You should serve as shepherds of God's flock [i.e., the church], among whom you minister, providing careful oversight [of the people], not because you feel forced to, but because you want to, as this is in accordance with the way God wants it to be. Do not [serve as elders] simply out of a desire for the income you receive, but because your heart is in it.

not by way of lording it over your charges but proving a pattern to the flock.

In the same way, younger men, be subject to the elders, and all [of you] clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Do not give way to him but be strong in your faith, in the knowledge that your brothers who are in the world undergo the same troubles.

But he that lacketh these things is blind and gropeth for the way with his hand, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

For in this way entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly supplied for you.

I think it right, as long as I am in this earthly tent, to inspire you by reminding you,

And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

And sent destruction on Sodom and Gomorrah, burning them up with fire as an example to those whose way of life might in the future be unpleasing to him;

and if He rescued righteous Lot, who was tormented by the immoral conduct of unprincipled and ungodly men

Most of all, however, them who go their way, after the flesh, with a coveting of defilement, and who despise, lordship, - daring! willful! before dignitaries, they tremble not, defaming,

suffering harm as the wages for their harmful ways. By considering it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight, they are stains and blemishes, indulging in their deceitful pleasures when they feast together with you.

Having eyes full of evil desire, never having enough of sin; turning feeble souls out of the true way; they are children of cursing, whose hearts are well used to bitter envy;

Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

For, great swelling words of vanity, uttering, they entice with carnal covetings - in wanton ways - them who are, well-nigh, escaping from the men who, in error, have their behaviour;

They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to corrupt habits; for a man is the slave of anything to which he gives way.

If, after having escaped the polluting influences of the world, through knowing our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, men are again entangled in them, and give way to them, their last state has become worse than their first.

For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

Know this first, that mockers will come in the last days, in their mockery, men who walk the way of their own lusts

and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For, from since the fathers became asleep, all things continue this way from the beginning of creation.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his word, as he seems to some, but he is waiting in mercy for you, not desiring the destruction of any, but that all may be turned from their evil ways.

[Because] all these things are being destroyed in this way, what sort of [people] must you be in holy behavior and godliness,

He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

This is the message [of God’s promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection].

If we claim to share a relationship with God and yet live in darkness [i.e., in a sinful way], we are lying and are not living a truthful life.

But the person who obeys what His teaching requires, truly in this person love for God has been made complete. This is [another way] to be sure that we are in [fellowship with] Him:

whoever says he lives in Christ [that is, whoever says he has accepted Him as God and Savior] ought [as a moral obligation] to walk and conduct himself just as He walked and conducted Himself.

He who loves his brother man continues in the light, and his life puts no stumbling-block in the way of others.

Dear children, it is [now] the last hour [i.e., the final period of God's dealing with people on earth], and since you have heard that an antichrist [i.e., a person who is against Christ] is coming, even now [you should be aware that] many antichrists have [already] come. This is [one way] we know that this is the last hour.

I am writing these things to you about those whose purpose is that you may be turned out of the true way.

My little children, let no man take you out of the true way: he who does righteousness is upright, even as he is upright;

In this way it is clear who are the children of God and who are the children of the Evil One; anyone who does not do righteousness or who has no love for his brother, is not a child of God.

not [hate each other] the way Cain did, who belonged to the evil one [i.e., Satan], when he murdered his brother [Abel]. And why did he murder him? It was because his [own] actions were evil and his brother's were righteous [See Heb. 11:4].

We know what love is--through Christ's having laid down His life on our behalf; and in the same way we ought to lay down our lives for our brother men.

Little children [i.e., dear ones], we should not [merely] claim to love [people], or [even just] talk about it, but [we should love] by what we do [for them] in a genuine way.

And in this way we shall come to know that we are loyal to the truth, and shall satisfy our consciences in His presence

The one who keeps His commands remains in Him, and He in him. And the way we know that He remains in us is from the Spirit He has given us.

This is the way by which to know the inspiration of God--All inspiration that acknowledges Jesus Christ as come in our human nature is from God;

We are God's children. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not a child of God will not listen to us. In this way we can tell what is inspired by truth from what is inspired by error.

God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

In this way is seen the true love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another.

This is [one way] to know we live in [fellowship with] God and that He lives in our hearts: [It is] because He has given us His Holy Spirit [to live within us, See 3:24].

In this way love is made complete in us, so that we may be without fear on the day of judging, because as he is, so are we in this world.

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

In this way, we are certain that we have love for the children of God, when we have love for God and keep his laws.

The one who believes in the Son of God [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies confidently on Him as Savior] has the testimony within himself [because he can speak authoritatively about Christ from his own personal experience]. The one who does not believe God [in this way] has made Him [out to be] a liar, because he has not believed in the evidence that God has given regarding His Son.

I have written in this way to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may be sure you have life eternal.

If anyone [of you] observes his brother [or sister] sinning [in a way that would not lead] to [spiritual] death, he should ask [God, in prayer, to help that person], and God will give him [spiritual] life, [that is], to such ones, provided their sin is not leading to [spiritual] death. There is such a sin that leads to [spiritual] death. [See Heb. 6:4-6; I Tim. 5:6; Heb. 10:26-27; II Pet. 2:20-22]. I am not suggesting that you should ask [God, in prayer] about such a situation.

It gave me great joy to see some of your children walking in the true way, even as we were ordered to do by the Father.

Beloved, I pray that in every way you may succeed and prosper and be in good health [physically], just as [I know] your soul prospers [spiritually].

For it gave me great joy when some of the brothers came and gave witness that you had the true faith and were walking in the true way.

I have no greater joy than to have news that my children are walking in the true way.

and they have testified before the church of your love and friendship. You will do well to [assist them and] send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.

as Sodom and Gomorrah and the towns around them indulged in sexual immorality and {pursued unnatural desire} [in] the same way as these, are exhibited as an example [by] undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

Despite that, in the same way also these [men], [because of their] dreams, defile the flesh and reject authority and blaspheme majestic beings.

But these people [i.e., the "certain men" of verse 4] speak against whatever they do not understand, and what they do understand naturally, the way animals do, proves to be their ruination.

Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly deeds they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh and cruel things ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God] will not be hurt by the second death (the lake of fire).’

Yet I have a few things against you, because you have with you some that cling to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling-block in the way of the descendants of Israel--to eat what had been sacrificed to idols, and commit fornication.

You also have some who in the same way are holding to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

Still I have this against you: you are tolerating that Jezebel of a woman who styles herself a prophetess and seduces my servants by teaching them to give way to sexual vice and to eat food which has been sacrificed to idols.

And I gave her time for a change of heart, but she has no mind to give up her unclean ways.

So I will cast her on a sickbed, and I will throw those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her ways.

The one who conquers in this way will be dressed in white clothing, and I will never erase his name from the book of life, and I will declare his name before my Father and before his angels.

To all those who are dear to me, I give sharp words and punishment: then with all your heart have sorrow for your evil ways.

The fourth angel sounded, and one third of the sun was struck, and one third of the moon, and one third of the stars; so that one third of them would be darkened, and the day wouldn't shine for one third of it, and the night in the same way.

And in those days shall men seek death, and shall in no way find it; and shall desire to die, and death flees from them.

And in this way I saw the horses in the vision, and those seated on them, who had fiery [red] and hyacinth-colored and sulphurous [yellow] breastplates, and the heads of the horses [were] like the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire and smoke and sulphur.

And if anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouth and consumes their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, in this way he must be killed.

And their slain bodies upon the spacious way of the great city, which is called spiritually Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

And the great dragon was forced down, the old snake, who is named the Evil One and Satan, by whom all the earth is turned from the right way; he was forced down to the earth, and his angels were forced down with him.

Whoever leads others into captivity will go into captivity himself. Whoever kills with the sword must be killed with the sword himself. In this way will be shown the patient endurance and the fidelity of God's people.

And those who are on the earth are turned from the true way by him through the signs which he was given power to do before the beast; giving orders to those who are on the earth to make an image to the beast, who was wounded by the sword, and came to life.

And a second angel came after, saying, Destruction has come to Babylon the great, which gave to all the nations the wine of the wrath of her evil ways.

In this way is shown the patient endurance of God's people, who always cling to God's commands and their faith in Jesus.

And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

People were [severely] burned by the great heat; and they reviled the name of God who has power over these plagues, but they did not repent [of their sin] and glorify Him.

And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

And there were lightnings and sounds and thunders, and there was a great earthquake, as has not happened from the [time] humanity has been on the earth--so great in this way [was] the earthquake.

and on her forehead a name was written by way of symbol, "Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of all abominations on earth."

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

And the Wild Beast which once existed but does not now exist--he is an eighth king and yet is one of the seven and he goes his way into perdition.

For through the wine of the wrath of her evil desires all the nations have come to destruction; and the kings of the earth made themselves unclean with her, and the traders of the earth had their wealth increased by the power of her evil ways.

because her sins have piled up all the way to heaven and God has remembered her crimes.

Pay her back the way she also paid,
and double it according to her works.
In the cup in which she mixed,
mix a double portion for her.

However much she glorified herself, and grew wanton, so much give her of torment and mourning. For she says in her heart, 'I sit a queen, and am no widow, and will in no way see mourning.'

standing a long way off, in fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, the strong city, Babylon! In a single hour your judgment has come.’

The merchants who handled these articles, who grew wealthy from [their business with] her, will stand a long way off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

because in one hour all the vast wealth has been laid waste.’ And every ship captain or navigator, and every passenger and sailor, and all who make their living by the sea, stood a long way off,

Be glad, heaven, and you saints, and you apostles, and you prophets, for God has brought judgment on her for you [i.e., for the way she treated you].'"

And one powerful angel picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw [it] into the sea, saying, "In this way Babylon the great city will be thrown down with violence, and will never be found again!

And never again will the shining of lights be seen in you; and the voice of the newly-married man and the bride will never again be sounding in you: for your traders were the lords of the earth, and by your evil powers were all the nations turned out of the right way.

Then I saw heaven open, and there before me was a white horse whose rider was called "Faithful and True." And He [i.e., Christ] judges and wages war in a just way.

And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who did the signs before him, by which they were turned from the true way who had the mark of the beast, and who gave worship to his image: these two were put living into the sea of ever-burning fire.

And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the Book of Life; and the dead were judged according to what they had done as written in the books [that is, everything done while on earth].

He who talked to me had a golden wand by way of a measuring-rod, to measure the City and its gates and wall;