There is no one but Luke with me. Pick up Mark on your way, and bring him with you, for he is useful to me in my work.

But the Lord came to my help and strengthened me, in order that, through me, the proclamation should be made so widely that all the Gentiles should hear it; and I was rescued 'out of the Lion's mouth.'

Everything is pure to the pure-minded, but to those whose minds are polluted and who are unbelievers nothing is pure. Their minds and consciences are alike polluted.

They profess to know God, but by their actions they disown him. They are degraded and self-willed; and, as far as anything good is concerned, they are utterly worthless.

Teach them not to contradict or to pilfer, but to show such praiseworthy fidelity in everything, as to recommend the teaching about God our Savior by all that they do.

But, when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for man were revealed, he saved us,

not as the result of any righteous actions that we had done, but in fulfillment of his merciful purposes. He saved us by that Washing which was a New Birth to us, and by the renewing power of the Holy Spirit,

But have nothing to do with foolish discussions, or with genealogies, or with controversy, or disputes about the Law. They are useless and futile.

Because I hear of the love and the faith which you show, not only to the Lord Jesus, but also to all his People;

Once he was of little service to you, but now he has become of great service, not only to you, but to me as well;

But I do not wish to do anything without your consent, because I want your generosity to be voluntary and not, as it were, compulsory.

No longer as a slave, but as something better--a dearly loved Brother, especially dear to me, and how much more so to you, not only as your fellow man, but as your fellow Christian!

They shall perish, but thou remainest; As a garment they shall all grow old;

As a mantle thou wilt fold them up, And as a garment they shall be changed, But thou art the same, and thy years shall know no end.'

It was not, surely, to the help of the angels that Jesus came, but 'to the help of the descendants of Abraham.'

For we have had the Good News told us just as they had. But the Message which they heard did them no good, since they did not share the faith of those who were attentive to it.

God's Message is a living and active power, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing its way till it penetrates soul and spirit--not the joints only but the very marrow--and detecting the inmost thoughts and purposes of the mind.

Our High Priest is not one unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has in every way been tempted, exactly as we have been, but without sinning.

and is therefore bound to offer sacrifices for sins, not only for the People, but equally so for himself.

In the same way, even the Christ did not take the honour of the High Priesthood upon himself, but he was appointed by him who said to him-- 'Thou art my Son; this day I have become thy Father';

Now on this subject I have much to say, but it is difficult to explain it to you, because you have shown yourselves so slow to learn.

But 'solid food' is for Christians of mature faith--those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish right from wrong.

but, if it 'bears thorns and thistles,' it is regarded as worthless, it is in danger of being 'cursed,' and its end will be the fire.

But about you, dear friends, even though we speak in this way, we are confident of better things--of things that point to your Salvation.

But our great desire is that every one of you should be equally earnest to attain to a full conviction that our hope will be fulfilled, and that you should keep that hope to the end.

Then you will not show yourselves slow to learn, but you will copy those who, through faith and patience, are now entering upon the enjoyment of God's promises.

But Melchizedek, although not of this lineage, received tithes from Abraham, and gave his blessing to the very man who had God's promises.

and that he was appointed, not under a Law regulating only earthly matters, but by virtue of a life beyond the reach of death;

but his appointment was ratified by an oath, when God said to him-- 'The Lord has sworn, and will not change, "Thou art a priest for all time."'

but Jesus remains for all time, and therefore the priesthood that he holds is never liable to pass to another.

The Law appoints as High Priests men who are liable to infirmity, but the words of God's oath, which was later than the Law, name the Son as, for all time, the perfect Priest.

But Jesus, as we see, has obtained a ministry as far excelling theirs, as the Covenant of which he is the intermediary, based, as it is, on better promises, excels the former Covenant.

But, finding fault with the people, God says-- '"Behold, a time is coming," says the Lord, "when I will ratify a new Covenant with the People of Israel and with the People of Judah--

while above it, and overshadowing the Cover on which atonement was made, are the Cherubim of the Presence. But I must not now dwell on these things in detail.

but into the inner only the High Priest goes, and that but once a year, and never without taking the blood of a victim, which he offers on his own behalf, and on behalf of the errors of the People.

But, when Christ came, he appeared as High Priest of that Better System which was established; and he entered through that nobler and more perfect 'Tabernacle,' not made by human hands--that is to say, not a part of this present creation.

Nor was it with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, that he entered, once and for all, into the Sanctuary, and obtained our eternal deliverance.

For it was not into a Sanctuary made by human hands, which merely foreshadowed the true one, that Christ entered, but into Heaven itself, that he might now appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

Nor yet was it to offer himself may times, as year after year the High Priest entered the Sanctuary with an offering of blood--but not his own blood;

for then Christ would have had to undergo death many times since the creation of the world. But now, once and for all, at the close of the age, he has appeared, in order to abolish sin by the sacrifice of himself.

And, as it is ordained for men to die but once (death being followed by judgment),

so it is with the Christ. He was offered up once and for all, to 'bear away the sins of many'; and the second time he will appear--but without any burden of sin--to those who are waiting for him, to bring Salvation.

But, on the contrary, these sacrifices recall their sins to mind year after year.

That is why, when he was coming into the world, the Christ declared-- 'Sacrifice and offering thou dost not desire, but thou dost provide for me a body;

But, this priest, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, which should serve for all time, 'took his seat at the right hand of God,'

And let us not, as some do, cease to meet together; but, on the contrary, let us encourage one another, and all the more, now that you see the Day drawing near.

For you not only sympathized with those who were in prison, but you even took the confiscation of your possessions joyfully, knowing, as you did, that you had in yourselves a greater possession and a lasting one.

'For there is indeed but a very little while ere He who is coming will have come, without delay;

And through faith the Righteous man shall find his Life, But, if a man draws back, my heart can find no pleasure in him.'

But we do not belong to those who draw back, to their Ruin, but to those who have faith, to the saving of their souls.

But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that God exists, and that he rewards those who seek for him.

All these died sustained by faith. They did not obtain the promised blessings, but they saw them from a distance and welcomed the sight, and they acknowledged themselves to be only aliens and strangers on the earth.

But no, they were longing for a better, a heavenly, land! And therefore God was not ashamed to be called their God; indeed he had already prepared them a city.

Our fathers disciplined us for only a short time and as seemed best to them; but God disciplines us for our true good, to enable us to share his holiness.

No discipline is pleasant at the time; on the contrary, it is painful. But afterwards its fruit is seen in the peacefulness of a righteous life which is the lot of those who have been trained under it.

make straight paths for your feet,' so that the lame limb may not be put out of joint, but rather be cured.

No, but it is to Mount Zion that you have drawn near, the City of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to countless hosts of angels,

Then his voice shook the earth, but now his declaration is-- 'Still once more I will cause not only the earth to tremble, but also the heavens.'

We are not without an altar; but it is one at which those who still worship in the Tabernacle have no right to eat.

for here we have no permanent city, but are looking for the City that is to be.

But let him ask with confidence, never doubting; for the man who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven hither and thither at the mercy of the wind--

Let a Brother in humble circumstances be proud of his exalted position, but a rich Brother of his humiliation;

But he who looks carefully into the perfect Law, the Law of Freedom, and continues to do so, not listening to it and then forgetting it, but putting it into practice--that man will be blessed in what he does.

When a man appears to be religious, yet does not bridle his tongue, but imposes upon his own conscience, that man's religious observances are valueless.

And you are deferential to the man who is wearing grand clothes, and say--"There is a good seat for you here," but to the poor man--"You must stand; or sit down there by my footstool,"

But you--you insult the poor man! Is not it the rich who oppress you? Is not it they who drag you into law-courts?

But, if you worship rank, you commit a sin, and stand convicted by that same law of being offenders against it.

For a man who has laid the Law, as a whole, to heart, but has failed in one particular, is liable for breaking all its provisions.

He who said 'Thou shalt not commit adultery' also said 'Thou shalt not murder.' If, then, you commit murder but not adultery, you are still an offender against the Law.

But, while you harbor envy and bitterness and a spirit of rivalry in your hearts, do not boast or lie to the detriment of the Truth.

But the wisdom from above is, before every thing else, pure; then peace-loving, gentle, open to conviction, rich in compassion and good deeds, and free from partiality and insincerity.

No; the gift that God gives is for a nobler end; and that is why it is said--'God is opposed to the haughty, but gives help to the humble.'

Therefore submit to God; but resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.

Do not disparage one another, Brothers. He who disparages his Brother, or passes judgment on his Brother, disparages the Law and passes judgment on the Law. But, if you pass judgment on the Law, you are not obeying it, but judging it.

There is only one Lawgiver and Judge--he who has the power both to save and to destroy. But who are you that pass judgment on your neighbor?

And yet you do not know what your life will be like to-morrow! For you are but a mist appearing for a little while and then disappearing.

But, as it is, you are constantly boasting presumptuously! All such boasting is wicked.

He, then, who knows what is right but fails to do it--that is sin in him.

Elijah was only a man like ourselves, but, when he prayed fervently that it might not rain, no rain fell upon the land for three years and a half.

And it was revealed to them that it was not for themselves, but for you, that they were acting as Ministers of the truths which have now been told to you, by those who, with the help of the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven, have brought you the Good News--truths into which even angels long to look.

but in your whole life show yourselves to be holy, after the pattern of the Holy One from whom you received your Call.

but by precious blood, as it were of a lamb, unblemished and spotless, the Blood of Christ.

since your new Life has come, not from perishable, but imperishable, seed, through the Message of the Everliving God.

For-- 'All earthly life is but as grass, And all its splendor as the flower of grass. The grass fades, Its flower falls,

But the teaching of the Lord remains for ever.' And that is the Teaching of the Good News which has been told to you.

Come to Him, then, as to a living stone, rejected, indeed, by men, but in God's eyes choice and precious;

It is to you, then, who believe in him that he is precious, but to those who do not believe he is 'a stone which, though rejected by the builders, has now itself become the corner-stone,'

But you are 'a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, God's own People,' entrusted with the proclamation of the goodness of him who called you out of Darkness into his wonderful Light.

Once you were 'not a people,' but now you are 'God's People'; once you 'had not found mercy,' but now you 'have found mercy.'

Act as free men, yet not using your freedom as those do who make it a cloak for wickedness, but as Servants of God.

Those of you who are domestic servants should always be submissive and respectful to their masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are arbitrary.

What credit can you claim when, after doing wrong, you take your punishment for it patiently? But, on the other hand, if, after doing right, you take your sufferings patiently, that does win the approval of God.

He was abused, but he did not answer with abuse; he suffered, but he did not threaten; he entrusted himself to him whose judgments are just.

Once you were straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

but the inner life with the imperishable beauty of a quiet and gentle spirit; for this is very precious in God's sight.

never returning evil for evil, or abuse for abuse, but, on the contrary, blessing. It was to this that you were called--to obtain a blessing!

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And his ears are attentive to their prayers, But the face of the Lord is set against those who do wrong.'

Revere the Christ as Lord in your hearts; always ready to give an answer to any one who asks your reason for the hope that you cherish, but giving it humbly and in all reverence,

For Christ himself died to atone for sins once for all--the good on behalf of the bad--that he might bring you to God; his body being put to death, but his spirit entering upon new Life.

And baptism, which this foreshadowed, now saves you--not the mere cleansing of the body, but the search of a clear conscience after God--through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,