have to the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous or boastful, it is not arrogant 5 or rude, it does not seek its own, it is not provoked, it keeps no record of wrongs, 6 it does not rejoice in evil, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails; but where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know fullyóeven as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 14 1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands him, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. 3 But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their edification and encouragement and comfort. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than he who speaks in tongues, unless some one interprets, so that the church may be edified. 6 But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 7 If even lifeless things, such as the flute or the harp, do not give a distinction in the notes, how will any one know what is played? 8 And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? 9 So it is with you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is intelligible, how will anyone know what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 Undoubtedly there are many languages in the world, and none of them is without meaning. 11 If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the one who is speaking, and the speaker will be a foreigner to me. 12 So it is with you; since you are eager for spiritual gifts, strive to excel in building up the church. 13 Therefore, he who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also. 16 Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how can any one in the position of an outsider say the "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than you all; 19 but in the church I would rather speak five words with my mind, to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. 20 Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; be infants in evil, but in thinking be mature. 21 In the law it is written, "By men of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord." 22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; but prophecy is for believers, not for unbelievers. 23 Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so, he will fall on his face, and worship God, declaring that God is really among you. 26 What is the outcome then, brethren? When you come together, each one has a hymn, or a teaching, or a revelation, or a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn; and one must interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30 But if a revelation is made to another who is sitting, the first one must keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged; 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be submissive, as even the law says. 35 If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. 36 Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command. 38 But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in an orderly way. 15 1 Now I would remind you, brethren, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 And last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of themóyet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. 12 Now if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; 14 if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. 20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then, at his coming, those who belong to him. 24 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 "For God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "All things are put in subjection under him," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things under him, that God may be all in all. 29 Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are people baptized for them? 30 Why are we also in danger every hour? 31 I protest, brethren, by my pride in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." 33 Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals." 34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. 35 But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" 36 You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of birds, and another of fish. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. 42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 50 Now I tell you this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then will come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." 55 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 16 1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you must also do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. 3 And when I arrive, I will send those whom you approve with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me. 5 But I will come to you after I go through Macedonia, for I am going through Macedonia; 6 and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 For I do not want to see you now just in passing; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. 10 Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you with nothing to fear, for he is doing the work of the Lord, just as I am. 11 So let no one despise him. Send him on his way in peace, that he may return to me; for I am expecting him with the brethren. 12 As for our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to come to you with the other brethren, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity. 13 Be on the your guard, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love. 15 You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. Now I urge you, brethren, 16 to be subject to such men and to everyone who helps in the work and labors. 17 I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have supplied what was lacking on your part. 18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Give recognition to such men. 19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca greet you warmly in the lord, with the church that is in their house. 20 All the brethren send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. 21 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. 22 If anyone does not love the Lordólet him be accursed. Come, O Lord! 23 The grace of The Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

First Corinthians, page 1

The Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians

1 1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are throughout Achaia: 2 grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from so deadly a peril, and he will deliver us; on him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 11 You also must help us by your prayers, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us in answer to the prayers of many. 12 For our boast is this: the testimony of our conscience, that with holiness and godly sincerity, not in worldly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and still more toward you. 13 For we write you nothing but what you can read and understand; and I hope you will understand fully, 14 as you have understood us in part, that you can be proud of us just as we can be of you, in the day of the Lord Jesus. 15 Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a double benefit. 16 I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea. 17 When I was planning this, did I do it lightly? Or do I make my plans in a fleshly manner so that in the same breath I say, "Yes, Yes" and "No, No"? 18 But as surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. 19 For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by usóby me and Silvanus and Timothyówas not Yes and No, but in him it has always been Yes. 20 For as many as are the promises of God, in him they are Yes. And so through him we speak our Amen to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us; 22 he has put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. 23 But I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. 24 Not that we lord it over your faith; but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith. 2 1 So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. 2 For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? 3 And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I had confidence in all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. 4 For I wrote you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you. 5 But if any one has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measureónot to put it too severelyóto all of you. 6 Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Any one whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 in order that Satan might gain no advantage over us; for we are not ignorant of his schemes. 12 Now when I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord, 13 I still had no rest in my mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took my leave of them and went on to Macedonia. 14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. And who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddling the word of God; but as men of sincerity, as from God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. 3 1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of carnal hearts. 4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from ourselves; but our competence is from God, 6 who has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness exceed it in glory. 10 For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was fading away came with glory, much more is the glory of that which lasts. 12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of the radiance that was fading away. 14 But their minds were hardened; for to this day, when they read the old covenant, the same veil remains unlifted, because only in Christ is it removed. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 4 1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying about in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is at work in us, but life in you. 13 Since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For all this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, yet our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are unseen are eternal. 5 1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 Here indeed we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3 so that when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed, but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now he who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 Therefore we are always of good courage; and we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men; but what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. 12 We are not again commending ourselves to you, but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you may have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a fleshly point of view; even though we once regarded Christ from a fleshly point of view, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his appeal through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 6 1 Working together with him, then, we urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says, "At the acceptable time I have listened to you, and helped you on the day of salvation." Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 3 We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. 4 But as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, distresses, 5 in beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labors, sleeplessness, hunger, 6 in purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, 7 in truthful speech, and in the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through glory and dishonor, evil report and good report; true, yet regarded as impostors; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything. 11 Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians. Our heart is opened wide. 12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. 13 Now in a fair exchangeóI speak as to my childrenóopen wide your hearts also. 14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What harmony has Christ with Belial? Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. 18 And I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." 7 1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Make room for us in your hearts; we have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. 3 I do not say this to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. 4 I have great confidence in you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. With all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy. 5 For even when we came into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turnóconflicts on the outside and fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. 8 For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret itó for I see that my letter hurt you, though only for a little whileó9 now I rejoice, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance; for you became sorrowful as God intended, so that you suffered no loss through us. 10 For godly sorrow produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly sorrow produces death. 11 For behold what this very thing, godly sorrow, has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what readiness to see justice done! At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. 12 So although I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did the wrong, nor on account of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your zeal for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. 13 Therefore we are comforted. And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. 14 For if I have boasted to him about you, I was not put to shame; but just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting before Titus has proved true. 15 And his affection goes out all the more to you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. 16 I rejoice, because I have perfect confidence in you. 8 1 Now, brethren, we want you to know about the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. 3 For I testify that according to their ability, and even beyond their ability, they gave of their own free will, 4 urgently pleading with us for the privilege of sharing in the relief of the saints. 5 And they did not do as we expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God. 6 So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, he would also complete in you this work of grace. 7 But as you excel in everythingóin faith, in utterance, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in your love for usósee that you excel in this work of grace also. 8 I am not speaking this as a command, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich. 10 And in this matter I give my advice: it is best for you now to complete what a year ago you began not only to do but to desire. 11 Now finish the work, so that your readiness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12 For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a man has, not according to what he does not have. 13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; 14 but at the present time your abundance should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be equality. 15 As it is written, "He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack." 16 But thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. 17 For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going to you of his own accord. 18 And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his preaching of the gospel; 19 and not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us in this gracious work which we are carrying on, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. 20 We intend that no one should blame us about this liberal gift which we are administering, 21 for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. 22 And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often proved diligent in many matters, but who is now more diligent than ever because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; and as for our brethren, they are messengers of the churches, a glory to Christ. 24 Therefore openly before the churches, show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our boasting about you. 9 1 Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the offering for the saints, 2 for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the Macedonians, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year; and your zeal has stirred up most of them. 3 But I am sending the brethren so that our boasting about you may not prove vain in this case, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be; 4 lest if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, weónot to say anything about youó would be ashamed of having been so confident. 5 So I thought it necessary to urge the brethren to go on to you before me, and arrange in advance for this gift you have promised, so that it may be ready not as an exaction but as a willing gift. 6 The point is this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give just as he has purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, so that you, always having all sufficiency in everything, may have an abundance for every good work. 9 As it is written, "He has scattered abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will multiply the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way for great generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. 13 Because of the test of this service, you will glorify God by your obedience in your confession of the gospel of Christ, and by the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others; 14 while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God in you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 10 1 I, Paul, myself urge you, by the meekness and gentleness of ChristóI who am humble when face to face with you, but bold to you when I am away!ó2 I beg you that when I am present I may not have to be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. 3 For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war as the flesh does. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ, 6 and we are ready to punish every disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete. 7 You look at things as they are outwardly. If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ's, let him consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ's, so also are we. 8 For even if I boast somewhat further about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I shall not be put to shame. 9 I do not wish to seem as if I would terrify you by my letters. 10 For they say, "His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is weak, and his speech of no account." 11 Let such people realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present. 12 For we do not dare to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves. But when they measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding. 13 But we will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has apportioned to us, a field that reaches even to you. 14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we did not reach to you; we were the first to come even as far as you with the gospel of Christ. 15 We do not go beyond limits by boasting in other men's labors, but our hope is that as your faith grows, our sphere among you may be greatly enlarged, 16 so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast of work already done in another man's territory. 17 But, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." 18 For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends. 11 1 I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me. 2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. 3 But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the one we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. 5 I think that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. 6 But even if I am unskilled in speech, I am not in knowledge; in every way we have made this plain to you in all things. 7 Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge? 8 I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. 9 And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so. 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia. 11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! 12 And what I am doing, I will also continue to do, in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things of which they boast. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will be according to their deeds. 16 I repeat, let no one think me foolish; but even if you do, receive me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. 17 What I am saying I am not saying as the Lord would, but as a fool, in this confidence of boasting. 18 Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. 19 For you put up with fools gladly, being so wise yourselves! 20 For you put up with anyone if he makes slaves of you, or preys upon you, or takes advantage of you, or exalts himself, or strikes you in the face. 21 To my shame, I must say that we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone else dares to boast aboutóI am speaking as a foolóI also dare to boast about. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better oneóI am talking like a madmanóin far more labors, in far more imprisonments, with more beatings, and often in danger of death. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the open sea. 26 I have been on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, in danger from robbers, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the wilderness, in danger at sea, and in danger from false brethren; 27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 Besides such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I do not inwardly burn? 30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me, 33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped his hands. 12 1 I must go on boasting, though there is nothing to be gained by it; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not knowóGod knows. 3 And I know that this manówhether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knowsó4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, which a man is not permitted to tell. 5 On behalf of such a man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. 6 Though if I should boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 And to keep me from being too elated because of the abundance of revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should depart from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I am content in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 11 I have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was not in the least inferior to these super- apostles, even though I am nothing. 12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you in all perseverance, with signs and wonders and mighty works. 13 For in what respect were you inferior to the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not become a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong! 14 Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden to you, for I seek not what is yours but you; for children ought not to lay up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15 I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you the more, am I to be loved the less? 16 But be that as it may, I did not burden you myself. Yet, crafty fellow that I am, I caught you by trickery! 17 Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? Did we not act in the same spirit and walk in the same steps? 19 Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves before you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved. 20 For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you what I wish you to be, and you may not find me what you wish me to be; I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. 21 I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will have to mourn over many of those who sinned before and have not repented of the impurity, immorality, and lewdness which they have practiced. 13 1 This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 2 I warned those who sinned in the past and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present the second time, that if I come again I will not spare themó3 since you desire proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful in you. 4 For he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God for you. 5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in youóunless, indeed, you fail the test? 6 I trust that you will realize that we have not failed the test. 7 Now we pray to God that you may not do wrongónot that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, even though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. What we pray for is your perfection. 10 I write these things while I am absent, in order that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority which the Lord gave me for building you up, and not for tearing you down. 11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints greet you. 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Second Corinthians, page 1

The Letter of Paul to the Galatians

1 1 Paul, an apostleósent not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the deadó 2 and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: 3 grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ and turning to a different gospeló7 which is really not another gospel; but there are some who are disturbing you, and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we preached to you, let him be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be accursed! 10 Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. 11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it; 14 and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus. 18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother. 20 (Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I do not lie.) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; 23 they only heard it said, "He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." 24 And they glorified God because of me. 2 1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. 2 I went up because of a revelation; and I set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who were of reputation, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. 3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not compelled to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had slipped in to spy out our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. 5 We did not yield to them even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you. 6 And from those who were reputed to be something (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)óthose, I say, who were of repute added nothing to me; 7 but on the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8 (for he who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), 9 and when they perceived the grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. 11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to draw back and separate himself, fearing the party of the circumcision. 13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of them all, "If you, being a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? 15 "We ourselves, who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, 16 yet who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law will no flesh be justified. 17 But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then an agent of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove myself a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died for nothing." 3 1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun with the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vainóif it really was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? 6 Even so Abraham "believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." 7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you will all the nations be blessed." 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the man of faith. 10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to do them." 11 Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "The righteous man shall live by faith." 12 But the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, "He who does them shall live by them." 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for usófor it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"ó14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 15 To give a human example, brethren: even though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it. 16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ. 17 What I mean is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. 18 For if the inheritance is based on the law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. 19 Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made. 20 Now a mediator does not represent just one party; but God is one. 21 Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given which could impart life, then righteousness would indeed have come by the law. 22 But the Scripture has bound everyone under sin, so that that what was promised by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 Now before faith came, we were bound under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. 24 So the law was our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God, through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. 4 1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of all the estate; 2 but he is under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. 3 So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the elemental things of the world. 4 But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. 8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things? Do you desire to be enslaved all over again? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain. 12 Brethren, I beg you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong; 13 you know it was because of an illness in the flesh that I preached the gospel to you at first; 14 and though my fleshly condition was a trial to you, you did not despise or scorn me, but you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus himself. 15 What has become of the satisfaction you felt? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 They seek you, but for no good purpose; they want to shut you out, so that you may seek them. 18 But it is always good to seek a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you. 19 My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in youó20 I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, for I am perplexed about you. 21 Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave and one by the free woman. 23 But the son by the slave was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. 24 This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. 25 Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written, "Rejoice, O barren woman who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who are not in labor; for the children of the desolate are more numerous than the children of her who has a husband." 28 Now you, brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now. 30 But what does the scripture say? "Cast out the slave and her son, for the son of the slave shall not inherit with the son of the free woman." 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the slave, but of the free woman. 5 1 It was for freedom that Christ has set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. 4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love. 7 You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion did not come from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine; and the one who is troubling you will bear his judgment, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brethren, still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? In that case the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished. 12 I wish that those who are troubling you would mutilate themselves! 13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 15 But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you would. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. 6 1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then he will have reason to boast in himself alone, and not in his neighbor. 5 For each one will bear his own load. 6 Let the one who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. 11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 Those who want to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but what counts is a new creation. 16 Peace and mercy be upon all who walk by this rule, upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.

Galatians, page 1

The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians

1 1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 which he lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of the times, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth. In him 11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of his glory. 13 In him, you also have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having also believed, you were sealed in him with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance, until the redemption of those who are God's possessionóto the praise of his glory. 15 For this reason, ever since I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might 20 which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. 2 1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and mind, and so we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of Godó9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we would walk in them. 11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human handsó12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the hostility, which is the Law of commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, by which he put to death the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; 18 for through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are members of God's household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. 3 1 For this reason I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentilesó2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6 that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs and members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose which he carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in him. 13 Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations for you, which are your glory. 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen. 4 1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." 9 (In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean except that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also he who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of service, for the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to become mature, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15 But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him, who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each part, causes the growth of the body and builds itself up in love. 17 Now this I affirm and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds, 18 they are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, greedy for the practice of every kind of impurity. 20 But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former manner of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful lusts; 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, each one of you must speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but rather must labor, doing useful work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with those in need. 29 Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building others up according to the need of the moment, that it may impart grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 5 1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 And there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather let there be thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure, that no immoral, impure, or covetous personósuch a man is an idolateróhas any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them; 8 for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. 14 For this reason it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." 15 Be careful, then, how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21 Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is himself the Savior. 24 As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that he might present the church to himself in all her glory, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands ought also to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." 32 This is a profound mystery; but I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you must also love his wife as himself, and the wife must see that she respects her husband. 6 1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 "Honor your father and mother" (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3 "that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth." 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. 5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; 6 not in the way of eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7 Render service with good will, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, and give up threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him. 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 in addition to all this, taking up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and petition. And with this in view, keep alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 and also pray for me, that in the opening of my mouth, utterance may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. 21 Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts. 23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

Ephesians, page 1

The Letter of Paul to the Philippians

1 1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: 2 grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always making my prayer with joy in every prayer of mine for you all, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 For I am confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. 8 For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ; 11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. 12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that my imprisonment for Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, 14 and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have been encouraged to speak the word of God without fear. 15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel; 17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be ashamed in anything, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I do not know. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; 24 but to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again. 27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, 28 in no way frightened by your opponents. This is a sign of destruction to them, but of salvation for you ñ and that too, from God. 29 For to you it has been granted for the sake of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, 30 having the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me. 2 1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to deathóeven death on a cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. 19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news of you. 20 I have no one else like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. 22 But you know that he has proved his worth, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. 23 Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also. 25 But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need; 26 for he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may have less anxiety. 29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy; and honor men like him, 30 because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me. 3 1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for the dogs, watch out for the evil workers, watch out for those mutilators of the body. 3 For we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God, and glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh, 4 though I myself have reasons for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever was gain to me, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count everything to be loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christóthe righteousness that comes from God and is by faith, 10 that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained. 17 Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who live according to the pattern you have in us. 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. 4 1 Therefore, my brethren, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. 2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you also, true yoke-fellow, to help these women who have struggled at my side in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. 10 I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to be in need, and I also know how to have plenty; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and want. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 14 Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15 You yourselves also know, Philippians, that in the first preaching of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you only; 16 for even in Thessalonica you sent me a gift once and again for my needs. 17 Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. 18 I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you. 22 All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household. 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Philippians, page 1

The Letter of Paul to the Colossians

1 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: grace to you and peace from God our Father. 3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel 6 which has come to you, just as in all the world it is bearing fruit and growing, even as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth; 7 as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. 9 For this reason also, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will live a life worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authoritiesóall things were created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might have the first place in everything. 19 For all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in him 20 and through him, to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. 21 And although you were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 yet he has now reconciled you in his fleshly body through death, in order to present you before him holy and blameless and beyond reproachó23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a minister. 24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share for the sake of his body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions. 25 Of this church I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 We proclaim him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. 29 For this end I labor, striving with all his energy, which so mightily works within me. 2 1 For I want you to know how greatly I strive for you, and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not seen my face in the flesh, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged as they are knit together in love, to have all the riches of assured understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ himself, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this so that no one may delude you with fine-sounding arguments. 5 For even though I am absent in flesh, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. 6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with thanksgiving. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to human tradition, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. 9 For in him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and you have been made complete in him, who is the head over all rule and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our sins, 14 having canceled the certificate of debt, which stood against us with its decrees. He took what was hostile away from us, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them through him. 16 Therefore let no one judge you in questions of food or drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day. 17 These things are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you for the prize by delighting in self- abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, puffed up without cause by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. 20 If with Christ you died to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you still belonged to it, do you submit to regulations such as, 21 "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" 22 (referring to things which are all destined perish with use), according to human commandments and teachings? 23 These indeed have an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value against fleshly indulgence. 3 1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on the things above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you once walked, when you lived in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free, but Christ is all, and in all. 12 So, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord forgave you, so you also must forgive. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, or they will become discouraged. 22 Slaves, in everything obey those who are your masters according to the flesh, not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 For he who does wrong will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. 4 1 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. 2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 And pray for us as well, that God may open a door to us for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains, 4 so that I may make it clear, as I ought to speak. 5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6 Let your speech always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone. 7 Tychicus will tell you all about my affairs. He is a beloved brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts; 9 and with him Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of yourselves. They will tell you everything that has taken place here. 10 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, and also Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you have received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him.) 11 and also Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved to be a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of your number, a servant of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 I testify for him that he has worked hard for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas send you greetings. 15 Give my greetings to the brethren at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 When this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you read the letter from Laodicea. 17 Say to Archippus, "See to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it." 18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

Colossians, page 3

The First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians

1 1 Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: grace and peace to you. 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers; 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brethren beloved by God, that he has chosen you; 5 for our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit; 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we have no need to say anything. 9 For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the deadó Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come. 2 1 For you yourselves know, brethren, that our visit to you was not in vain; 2 but after we had already suffered and been shamefully treated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in the face of great opposition. 3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity, nor is it made with deceit; 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please men, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5 For, as you know, we never used flattery nor a pretext for greedóGod is witnessó6 nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle among you, like a mother nursing her little children. 8 Having so fond an affection for you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. 9 For you remember our labor and toil, brethren; we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we preached to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless we behaved toward you believers; 11 for you know how, as a father with his own children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you 12 to live a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. 13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. 14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus which are in Judea, for you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, 15 who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to all men, 16 hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved; with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last. 17 But since we were taken away from you, brethren, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face. 18 For we wanted to come to youóI, Paul, again and againóbut Satan hindered us. 19 For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming? 20 For you are our glory and joy. 3 1 Therefore when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no one would be unsettled by these afflictions. You yourselves know that we have been destined for this. 4 For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; and so it came to pass, as you know. 5 For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain. 6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, just as we long to see youó7 for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith; 8 for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord. 9 For what thanksgiving can we render to God for you in return for all the joy which we feel for your sake before our God, 10 as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? 11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you; 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. 4 1 Finally, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that is, that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to take his own spouse for himself in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the heathen, who do not know God; 6 and that no man transgress and wrong his brother in this matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness. 8 Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit. 9 Now concerning love of the brethren you have no need to have any one write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; 10 and indeed you do love all the brethren throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to do so more and more. 11 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anyone. 13 But we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. 5 1 Now as to the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, "Peace and safety," then destruction will come upon them suddenly as labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us be alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night; and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But, since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing. 12 But we ask you, brethren, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. 14 And we urge you, brethren, admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise prophecies. 21 But test everything; hold fast to what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil. 23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. 25 Brethren, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. 27 I charge you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brethren. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

First Thessalonians, page 1

The Second Letter of Paul to The Thessalonians

1 1 Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 We ought to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, as is fitting, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which you are enduring. 5 This is evidence of God's righteous judgment, so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. 6 For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, 10 when he comes to be glorified in his saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believedóbecause our testimony to you was believed. 11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and may fulfill every good resolve and work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him, we beg you, brethren, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited, either by spirit or by word, or by letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends upon them a strong delusion so that they will believe what is false, 12 so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in wickedness. 13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. 3 1 Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it did also with you, 2 and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men; for not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will continue to do the things which we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ. 6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who is living in idleness and not according to the tradition which you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves an example for you to follow. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If anyone will not work, he shall not eat." 11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, not doing any work at all, but acting like busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and earn their own bread to eat. 13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good. 14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he may be ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. 16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. 17 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Second Thessalonians, page 1

The First Letter of Paul to Timothy

1 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, 2 to Timothy, my true child in the faith: grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than the divine trainingówhich is by faith. 5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 For some men have wandered away from these things and turned aside to fruitless discussion, 7 wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. 8 But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers 10 and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. 12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, because he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor, I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; 14 and the grace of our Lord was overflowing for me, with the faith and love that are found in Christ Jesus. 15 It is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinnersóof whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 18 I give you this command, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies once made about you, that by them you may fight the good fight, 19 holding faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and made shipwreck of their faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan so that they will be taught not to blaspheme. 2 1 First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for allóthe testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or quarreling. 9 I also want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and sensibly, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly garments, 10 but with good deeds, as is proper for women who profess godliness. 11 Let a woman learn in silence with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15 But women will be saved through the bearing of children, if they continue in faith and love and holiness with self-restraint. 3 1 It is a trustworthy saying: if any one aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity 5 (If a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of God's church?). 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 8 Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, and not fond of sordid gain; 9 they must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 They must also first be tested; and then if they are beyond reproach, let them serve as deacons. 11 The women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Deacons must be the husband of one wife, and must manage their children and their households well. 13 For those who have served well as deacons gain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. 14 Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15 if I am delayed, you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. 16 By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: he was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. 4 1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 through the pretensions of liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron, 3 who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving; 5 for it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. 6 If you point out these things to the brethren, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the good doctrine which you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself in godliness. 8 For bodily training is of some value, but godliness is of value in all things, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 It is a trustworthy saying worthy of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we labor and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. 11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one look down on your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you through prophetic utterance when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Take heed to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in them, for if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. 5 1 Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, in all purity. 3 Honor widows who are real widows. 4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to practice their religion in regard to their own family and to make some return to their parents; for this is acceptable in the sight of God. 5 Now she who is a real widow, and who has been left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. 6 But she who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. 7 Command these things as well, so that they may be above reproach. 8 If any one does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his own family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 9 A widow is to be put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one husband, 10 and she must be well known for her good deeds, as one who has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the feet of the saints, relieved those in distress, and devoted herself to doing good in every way. 11 But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to marry, 12 thus bringing condemnation, because they have set aside their first pledge. 13 Besides, they learn to be idle, going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to. 14 So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their homes, and give the enemy no occasion for reproach. 15 For some have already turned aside to follow Satan. 16 If any woman who is a believer has dependent widows, she must assist them, and let not the church be burdened, so that it may assist those who are real widows. 17 The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. 18 For the scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain," and, "The laborer deserves his wages." 19 Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. 20 Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also may be fearful of sinning. 21 I charge you, in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, doing nothing out of favoritism. 22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. 23 No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. 24 The sins of some men are obvious, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins appear later. 25 In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden. 6 1 Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be spoken against. 2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren, but they must serve them all the better, because those who benefit by their service are believers and beloved. Teach and urge these duties. 3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching which accords with godliness, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, which produce envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who imagine that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But godliness with contentment is itself great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who made the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 to keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will bring about at the proper timeóhe who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. 17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with everything to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous and ready to share, 19 storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that life which is life indeed. 20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you.