For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

not to be easily upset in mind or troubled, either by a spirit or by a message or by a letter as if from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has come.

Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.

and with every unrighteous deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth in order to be saved.

so that all will be condemned—those who did not believe the truth but enjoyed unrighteousness.

and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not all have faith.

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother who walks irresponsibly and not according to the tradition received from us.

For you yourselves know how you must imitate us: We were not irresponsible among you;

we did not eat anyone’s food free of charge; instead, we labored and struggled, working night and day, so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

It is not that we don’t have the right to support, but we did it to make ourselves an example to you so that you would imitate us.

In fact, when we were with you, this is what we commanded you: “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat.”

For we hear that there are some among you who walk irresponsibly, not working at all, but interfering with the work of others.

Brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.

And if anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take note of that person; don’t associate with him, so that he may be ashamed.

As I urged you when I went to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach different doctrine

We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers,

Hymenaeus and Alexander are among them, and I have delivered them to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.

For this I was appointed a herald, an apostle (I am telling the truth; I am not lying), and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel,

I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; instead, she is to be silent.

And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed.

not addicted to wine, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy—

(If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?)

He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the Devil.

Furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the Devil’s trap.

Deacons, likewise, should be worthy of respect, not hypocritical, not drinking a lot of wine, not greedy for money,

Wives, too, must be worthy of respect, not slanderers, self-controlled, faithful in everything.

Do not neglect the gift that is in you; it was given to you through prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.

Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers,

The real widow, left all alone, has put her hope in God and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers;

But if anyone does not provide for his own, that is his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

At the same time, they also learn to be idle, going from house to house; they are not only idle, but are also gossips and busybodies, saying things they shouldn’t say.

If any believing woman has widows in her family, she should help them, and the church should not be burdened, so that it can help those who are genuinely widows.

For the Scripture says:

Do not muzzle an ox
while it is treading out the grain, and,
the worker is worthy of his wages.

Likewise, good works are obvious, and those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden.

All who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters to be worthy of all respect, so that God’s name and His teaching will not be blasphemed.

Those who have believing masters should not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers, but should serve them better, since those who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved.

Teach and encourage these things.

If anyone teaches other doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes godliness,

Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.

I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, when I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day.

For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.

He has saved us and called us
with a holy calling,
not according to our works,
but according to His own purpose and grace,
which was given to us in Christ Jesus
before time began.

and that is why I suffer these things. But I am not ashamed, because I know the One I have believed in and am persuaded that He is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that day.

May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.

Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

I suffer for it to the point of being bound like a criminal, but God’s message is not bound.

Remind them of these things, charging them before God not to fight about words; this is in no way profitable and leads to the ruin of the hearers.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.

Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver bowls, but also those of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.

The Lord’s slave must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient,

But they will not make further progress, for their lack of understanding will be clear to all, as theirs was also.

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 tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new.

There is reserved for me in the future the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved His appearing.

At my first defense, no one stood by me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be counted against them.

one who is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of wildness or rebellion.

For an overseer, as God’s administrator, must be blameless, not arrogant, not hot-tempered, not addicted to wine, not a bully, not greedy for money,

It is necessary to silence them; they overthrow whole households by teaching what they shouldn’t in order to get money dishonestly.

and may not pay attention to Jewish myths and the commands of men who reject the truth.

In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not addicted to much wine. They are to teach what is good,

to be self-controlled, pure, homemakers, kind, and submissive to their husbands, so that God’s message will not be slandered.

Slaves are to be submissive to their masters in everything, and to be well-pleasing, not talking back

He saved us—
not by works of righteousness that we had done,
but according to His mercy,
through the washing of regeneration
and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

And our people must also learn to devote themselves to good works for cases of urgent need, so that they will not be unfruitful.

But I didn’t want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might not be out of obligation, but of your own free will.

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

Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation?

We must, therefore, pay even more attention to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.

For He has not subjected to angels the world to come that we are talking about.

and subjected everything under his feet.

For in subjecting everything to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. As it is, we do not yet see everything subjected to him.

For the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers,

For it is clear that He does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring.

do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness,

for 40 years.
Therefore I was provoked with that generation
and said, “They always go astray in their hearts,
and they have not known My ways.”

So I swore in My anger,
“They will not enter My rest.”

As it is said:

Today, if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.

And who was He provoked with for 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?

And who did He swear to that they would not enter His rest, if not those who disobeyed?

For we also have received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard did not benefit them, since they were not united with those who heard it in faith

(for we who have believed enter the rest), in keeping with what He has said:

So I swore in My anger,
they will not enter My rest.

And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world,

Since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience,

again, He specifies a certain day—today—speaking through David after such a long time, as previously stated:

Today, if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts.

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin.

In the same way, the Messiah did not exalt Himself to become a high priest, but the One who said to Him, You are My Son; today I have become Your Father,

Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food.

Therefore, leaving the elementary message about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, faith in God,

For God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you showed for His name when you served the saints—and you continue to serve them.

If then, perfection came through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there for another priest to appear, said to be in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron?

but He became a priest with an oath made by the One who said to Him:

The Lord has sworn,
and He will not change His mind,
You are a priest forever.

For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

He doesn’t need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do—first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all when He offered Himself.

a minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that was set up by the Lord and not man.

not like the covenant
that I made with their ancestors
on the day I took them by their hands
to lead them out of the land of Egypt.
I disregarded them, says the Lord,
because they did not continue in My covenant.

And each person will not teach his fellow citizen,
and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,”
because they will all know Me,
from the least to the greatest of them.

The cherubim of glory were above it overshadowing the mercy seat. It is not possible to speak about these things in detail right now.

The Holy Spirit was making it clear that the way into the most holy place had not yet been disclosed while the first tabernacle was still standing.

But the Messiah has appeared, high priest of the good things that have come. In the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation),

He entered the most holy place once for all, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.