Nevertheless, it was right of you to share [with me] in my difficulties.

It is not the money I am anxious for; what I am anxious for is the interest that accumulates in this way to your divine credit!

Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

came among you, to thrive and bear its fruit among you, as it does all over the world, from the time when you first heard about the mercy of God,

For this reason we also, from the day we heard of your faith and love, do not cease praying and asking for you, to the end that ye may be filled with the full knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,

[We pray for you] to live a life deserving of the Lord, pleasing to Him in every way, producing fruit in every good deed and growing in the knowledge of God.

giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.

yet Christ has now reconciled you [to God] in His physical body through death, in order to present you before the Father holy and blameless and beyond reproach—

Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

For I wish you to know how great a conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and as many as have not seen my face in the flesh,

that your hearts may be cheered. I want you to be united by love, and to have all the benefit of assured knowledge in coming to know Christ??3 that divine mystery in which all treasures of wisdom and knowledge are to be found.

And, as for you - who were, dead, by your offences and by the uncircumcision of your flesh, he hath brought you to life together with him, - having in favour forgiven us all our offences,

Let no one then call you to account about food or drink, or a feastday, or a new moon, or sabbaths;

But now it is right for you to put away all these things; wrath, passion, bad feeling, curses, unclean talk;

And let the peace of Christ be ruling in your hearts, as it was the purpose of God for you to be one body; and give praise to God at all times.

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

Lords, render ye to servants Justice and equality; knowing that ye also have a Lord in the heavens.

your word always in grace -- with salt being seasoned -- to know how it behoveth you to answer each one.

Whom I have sent unto you, to this very end, - that ye may get to know the things which concern us, and he may encourage you hearts:

Say to Archippus, See that you do the work which the Lord has given you to do.

in that our gospel did not come to you merely in words, but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction (surely you recall the character we displayed when we came among you to help you).

in order for you to become examples to all those who believe, in Macedonia and in Achaia.

From you, in fact, hath sounded forth the word of the Lord - not only m Macedonia and in Achaia, but, in every place, your faith which is toward God, hath gone forth, so that, no need, have we to be saying anything;

Our exhortation was not to bring you to error, nor yet to uncleanness, neither was it with guile:

fain, in our yearning affection for you, to impart not only the gospel of God to you but our very souls as well ??you had so won our love.

that ye should walk worthy of God, who calls you to his own kingdom and glory.

Who, to make the measure of their sins complete, kept us from giving the word of salvation to the Gentiles: but the wrath of God is about to come on them in the fullest degree.

[So], for this reason, when I could not stand it any longer, I also sent [Timothy] to find out about your faith. I was afraid that somehow the tempter [i.e., Satan] had tempted you [to give up] and that our work [on your behalf] will have become useless.

But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you:

But our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you.

And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:

As to the rest, then, brethren, we request you, and call upon you in the Lord Jesus, as ye did receive from us how it behoveth you to walk and to please God, that ye may abound the more,

For this is the will of God, your sanctification, for you to abstain from fornication,

each one of you to know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor

Not over-reaching and defrauding, in the matter, his brother; because, an avenger, is the Lord, concerning all these things, - even as we before told you, and solemnly called you to witness.

But God has not called you to uncleanness, but in consecration.

As to brotherly love, I have no occasion to write about it, God himself having instructed you to love one another.

and indeed you do love all the brethren throughout Macedonia. And we exhort you to do so more and more,

and to vie with one another in eagerness for peace, every one minding his own business and working with his hands, as we ordered you to do:

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

(For this we say to you in the word of the Lord, that we, the living, who remain to the coming of the Lord, are in no way to anticipate those who have fallen asleep;

Brothers, we ask you to show your appreciation for those who work among you, set an example for you in the Lord, and instruct you.

And, brothers, we urge you to admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, sustain the weak, lose patience with none.

Thank God whatever happens. For this is what God through Christ Jesus wants you to do.

Faithful and absolutely trustworthy is He who is calling you [to Himself for your salvation], and He will do it [He will fulfill His call by making you holy, guarding you, watching over you, and protecting you as His own].

Greet all of the brothers [and sisters] with a holy kiss [i.e., to signify affection, yet without sensuality].

(A proof of the just judgment of God,) for you to be deemed worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

This is why we always pray for you also, so that our God will consider you worthy to be [i.e., to have been] called [into the kingdom] by Him, and will fulfill, by His power, every good purpose [or, "desire for goodness"] of yours and every act produced by [your] faith.

and by every kind of wicked deception for those who are on the way to perdition because they did not welcome into their hearts the love of the truth, so that they might be saved.

But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

He called you to this through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Console your hearts, and strengthen you to do and to say all that is right.

We have faith in you through the Lord that you are doing and will keep doing what we direct you to do.

May the Lord bring you to the love of God, and to the patience of the Christ.

And we proclaim to you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, for you to shrink from every brother walking disorderly, and not according to the doctrine which he received of us.

for yourselves have known how it behoveth you to imitate us, because we did not act disorderly among you;

Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.

As I urged you when I was on my way to Macedonia, stay on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain individuals not to teach any different doctrines,

Some have strayed from these and turned away to empty discussion.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, appointing me to the ministry [i.e., to His service], because He considered me trustworthy,

This charge I commit unto thee, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which led the way to thee, that by them thou mayest war the good warfare;

First of all, then, I urge you to offer to God petitions, prayers, intercessions, and expressions of thanks for all people,

for they who duly discharge that office, prepare their way to a higher degree, and may promote the christian faith with the greater freedom.

These things write I to thee, hoping to come to thee shortly;

but if I tarry, in order that you may know how it behooves you to deport yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.

For some have already turned away to follow Satan.

With God as my witness, as well as the Messiah Jesus and the chosen angels, I solemnly call on you to carry out these instructions without prejudice, doing nothing on the basis of partiality.

Do not be in a hurry to lay hands on anyone [i.e., to appoint them to office. See 4:14], and do not participate in the sins of other people. [Note: If Timothy failed to carefully determine the qualifications of a prospective elder before appointing him, it would make him partially responsible for any wrongdoing by that elder]. Keep yourself pure [i.e., of involvement in anyone's sins].

The sins of some men are evident to the world, leading the way to your estimate of their characters, but the sins of others lag behind.

and constant disagreement among people whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth, who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain.

I urge you to keep his Command free from stain or reproach, until the Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

That is why I remind you to fan into flame the gracious gift of God, [that inner fire—the special endowment] which is in you through the laying on of my hands [with those of the elders at your ordination].

Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you to understand all these things.

If we prove to be unfaithful [i.e., to our commitment to Christ], He [still] remains faithful [to His word], for He cannot deny Himself. [Note: This verse refers to Christ remaining true to His promise of either accepting or rejecting us. See Matt. 10:32-33].

Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.

Whereas, wicked men and howling impostors, will force their way to the worse, deceiving and being deceived.

but hold you to what you have been taught, hold to your convictions, remember who your teachers were,

and that from your infancy you were acquainted with the sacred writings, which point you the way to salvation, by believing in Christ Jesus:

I adjure you to preach the word; keep at it in season and out of season, refuting, checking, and exhorting men; never lose patience with them, and never give up your teaching,

And shutting their ears to what is true, will be turned away to belief in foolish stories.

But be self-controlled in all things, do without comfort, go on preaching the good news, completing the work which has been given you to do.

The reason I left you in Crete was to set right what was left undone and, as I directed you, to appoint elders in every town:

To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;

To say no evil of any man, not to be fighters, to give way to others, to be gentle in behaviour to all men.

This is a faithful and trustworthy saying; and concerning these things I want you to speak with great confidence, so that those who have believed God [that is, those who have trusted in, relied on, and accepted Christ Jesus as Savior,] will be careful to participate in doing good and honorable things. These things are excellent [in themselves] and profitable for the people.

And I pray that your participation may become effectual, as you come to acknowledge every good thing which is in you to Christ.

Therefore [on the basis of these facts], though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is appropriate,

yet out of [mutual] love, I appeal to you [to do what I ask]. For I Paul, am an old man, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus. [Note: Most calculations suggest that Paul was approximately 60 years old, which was considered a relatively advanced age in that day].

I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self besides).

Since I was confident that you would obey, I wrote to you, because I knew that you would do even more than what I am asking you to do.

For to which of the messengers said He ever, 'My Son thou art -- I to-day have begotten thee?' and again, 'I will be to him for a father, and he shall be to Me for a son?'

For this ought we to hold above measure to the things heard, lest we slip away.

Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

Take care, brothers and sisters, that there not be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving heart [which refuses to trust and rely on the Lord, a heart] that turns away from the living God.

Rather encourage one another daily--while there is a 'To-day'--to prevent any one among you from being hardened by the deceitfulness of Sin.

For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:

so also the Christ did not glorify himself to become chief priest, but He who spake unto him: 'My Son thou art, I to-day have begotten thee;'