so that my bonds became manifest in Christ throughout the whole praetorian guard, and to all the rest;

and that the great part of the brethren, made confident in the Lord by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

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

Since he hath been longing to see, you all, and hath been in great distress, because ye had heard he was sick; -

So welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him,

be upon your guard against snarlers, against the contrivances of the crafty, against the spurious breed;

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

I have great joy in the Lord because now at last you have again expressed your concern for me. (Now I know you were concerned before but had no opportunity to do anything.)

But my God--so great is His wealth of glory in Christ Jesus--will fully supply every need of yours.

Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you.

All the saints greet you, and especially those of Caesar's household.

Full of strength in the measure of the great power of his glory, so that you may undergo all troubles with joy;

God [in His eternal plan] chose to make known to them how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in and among you, the hope and guarantee of [realizing the] glory.

For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception [pseudo-intellectual babble], according to the tradition [and musings] of mere men, following the elementary principles of this world, rather than following [the truth—the teachings of] Christ.

Let no one who delights in humility and the worship of angels pass judgment on you. That person goes on at great lengths about what he has supposedly seen, but he is puffed up with empty notions by his fleshly mind.

If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were still living in the world, do you submit to rules and regulations, such as,

So put to death and deprive of power the evil longings of your earthly body [with its sensual, self-centered instincts] immorality, impurity, sinful passion, evil desire, and greed, which is [a kind of] idolatry [because it replaces your devotion to God].

Servants, obey your masters here below at every point; do not work simply when their eye is on you, like those who court human favour, but serve them with a single heart out of reverence for your Lord and Master.

Joshua, who is called Justus, also sends his greeting. These are the only converts from Judaism who have worked with me for the kingdom of God; I have found them a great comfort.

For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis.

Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

Greet the brothers in Laodicea, and Nympha and the church in her house.

for our good news [regarding salvation] came to you not only in word, but also in [its inherent] power and in the Holy Spirit and with great conviction [on our part]. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your benefit.

You became imitators of us and of the Lord. In spite of a great deal of suffering, you welcomed the word with the joy that the Holy Spirit produces.

but after we had already suffered and been outrageously treated in Philippi, as you know, yet in [the strength of] our God we summoned the courage to proclaim boldly to you the good news of God [regarding salvation] amid great opposition.

For neither at any time were we found, using words of flattery, - even as ye know, nor a pretext for greed - God, is witness!

Our affection therefore to you being so great, we were as ready to give our lives for you, as we were to communicate the divine gospel to you, so much did you engage our love.

But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire.

Thus, my brethren, your conduct has given us great consolation, under all our persecutions and distress.

For how great is the praise which we give to God for you, and how great the joy with which we are glad because of you before our God;

So then let us not sleep [in spiritual indifference] as the rest [of the world does], but let us keep wide awake [alert and cautious] and let us be sober [self-controlled, calm, and wise].

Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.

It is right for us to give praise to God at all times for you, brothers, because of the great increase of your faith, and the wealth of your love for one another;

Let no one in any way deceive or entrap you, for that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first [that is, the great rebellion, the abandonment of the faith by professed Christians], and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction [the Antichrist, the one who is destined to be destroyed],

The coming of the [Antichrist, the lawless] one is through the activity of Satan, [attended] with great power [all kinds of counterfeit miracles] and [deceptive] signs and false wonders [all of them lies],

But the Lord is faithful, who shall establish you, and guard you from the evil one .

Which may be seen in the good news of the glory of the great God, which was given into my care.

Though I had said violent words against God, and done cruel acts, causing great trouble: but I was given mercy, because I did it without knowledge, not having faith;

And the grace of our Lord was very great, with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

in like manner also the women, in becoming apparel, with modesty and sobriety to adorn themselves, not in braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or garments of great price,

For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Be on your guard as to yourself and your teaching. Persevere in these things; for by doing this you will make certain your own salvation and that of your hearers.

Honor and help those widows who are truly widowed [alone, and without support].

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels that you guard and keep these rules without bias, doing nothing out of favoritism.

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Run the great race of the Faith, and win the Immortal Life. It was for this that you received the Call, and, in the presence of many witnesses, made the great profession of Faith.

I urge you, as in the sight of God, the source of all life, and of Christ Jesus who before Pontius Pilate made the great profession of Faith--

O Timothy, guard that which is committed unto thee , turning away from the profane babblings and oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so called;

For which cause I suffer also these things: yet I am not ashamed; for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed unto him against that day.

That good thing which was committed unto thee guard through the Holy Spirit which dwelleth in us.

Nay, when he was here in Rome, he took great pains to inquire where I was living, and at last he found me.

the Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord on that [great] day. You know very well how many things he did for me and what a help he was at Ephesus [you know better than I can tell you].

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

So if a man will cleanse himself from these things, he will be put to great uses, consecrated and used by the master of the house himself, and ready for any good use.

Avoid foolish, crude speculations; you know they only lead to quarrels,

with great temper and meekness informing those, who differ in opinion; because he does not know, but God may change their minds, by convincing them of the truth.

But understand this, that in the last days dangerous times [of great stress and trouble] will come [difficult days that will be hard to bear].

persecutions, sufferings, which befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; the great persecutions which I suffered, and the Lord delivered me from all.

Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching.

For the time will come when they will not take the true teaching; but, moved by their desires, they will get for themselves a great number of teachers for the pleasure of hearing them;

I have run the great Race; I have finished the Course; I have kept the Faith.

In the future there is reserved for me the [victor’s] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that [great] day—and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and longed for and welcomed His appearing.

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

Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; [but that is no concern of mine, for] the Lord will repay him according to his actions.

Against whom be thou also on thy guard, for he has greatly withstood our words.

At my first defense [Note: Paul here refers to his initial hearing before the Roman court] no one supported me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them.

Greet Prisca and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus.

Make haste to come before winter. Eubulus and Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers greet you.

For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

There are, indeed, many unruly persons--great talkers who deceive themselves, principally converts from Judaism,

One of their prophets has said, The men of Crete are ever false, evil beasts, lovers of food, hating work.

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

these things remonstrate: recommend and enforce with all your authority: guard yourself against all contempt.

Our people [i.e., the Christians there on Crete] also should learn to practice good deeds for meeting pressing needs, so that they can be productive [in the Lord's work].

All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.

For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.

Therefore, [although I] have great confidence in Christ to order you [to do what] is proper,

Formerly he was useless to you, but now--true to his name--he is of great use to you and to me.

There greet you Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus;

Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my colaborers, greet you too.

For if the word uttered through angels stood firm, so that every transgression and act of disobedience met with its just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?

How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

For it was appropriate that he who is the great First Cause of the universe should, in guiding his many children to his glorious salvation, make their leader in it fully qualified through what he suffered.

Therefore let us be on our guard lest perhaps, while He still leaves us a promise of being admitted to His rest, some one of you should be found to have fallen short of it.

so that there is not a creature that is concealed from his view: but all is naked and open to the eyes of him of whom we speak. Having then so great a high priest,

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

We have a great deal to say about this, and it’s difficult to explain, since you have become too lazy to understand.

But our great desire is that every one of you should be equally earnest to attain to a full conviction that our hope will be fulfilled, and that you should keep that hope to the end.

Saying, Be certain that I will give you my blessing, and make your numbers very great.

For he intended us to find great encouragement in these two unchangeable things, which make it impossible for God to prove false--we, I mean, who fled for safety where we might lay hold on the hope set before us.

Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.

And it is true that there have been a great number of those priests, because death does not let them go on for ever;

And they shall not teach each his fellow-citizen, and each his brother, saying, Know the Lord; because all shall know me in themselves, from the little one among them unto the great among them.

For the law having but a faint shadow of good things to come, and not the full image of the things, can never, even by the great annual sacrifices which they offer statedly, make the comers thereunto perfect.

and having a great priest over the house of God;

Let us not neglect meeting together as some do, but let us encourage one another, all the more as you can see that the great Day is coming nearer.

But only a great fear of being judged, and of the fire of wrath which will be the destruction of the haters of God.