And our desire is that you will keep control over those whose lives are not well ordered, giving comfort to the feeble-hearted, supporting those with little strength, and putting up with much from all.

Continue to abstain from every sort of evil.

And may the God of peace himself make you holy in every way; and may your spirit and soul and body be free from all sin at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. {The end of the First Epistle unto the Thessalonians, Sent from Athens.}

From Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ.

Unceasing thanks are due from us to God on your behalf, brethren. They are appropriate because your faith is growing greatly, and the love of every one of you for all the others goes on increasing.

so that you are the subject of our glorying in the churches of God, for the constancy of your faith, under all the persecutions and afflictions you endure from men,

and to give rest to you who are being crushed with sorrows, along with us, at the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ from heaven, with His mighty angels

These will receive the punishment of eternal destruction as exiles from the presence of the Lord and His glorious might,

With this in view, our constant prayer for you is that our God may count you worthy of the Call that you have received, and by his power make perfect your delight in all goodness and the efforts that have resulted from your faith.

not to let your minds be easily unsettled or even be excited, whether by some message by the Spirit or by some saying or letter that is claimed as coming from me, saying that the day of the Lord is already here.

Give no belief to false words: because there will first be a falling away from the faith, and the revelation of the man of sin, the son of destruction,

And you know what restrains him now [from being revealed]; it is so that he will be revealed at his own [appointed] time.

For the mystery of lawlessness is already working, only he who restrains it until now will develop from the midst.

We ought always to be thanking God for you, brothers dearly loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through the Spirit's consecration of you and through your faith in the truth,

So then, brothers, continue to stand firm and keep a tight grip on the teachings you have received from us, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

and that we may be delivered from unprincipled and wicked men; for not all men have faith.

But the Lord is to be trusted, and He will give you strength and guard you from the evil one.

Now we charge you, brothers, on the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, to hold yourselves aloof from any brother who is living as a shirker instead of following the teachings you received from us.

nor did we eat bread gratis from any man, but in labor and toil, working night and day in order not to burden any of you.

This was not because we had not a claim upon you, but it arose from a desire to set you an example--for you to imitate us.

And to such we proclaim and beseech by our Lord Jesus Christ, that, with freedom from care working, they should eat their own bread.

But be not you, my brethren, discouraged from well-doing. And if any obey not our order,

And if any man does not give attention to what we have said in this letter, take note of that man, and keep away from him, so that he may be shamed.

May the Lord, from whom all peace comes, himself give you his peace at all times and in all ways. May he be with you all.

These words of love to you at the end are in my writing, Paul's writing, and this is the mark of every letter from me.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you all. Amen. {The end of the Second Epistle unto the Thessalonians, Sent from Athens.}

From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,

to Timothy my genuine child in faith: spiritual blessing, mercy, and peace be with you from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

At my departure from Macedonia, I advised you to stay at Ephesus in order to charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine,

Or to give attention to stories and long lists of generations, from which come questionings and doubts, in place of God's ordered way of life which is in faith;

But the effect of the order is love coming from a clean heart, and a knowledge of what is right, and true faith:

Some people have stepped aside from these things and turned to fruitless talking.

and the loving-kindness of our Lord was boundless, and filled me with that faith and love which come from union with Christ Jesus.

Now to the King of the ages, the incorruptible, invisible, only wise God, be honor and glory from age to age. Amen.)

Holding faith and a good conscience, - which some, thrusting from them, concerning their faith, have made shipwreck: -

Among these people are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered over to Satan [Note: This probably refers to withdrawing fellowship from them. See I Cor. 5:1-5], so that they would learn not to speak against God [anymore].

I desire therefore the men to pray in every place, lifting up devout hands, apart from anger and argument.

Let the woman, in freedom from care, learn in all subjection.

But I do not allow a woman to teach, nor to act autonomously from a man, but to be in quietness.

But she [i.e., womankind] will be saved [from condemnation, in spite of the "curse" of suffering pain] through childbearing [See Gen. 3:16], provided they [i.e., all women] continue to have faith and love and holiness, along with discretion.

Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of [only] one wife, sober-minded [Note: When this word, used here figuratively, is used in its literal sense, it means to abstain from intoxicating drinks], sensible, respectable, hospitable, capable of teaching.

not given to excesses from wine, not a striker, but mild, not addicted to contention, not fond of money,

He must not be a new convert, or he may grow conceited and incur criticism from slanderous people.

And he must also have good testimony from those outside, lest he may fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Keeping the secret of the faith in a heart free from sin.

their wives must be likewise grave, free from scandal, sober, and always faithful.

For those who have done good work as Deacons get for themselves a good position and become free from fear in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Now the Spirit distinctly declares that in later times some will turn away from the faith, because they continuously give their attention to deceiving spirits and the things that demons teach

through plausible sophists who are seared in conscience ??3 men who prohibit marriage and insist on abstinence from foods which God created for believing men, who understand the Truth, to partake of with thanksgiving.

who forbid people to marry and teach them to abstain from certain sorts of food which God created for the grateful enjoyment of those who have faith and a clear knowledge of the truth.

But, from the profane and old-wives' stories, excuse thyself, and be training thyself unto godliness;

don't neglect the gift you have, which was given you with the ministerial charge, when you receiv'd imposition of hands from the presbytery.

Widows who really need it must be supported from the funds.

Press these facts upon them, so that they may live lives free from reproach.

But to the younger widows say No: for when their love is turned away from Christ, they have a desire to be married;

Besides, as they get the habit of gadding about from house to house, they learn to be idle, and not only idle but gossips and busybodies, talking of things they ought not to mention.

For some [young widows] have already turned away [from their commitment to God] to serve Satan.

If a Christian woman has widowed relatives, she should help them, and let the church be free from the burden, so that it can help the widows who are really dependent.

For the Writings say, It is not right to keep the ox from taking the grain when he is crushing it. And, The worker has a right to his reward.

Against an elder receive not an accusation from without, except from two or three witnesses.

I solemnly testify before God, and Lord Jesus Christ, and the chosen agents, that thou keep these things without prejudice, doing nothing from partiality.

Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.

Those who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters as deserving of full respect. This will prevent the name of God and Christian teaching from being discredited.

They, however, that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are, brethren but, the more, be doing them service, because, believing and beloved, are they who, from the good workmanship, receive advantage. These things, be teaching, and exhorting: -

If any one deviate from this doctrine, not adhering to the wholesome instructions of our Lord Jesus Christ, the true doctrine of piety,

he is puffed up, understanding nothing, but doting about disputes and word controversies, from which develop envy, strife, revilings, evil surmisings,

constant frictions of men corrupted in mind, and destitute of the truth, supposing piety to be a means of gain. Withdraw from such.

Nothing to this world we bring; from it take we nothing.

For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil, and some men in reaching after riches have wandered from the faith and pierced their hearts with many a pang.

But you, as a man of God, must be fleeing always from these things; you must constantly strive for uprightness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

To keep the word untouched by evil, clear from all shame, till the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ:

He alone possesses immortality [absolute exemption from death] and lives in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal power and dominion! Amen.

Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you; continue to turn away from the worldly, futile phrases and contradictions of what is falsely called "knowledge,"

Through which some, who gave their minds to it, have been turned away from the faith. Grace be with you.

From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to further the promise of life in Christ Jesus,

to my dearly loved child, Timothy: spiritual blessing, mercy, and peace be with you from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I have gratitude to God whom I serve from the forefathers in a pure conscience, as I have unceasing remembrance about thee in my supplications, night and day

The reason I am reminding you [of these things] is so that you will rekindle the gift from God, which is in your life through the laying on my hands. [Note: This "gift" was probably his ordination to serve as an evangelist (See 4:1-5), and in addition, may have included a supernatural "spiritual gift" bestowed by the apostle Paul].

who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and the grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,

but now [that extraordinary purpose and grace] has been fully disclosed and realized by us through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus who [through His incarnation and earthly ministry] abolished death [making it null and void] and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

Continue to be an example in wholesome instructions which you learned from me, in the faith and love that come through union with Christ Jesus.

This thou know, that all those in Asia turned away from me, of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

(may the Lord grant him to find mercy from Lord in that day), and in how many things he ministered at Ephesus, thou know very well.

As for you, my son, strenuously acquit yourself of the charge you have receiv'd from Christ Jesus.

The things you learned from me before many witnesses you must commit to trustworthy men who will be competent to teach others too.

A fighting man, when he is with the army, keeps himself free from the business of this life so that he may be pleasing to him who has taken him into his army.

Continue to remember Jesus Christ as risen from the dead, and descended from David, in accordance with the good news that I preach,

and that is why I submit to anything for the sake of God's People, that they also may obtain the Salvation which comes from union with Christ Jesus, and imperishable glory.

Put these things before them, giving them orders in the name of the Lord to keep themselves from fighting about words, which is of no profit, only causing error in their hearers.

and the profane vain talkings stand aloof from, for to more impiety they will advance,

and their discourse will eat like a gangrene. Of whom is Hymeneus and Philetus; who have erred from the truth,

Men whose ideas are all false, who say that the coming back from the dead has even now taken place, overturning the faith of some.

But God's foundation stands unshaken, with these inscriptions: "The Lord knows the people who belong to Him" and "Everyone who bears the name of the Lord must abstain from evil."

So if a man will cleanse himself from these things, he will be an instrument for honorable uses, consecrated, useful for the Master, and ready for any good service.

You must keep on fleeing from the evil impulses of youth, but ever strive for uprightness, faith, love, and peace, in association with those who call upon the Lord with pure hearts.

But, from the foolish and undisciplined questionings, excuse thyself, knowing that they gender strifes;

and they might recover their senses and escape from the devil's trap in which they have been caught by him to do his will.

having a form of piety, but repudiating the power of it. Now turn away from these men,