Also, he is the head of the Body, that is, of the church, in virtue of his primacy as the first to be born from the dead ??that gives him pre-eminence over all.

For it was in him that the divine Fulness willed to settle without limit,

and by him it willed to reconcile in his own person all on earth and in heaven alike, in a peace made by the blood of his cross.

Once you were estranged yourselves, your hearts hostile to him in evildoing; but now he has reconciled you by dying in his mortal body,

Since you have had the messiah, even Jesus the Lord, brought to you, lead your life in him,

fixed and founded in him, confirmed in the faith as you have been taught it, and overflowing with thankfulness to God.

it is in him that you reach your full life, and he is the Head of every angelic Ruler and Power;

in him you have been circumcised with no material circumcision that cuts flesh from the body, but with Christ's own circumcision,

when you were buried with him in your baptism and thereby raised with him as you believed in the power of the God who raised him from the dead.

When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you will appear with him in glory.

and put on the new nature which is renewed in the likeness of its Creator for the knowledge of him.

The reason why I am sending him to you is that he may ascertain how you are, and encourage your hearts.

Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner salutes you; so does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, about whom you have got instructions (if he comes to you, give him a welcome);

Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then it follows that by means of Jesus God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

who died for us that waking in life or sleeping in death we should live together with him.

so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you (and you glorified in him), by the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

With regard to the arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ and our muster before him, I beg you, brothers,

Well, you can recall now what it is that restrains him from being revealed before his appointed time.

Only, if anyone will not obey our orders in this letter, mark that man, do not associate with him ??that will make him feel ashamed!

You are not to treat him as an enemy, but to put him under discipline, as a brother.

I obtained mercy, for the purpose of furnishing Christ Jesus with the chief illustration of his utter patience; I was to be the typical instance of all who were to believe in him and gain eternal life.

Never censure an older man harshly; appeal to him as a father. Treat younger men like brothers,

and thus are guilty of breaking their first troth to Him.

who alone has immortality, who dwells in light that none can approach, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To him be honour and eternal dominion: Amen.

It is a sure word, that "If we have died with him, we shall live with him,

if we endure, then we shall reign with him, if we disown him, then he shall disown us,

to make the man of God proficient and equip him for good work of every kind.

Luke is the only one who is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him along with you, for he is of great use in helping me.

Alexander the blacksmith has done me a lot of harm: the Lord will pay him back for what he has done (beware of him),

The Lord will rescue me from every assault of evil, he will bring me safe to his own realm in heaven. To him be glory for ever and ever! Amen.

They profess to know God, but they deny him by their deeds; they are detestable, disobedient, and useless for good work of any kind.

Once you found him a worthless character, but now-a-days he is worth something to you and me.

I am sending him back to you, and parting with my very heart.

I would have liked to keep him beside me, that as your deputy he might serve me during my imprisonment for the gospel;

Perhaps this was why you and he were parted for a while, that you might get him back for good,

You count me a partner? Then receive him as you would receive me,

but in these days at the end he has spoken to us by a Son ??a Son whom he appointed heir of the universe, as it was by him that he created the world.

For to what angel did God ever say, 'Thou art my son, to-day have I become thy father'? Or again, 'I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me'?

And further, when introducing the Firstborn into the world, he says, 'Let all God's angels worship him.'

how shall we escape the penalty for neglecting a salvation which was originally proclaimed by the Lord himself and guaranteed to us by those who heard him,

while God corroborated their testimony with signs and wonders and a variety of miraculous powers, distributing the holy Spirit as it pleased him.

One writer, as we know, has affirmed, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou carest for him?

For a little while thou hast put him lower than the angels, crowning him with glory and honour,

putting all things under his feet. Now by putting all things under him, the writer meant to leave nothing out of his control. But, as it is, we do not yet see all things controlled by man;

and again, 'I will put my trust in him,' and again, 'Here am I and the children God has given me.'

Since the children then share blood and flesh, he himself participated in their nature, so that by dying he might crush him who wields the power of death (that is to say, the devil)

he is faithful to Him who appointed him. For while Moses also was faithful in every department of God's house,

Who heard and yet provoked him? Was it not all who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses?

And no created thing is hidden from him; all things lie open and exposed before the eyes of him with whom we have to reckon.

can deal gently with those who err through ignorance, since he himself is beset with weakness ??3 which obliges him to present offerings for his own sins as well as for those of the People.

Similarly Christ was not raised to the glory of the high priesthood by himself but by Him who declared to him, Thou art my son, to-day have I become thy father.

In the days of his flesh, with bitter cries and tears, he offered prayers and supplications to Him who was able to save him from death; and he was heard, because of his godly fear.

and by being thus perfected he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,

who tasted the goodness of God's word and the powers of the world to come, and then fell away ??6 it is impossible to make them repent afresh, since they crucify the Son of God in their own persons and hold him up to obloquy.

For Melchizedek, the king of Salem, a priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham on his return from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him ??2 who had a tenth part of everything assigned him by Abraham ??this Melchizedek is primarily a king of righteousness (that is the meaning of his name); then, besides that, king of Salem (which means, king of peace).

Now mark the dignity of this man. The patriarch Abraham paid him a tenth of the spoils.

for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

for the witness to him is, Thou art priest for ever, with the rank of Melchizedek.

Previous priests became priests apart from any oath, but he has an oath from Him who said to him, The Lord has sworn, and he will not change his mind, thou art a priest for ever.

Hence for all time he is able to save those who approach God through him, as he is always living to intercede on their behalf.

so Christ, after being once sacrificed to bear the sins of many, will appear again, not to deal with sin but for the saving of those who look out for him.

let us hold the hope we avow without wavering (for we can rely on him who gave us the Promise);

How much heavier, do you suppose, will be the punishment assigned to him who has spurned the Son of God, who has profaned the covenant-blood with which he was sanctified, who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

Meantime my just man shall live on by his faith; if he shrinks back, my soul takes no delight in him.

It was by faith that Enoch was taken to heaven, so that he never died (he was not overtaken by death, for God had taken him away). For before he was taken to heaven, his record was that he had satisfied God;

and apart from faith it is impossible to satisfy him, for the man who draws near to God must believe that he exists and that he does reward those who seek him.

It was by faith that he sojourned in the promised land, as in a foreign country, residing in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob who were co-heirs with him of the same promise;

It was by faith that even Sara got strength to conceive, bearing a son when she was past the age for it ??because she considered she could rely on Him who gave the promise.

and had been told that it is through Isaac that your offspring shall be reckoned ??19 for he considered that God was able even to raise men from the dead. Hence he did get him back, by what was a parable of the resurrection.

Compare him who steadily endured all that hostility from sinful men, so as to keep your own hearts from fainting and failing.

See that you do not refuse to listen to His voice. For if they failed to escape, who refused to listen to their instructor upon earth, much less shall we escape, if we discard Him who speaks from heaven.

Let us go to him outside the camp, then, bearing his obloquy

And by him let us constantly offer praise to God as our sacrifice, that is, the fruit of lips that celebrate his Name.

furnish you with everything for the doing of his will, creating in your lives by Jesus Christ what is acceptable in his own sight! To him be glory for ever and ever: Amen.

Whoever of you is defective in wisdom, let him ask God who gives to all men without question or reproach, and the gift will be his.

Only, let him ask in faith, with never a doubt; for the doubtful man is like surge of the sea whirled and swayed by the wind;

Blessed is he who endures under trial; for when he has stood the test, he will gain the crown of life which is promised to all who love Him.

if you attend to the wearer of the handsome clothes and say to him, "Sit here, this is a good place," and tell the poor man, "You can stand," or "Sit there at my feet,"

Listen, my beloved brothers; has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the realm which he has promised to those who love him?

My brothers, what is the use of anyone declaring he has faith, if he has no deeds to show? Can his faith save him?

and the scripture was fulfilled: Abraham believed God, and this was counted to him as righteousness ??he was called God's friend.

Who among you is wise and learned? Let him show by his good conduct, with the modesty of wisdom, what his deeds are.

[follows 2:26] Whoever, then, knows what is right to do and does not do it, that is a sin for him.

See, we call the stedfast happy; you have heard of the stedfastness of Job, and you have seen the end of the Lord with him, seen that the Lord is very compassionate and pitiful.

Is anyone of you in trouble? let him pray. Is anyone thriving? let him sing praise.

Is anyone ill? let him summon the presbyters of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;

the prayer of faith will restore the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; even the sins he has committed will be forgiven him.

My brothers, if anyone of you goes astray from the truth and someone brings him back,

You never knew him, but you love him; for the moment you do not see him, but you believe in him, and you will thrill with an unspeakable and glorious joy

it is by him that you believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory; and thus your faith means hope in God.

come to him then ??come to that living Stone which men have rejected and God holds choice and precious,

For thus it stands in the scripture: Here I lay a Stone in Sion, a choice, a precious cornerstone: he who believes in him will never be disappointed.

Now you believe, you hold him 'precious,' but as for the unbelieving ??the very stone the builders rejected is now the cornerstone,

But you are the elect race, the royal priesthood, the consecrated nation, the People who belong to Him, that you may proclaim the wondrous deeds of Him who has called you from darkness to his wonderful light ??10 you who once were no people and now are God's people, you who once were unpitied and now are pitied.

and to governors as deputed by him for the punishment of wrongdoers and the encouragement of honest people ??15 for it is the will of God that by your honest lives you should silence the ignorant charges of foolish persons.

he was reviled and made no retort, he suffered and never threatened, but left everything to Him who judges justly;

Thus Sara obeyed Abraham by calling him 'lord'. And you are daughters of Sara if you do what is right and yield to no panic.

he who would love Life and enjoy good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile:

let him shun wrong and do right, let him seek peace and make peace his aim.

who is at God's right hand ??for he went to heaven after angels, authorities, and powers celestial had been made subject to him.)