[For my hope is] that their hearts may be encouraged as they are knit together in [unselfish] love, so that they may have all the riches that come from the full assurance of understanding [the joy of salvation], resulting in a true [and more intimate] knowledge of the mystery of God, that is, Christ,

For although, as you say, I am absent from you in body, yet in spirit I am present with you and am delighted to witness your good discipline and the solid front presented by your faith in Christ.

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

See that there be no one who shall lead you away as a prey through philosophy and vain deceit, according to the teaching of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ.

having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him [to a new life] through [your] faith in the working of God, [as displayed] when He raised Christ from the dead.

And to you--dead as you once were in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your natural state--He has nevertheless given Life with Himself, having forgiven us all our transgressions.

And the hostile princes and rulers He shook off from Himself, and boldly displayed them as His conquests, when by the Cross He triumphed over them.

Therefore suffer no one to sit in judgement on you as to eating or drinking or with regard to a festival, a new moon or a sabbath.

Let no one defraud you of your prize [your freedom in Christ and your salvation] by insisting on mock humility and the worship of angels, going into detail about visions [he claims] he has seen [to justify his authority], puffed up [in conceit] by his unspiritual mind,

He does not hold on to the head, from whom the whole body, which is nourished and held together by its joints and ligaments, grows as God enables it.

Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

To such ordinances as 'Do not handle, or taste, or touch'?

All of these things will be destroyed as they are used, because they are based on human commands and teachings.

which things indeed have a pretence to wisdom in voluntary worship, and humiliation, and bodily penance, as having no regard to the satisfying of the flesh.

For you died [to this world], and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God.

As soon as, the Christ, shall be made manifest - our life, then, ye also, together with him, shall be made manifest in glory;

Make dead, therefore, your members that are on the earth - as regardeth fornication, impurity, passion, base coveting, and greed, the which, is idolatry, -

You used to behave like them as you lived among them.

But now, put off all such things as anger, rage, malice, slander, abusive language from your mouth.

and have clothed yourselves with the new self which is being remoulded into full knowledge so as to become like Him who created it.

[In this state] there cannot be [such distinctions as] Greek [i.e., Gentile] and Jew; circumcised people and non-circumcised people; barbarian and Scythian [Note: These last two words refer to foreigners whose language was unintelligible and who were uncivilized heathens], or slave and free person; but Christ is all [that is important] and [He is] in all [of His people].

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always].

Let the [spoken] word of Christ have its home within you [dwelling in your heart and mind—permeating every aspect of your being] as you teach [spiritual things] and admonish and train one another with all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

And whatever you have to say or do, do it all as followers of the Lord Jesus, and offer your thanksgiving to God the Father through him.

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

Fathers, stop exasperating your children, so as to keep them from losing heart.

Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

For you know that it is from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. Christ is the Master whose bondservants you are.

as for you, masters, give to your servants what is just and suitable: considering that you also have a master in heaven.

praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;

That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.

Let your word be always with grace, seasoned with salt, so as to know how ye ought to answer each one.

As to all my affairs, Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information.

Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, wishes to be remembered to you; as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him);

Epaphras, who is one of you and a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. [He is] always striving for you in his prayers, praying with genuine concern, [pleading] that you may [as people of character and courage] stand firm, [spiritually mature] and fully assured in all the will of God.

I can bear testimony to the deep interest he takes in you, as well as in the Brethren at Laodicea and at Hierapolis.

Luke the physician, our dear friend, greets you, [as does] Demas.

And, as soon as the epistle hath been read amongst you, cause that, in the assembly of Laodiceans also, it be read; and, that from Laodicea, that, ye also, read.

And tell Archippus to discharge carefully the duties devolving upon him as a servant of the Lord.

We thank God always for all of you as we mention you constantly in our prayers,

as we recall your active faith and labour of love and patient hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father.

knowing as we do, brethren, that you are beloved by God and that He has chosen you.

For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.

And you took us and the Lord as your example, after the word had come to you in much trouble, with joy in the Holy Spirit;

As a result, you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

From you the word of the Lord has spread out not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place where your faith in God has become known. As a result, we do not need to say anything about it.

But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.

But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:

Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.

But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:

Having such a deep affection for you, we were delighted to share with you not only God’s good news but also our own lives, because you had become so very dear to us.

For you remember, brethren, our labour and toil: how, working night and day so as not to become a burden to any one of you, we came and proclaimed among you God's Good News.

You are witnesses, and so is God, as to how holy and righteous and blameless our conduct was toward you who believe.

As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,

as a father his own children, And charged you to walk worthy of God, who hath called you to his kingdom and glory.

For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:

which as they killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, even so have they persecuted us, and God they please not, and are contrary to all men:

forbidding us from speaking to the Gentiles (non-Jews) so that they may be saved. So, as always, they fill up [to the brim] the measure of their sins [allotted to them by God]. But [God’s] wrath has come upon them at last [completely and forever].

But as for us, brothers, after we were forced to leave you for a short time (in person, not in heart), we greatly desired and made every effort to return and see you face to face.

And so, as we could bear it no longer, we made up our minds to remain behind alone at Athens,

and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith,

so that no one would be unsettled by these difficulties [to which I have referred]. For you know that we have been destined for this [as something unavoidable in our position].

For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.

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:

For now we can go on living, as long as you continue to stand firm in the Lord.

as we pray very earnestly night and day to see you face to face and to complete what is lacking in your faith?

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

so as to strengthen your hearts and make them blameless in holiness before our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. [Amen.]

Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:

That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

as indeed is your practice towards all the brothers throughout all Macedonia. We beseech you, brothers, to excel in this more and more;

And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

so as to live worthy lives in relation to outsiders, and not be a burden to any one.

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 if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also we believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep as Christians.

For we tell you, as the Lord has told us, that we the living, who survive till the Lord comes, are by no means to take precedence of those who have fallen asleep.

Now as to the times and dates, brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you.

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

but we being of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as helmet the hope of salvation;

Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

And we ask you, brethren, to know those labouring among you, and leading you in the Lord, and admonishing you,

Under all circumstances give thanks to God. For this is his will for you as made known in Christ Jesus.

But, the God of peace himself, hallow you completely, and, entire, might your spirit, and soul, and body, - so as to be unblameable in the Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, - be preserved!

We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;

As a result, we rejoice about you among God's churches about your endurance and faith through all the persecutions and afflictions you are experiencing.

For it is an act of righteousness on God's part to give trouble as their reward to those who are troubling you,

and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire,

He will come in flames of fire to take vengeance on those who have no knowledge of God, and do not obey the Good News as to Jesus, our Lord.

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