[It is being sent] to Timothy, my dearly loved son. May you have unearned favor, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

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].

You should hold on firmly to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, while [maintaining your] faith and love in [harmony with] Christ Jesus.

So, may you, my son, be strengthened through the unearned favor that comes from [your fellowship with] Christ Jesus.

And the things that you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, you should pass on to trustworthy men who will be able to teach other people also.

[In the face of trouble] remember Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, who was raised from the dead according to my Gospel,

who have strayed from the truth [by] saying that the resurrection [from the dead] has already happened and are undermining the faith of some people.

But run from the evil desires of youth and pursue [the practice of] right living, faith, love and peace, along with those people who call on the Lord [i.e., in prayer] from a pure heart.

and that they will come to their senses and escape from being trapped by the devil, who had captured them to do what he wanted.

[These people] maintain an appearance of being godly, but they have denied its power; [you should] turn away from such people.

persecutions and sufferings. You know what kind of things happened to me at Antioch, Iconium and Lystra [See Acts 13:13-14:23], and what [severe] persecutions I experienced [there]. But the Lord rescued me from all of them.

But evil people and impostors will go from bad to worse [in their behavior], deceiving people and being deceived by them.

But you should continue [to believe and practice] what you have learned and been convinced of, knowing those from whom you learned it. [Note: These persons would include Lois and Eunice (See 1:5), as well as Paul himself].

And [remember] that, from childhood, you have known the sacred Scriptures which are able to make you wise [enough] to be saved through faith in Christ Jesus.

But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message could be fully proclaimed and that all the Gentiles could hear it. And I was rescued from the lion's mouth. [Note: This is probably a figure of speech indicating that Paul had escaped some immediate danger. See Psa. 22:20-21].

The Lord will [continue to] rescue me from all harm and will bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. May He be praised forever and ever. May it be so.

[This letter is from] Paul, a slave of God, and an apostle for [the benefit of] the faith of God's elect [i.e., His chosen people] and [to spread] the knowledge of the truth which leads to godliness,

[It is being sent] to Titus, my true son, [who shares] in a common faith. [May you have] unearned favor and peace [which come] from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

As God's manager [of the church], an overseer must be free from just blame, not a drunkard, not a fighter [and] not in love with money.

He gave Himself up for us, to buy us back from [enslavement to] all [kinds of] wickedness and to purify for Himself a group of people who belong to Him and who are eager to do good deeds.

After you have warned a divisive person twice, have nothing more to do with him [i.e., withdraw spiritual fellowship from him].

[This letter is from] Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, [and is being sent] to Philemon our dearly loved [brother] and fellow-worker,

May there be unearned favor to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

For I have much joy and encouragement from [observing] your love, because you have cheered the hearts of the saints [i.e., God's holy people], brother.

And another thing: Prepare a place for me to stay, because I hope that through [an answer to] your prayers I will be returned to you. [Note: Paul was hoping to be released from imprisonment to visit Philemon at Colosse].

So [then], we [Christians] should pay closer attention to the things we have heard, so that we do not drift away from [believing and practicing] them.

For God did not place the coming inhabited world [Note: "The coming inhabited world" here probably refers to the present Christian age. It was viewed as "coming" from the perspective of Old Testament times], under the control of angels [and] that is the world we are talking about.

For, both the One who makes people holy [i.e., Jesus], and those who are made holy [i.e., Christians], all come from one [Father], and for this reason Christ is not ashamed to call them His brothers,

Pay attention, brothers, so that there will not be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, [resulting] in falling away from the living God.

For we have become sharers with Christ, if we hold firmly onto the confidence [we had in Him] from the beginning until the end [of our lives].

For God said this somewhere about the seventh day [Gen. 2:2], "And on the seventh day God rested from all His work."

For the person who has entered into a state of rest with God has rested from his own work also, just as God rested from His.

For God's word is alive and active and sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates [deep enough] even to divide [a person's] soul [from his] spirit, and his joints [from his] bone marrow [Note: This is figurative language describing the penetrating effect of God's word into a person's spiritual, inner being] and is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of a person's heart.

And no created being is hidden from God's sight, but everything is laid bare and is openly visible to the eyes of God, to whom we must give account.

For every head priest is chosen from among men, and is appointed on behalf of people, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

During His life on earth Jesus offered up prayers and special requests with loud crying and tears to God, who was able to save Him from dying, and He was heard because of His [earnest] devotion [to God].

[And] although He was a Son, still He learned obedience from the things He suffered,

But "solid food" is for mature people, who because of using their [spiritual] senses, have become able to distinguish good from evil.

So, we should leave the basic principles of Christ's teaching and go on to maturity. [We should] not lay again a foundation of repentance [i.e., turning away] from deeds of death [i.e., acts that lead to spiritual death or that spring from a spiritually dead person], and of faith in God;

and of teaching about immersions [Note: The use of the plural word here suggests teaching on the distinctions between Jewish washings and John's and Christian immersion, whether in water or the Holy Spirit. See Acts 19:1-7], and about placing hands on people [Note: This act was practiced in the appointment of church leaders, in healing sick people and to impart supernatural gifts], and about people being raised from the dead and about never ending judgment.

And we will do so [i.e., go on to more advanced teaching] if God allows us to. For it is impossible to get people who have [completely] fallen away [from God] to repent again, because they [continue to] crucify for themselves God's Son all over again, and hold Him up to contempt.

[These are people] who were once enlightened [by the Gospel message], who had experienced the gift from heaven [i.e., forgiveness, never ending life, etc. See Rom. 6:23], who had partaken of the Holy Spirit [See Acts 2:38],

But, my dearly loved ones, even though we talk this way, we are persuaded that you will do better than that [i.e., you will not fall away from God], and will end up being saved.

For this Melchizedek was king of Salem [Note: This probably refers to Jerusalem], and a priest of the Most High God. He met Abraham returning [from battle] when he defeated the kings [See Gen. 14:1ff] and blessed him.

But Melchizedek, whose ancestry is not traced from the Levites, has collected a tenth [of the spoils] from Abraham, and blessed him who had received promises [from God].

And in the one case, men here [on earth, that is, the Levites] who die, collect a tenth [from the rest of the Israelites], but there [i.e., in the case of Melchizedek] it is collected by someone about whom it is declared [by Scripture] that he continues to live.

And, so to speak, Levi, who collected a tenth [from the Israelites], paid a tenth through Abraham,

For the Lord [See next verse], about whom these things are being said, belonged to another tribe, from which no one has [ever] been appointed to serve at the Altar.

For it is quite evident that our Lord has descended from Judah, a tribe about which Moses said nothing concerning priests.

And on one hand, many people were appointed to be [Levitical] priests because they were prevented by death from continuing [to serve]. [Note: The idea is that Levitical priests had to be constantly replaced].

For Jesus was a very suitable head priest for us [i.e., He meets our needs very well], because He was holy, innocent, without [moral] corruption, separated from sinners and [exalted] above the heavens.

For the law of Moses appoints [morally] weak men to be head priests, but the message of [God's] oath, which came after that law [Note: The quotation from Psa. 110:4 (See verse 21) was written after the law of Moses was given] appointed the Son, who was made perfect [in every way] forever.

And everyone will not [have to] teach his neighbor or his brother [anymore], telling them to 'Know the Lord,' because all of them will know me [as their Lord], from the least [important] ones to the most important ones.

how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Holy Spirit [or, His eternal Spirit] offered Himself without [moral] blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from deeds which lead to [spiritual] death to serve the living God?

And, according to the law of Moses, almost everything is [ceremonially] cleansed by blood, for there is no forgiveness [of sins] apart from the shedding of blood.

From that time onward He will wait until His enemies are placed [in full subjection] under His feet.

we should draw close [to God] with a sincere heart and a fully assured faith, having had our hearts sprinkled from a guilty conscience [See 9:13-14] and having had our bodies washed with clean water [i.e., in our immersion].

[So], we should hold on firmly to the profession of our hope [in God], without wavering from it, for God is faithful to His promises.

And my [i.e., God's] righteous person will [obtain] life by [his] faith [in God]. But if he turns back [from me], my soul is not pleased with him."

By [having] faith, when Noah was warned [by God] about conditions that had not yet been seen [i.e., regarding events of the coming Flood], he acted out of reverent concern [for God] by constructing a ship to save [i.e., rescue] his household [from the Flood waters]. By this [i.e., his faith which led to action], Noah condemned the world and inherited righteousness because of his faith.

Therefore, from one man [Abraham], who was as good as dead [i.e., because of having a sterile wife], were born descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the [grains of] sand on the seashore.

These people [all] continued to have faith until they died, [even though] they had not obtained [all] the things God had promised, but had [only] seen them and welcomed them from a distance. And they had confessed to being strangers and aliens on earth.

[So], he reasoned that God was able to raise up [Isaac] from the dead, which, in a sense, he did receive him back [from the dead].

By [having] faith, when Joseph was about to die, he mentioned the Israelites' departure [from Egypt] and gave [them] instructions concerning his bones [i.e., that they were to take them back to Palestine. See Gen. 50:25].

By [having] faith, he established the Passover Festival [Note: This festival was first celebrated in Egypt by the fleeing Israelites, then observed annually in commemoration of that event], and had [lambs'] blood sprinkled [on the door jambs] to prevent the one who destroyed the firstborn children from touching them. [See Ex. 12:23].

Now think about how Jesus endured such opposition against Himself from sinners, so that you do not grow weary and become discouraged [yourself].

Look carefully [at how you are living] so that no one falls away from God's unearned favor, and that no "poisonous plant sprouts up" to cause trouble and corrupt many people [Note: This is an analogy from Deut. 29:16-18 being used as a warning against the evil influence of wicked people],

to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words [from God] that the hearers begged not to have to listen to [anymore]. [See Ex. 20:19].

and to the church of the firstborn ones [i.e., those who have received an inheritance from their Father], whose names are recorded in heaven. [See Luke 10:20]. [You have come] to God, who is the Judge of all people, and to the spirits of righteous people who have become [morally] perfect [i.e., that great company of God's people who have gone on to their heavenly reward],

Pay careful attention so that you do not refuse [to hear] God when He speaks to you. [See verse 9]. For if those people [i.e., the Israelites] did not escape [judgment] when they refused [to hear] Him who warned them on earth [i.e., God speaking through Moses at Mount Sinai], how much less [likely] will we escape [judgment] if we reject Him who warns from heaven [i.e., Christ]?

Keep your lives free from the love of money [and be] content with what you have, because God [Himself] has said [Deut. 31:6], "By no means will I [ever] desert you or give up on you."

[Now] we [Christians] have an altar [i.e., the sacrifice of Christ] from which people who serve in the Tabernacle [i.e., the Jews] have no right to eat.

So, we should go out to Him, outside of the camp [Note: This probably signifies separating from the whole system of Judaism, as well as full commitment to Christ], bearing the abuse that He suffered.

Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep [i.e., the church], through the blood of the never ending Agreement [i.e., Christ's blood],

I want you people to know that our brother Timothy has been released [from prison ?]. If he comes [to me] soon, I will bring him with me when I visit you.

Greet all of those who are your leaders, and all the saints [i.e., God's holy people]. Those [brothers] from Italy send you their greetings.

[This letter is from] James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, [who sends] greetings to the twelve tribes which are scattered throughout the world. [Note: This refers to Christians, probably of Jewish descent].

For that [doubting] person should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord [through prayer],

And the wealthy person [should be happy] that he is humbled [by God], because he will pass away like a flower [blossoming] from grass.

Every good thing that is given and every perfect gift [received] is from above, coming down from the Father of [heavenly] lights, with whom there can be no change or shifting shadow [i.e., God always remains the same].

Therefore, you should put away [from you] all moral filth and overflowing wickedness and humbly receive the word [of God], planted within you [by the Holy Spirit. See John 16:8], which is capable of saving your souls.

are you not making class distinctions among yourselves and judging [people] from evil motives?

Does a spring produce [both] fresh water and salt water from the same opening?

Who [then] is the wise and understanding person among you? He should show by his good conduct [that he has] deeds of gentleness [stemming] from wisdom.

This "wisdom" is not the kind that comes from [God] above, but is earthly, unspiritual and demonic [i.e., it is motivated by an evil spirit and not the Holy Spirit].

But the [true] wisdom, which is from [God] above, is first of all pure, then peace-loving, patient and easily persuaded. [It is] full of mercy and produces a crop of good deeds; [it is] impartial [or, unwavering] and sincere.

Where do conflicts and fights among you come from? Do they not come from your [desire for] pleasures which produces inner conflict?

[When] you do ask, you do not receive it, because you ask from wrong motives, [just] so you can satisfy your own pleasures.

So, you should submit yourselves to God, but oppose the devil, and he will flee from you.

And if their prayer is [offered] by faith, [God] will heal the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up [from his sickbed]. And if he had sinned, he will be forgiven for them [Note: This may imply that the man's sickness was the result of some sin. In any event, his forgiveness would follow his repentance].

So, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another to be healed [from sin sickness]. The special request of a righteous person is empowered with [great] effectiveness.

My brothers, if anyone among you strays away from the truth [of God's inspired message], and someone brings him back [to it],

that person should know that whoever brings a sinner back from the error of his way will save that soul from [spiritual] death and will cover over a large number of sins [i.e., the many sins of that person will become forgiven].

God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is to be praised for being so merciful as to have given us a new birth, which provides for us a hope of never ending life through the means of Jesus Christ's return from the dead.

It was revealed to these prophets that you people, not they, were the ones being ministered to in the matters now being announced to you by those who preached the Gospel to you by the Holy Spirit, who was sent from heaven. [This message contained] things which angels would like to look into.

because it is written [Lev. 11:44f], "You shall be holy [i.e., separated from sin] even as I am holy."

You [should] know that you were bought back [from Satan], from your useless way of life, inherited from your forefathers, not with such perishable things as silver and gold,

[It is] through Christ, whom God raised from the dead and honored, that you people have become believers in God, so that your faith and hope could rest in God.

You have experienced new birth, not from seed that can decay, but from seed that cannot decay, through the living and enduring word of God.

For all forms of flesh are similar to grass, and all the splendor of [a person's] flesh is like the flower [which blossoms] from the grass. [But as with] grass, [a person's flesh] withers, and its flower [i.e., his splendor] falls off.