I beg you brothers, to listen patiently to this appeal, for I have written you but briefly.

But he must ask with faith, and without any doubt, for the man who doubts is like the billowing sea, driven and blown about by the wind.

but one who is rich ought to rejoice at being reduced in circumstances, for the rich will disappear like the wild flowers.

But whoever looks at the faultless law that makes men free and keeps looking, so that he does not just listen and forget, but obeys and acts upon it, will be blessed in what he does.

If anyone thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives himself, his religious observances are of no account.

But you humiliate the poor. Are not the rich your oppressors? Is it not they who drag you into court?

but if you show partiality, you are committing a sin, and stand convicted before the Law as lawbreakers.

For anyone who obeys the whole of the Law but makes one single slip is guilty of breaking it all.

For he who said, "You must not commit adultery," said also, "You must not commit murder." Now if you abstain from adultery, but commit murder, you are still a violator of the Law.

For the merciless will be mercilessly judged; but mercy will triumph over judgment.

But someone may say, "You have faith, and I good deeds." Show me your faith without any good deeds, and I will show you my faith by my good deeds.

But do you want proof, my senseless friend, that faith without good deeds amounts to nothing?

If we put bridles into horses' mouths to make them obey us, we can guide their whole bodies.

but no human being can tame the tongue. It is an irreconcilable evil, full of deadly poison.

But if you cherish bitter feelings of jealousy and rivalry in your hearts, do not pride yourselves on it and thus belie the truth.

Do you suppose the Scripture means nothing when it says, "He yearns jealously over the Spirit he has put in our hearts?"

But he gives all the greater blessing. As the Scripture says, "God opposes haughty persons, but he blesses humble-minded ones."

Do not talk against one another, brothers. Whoever talks against a brother or condemns his brother talks against the Law, and condemns the Law. But if you condemn the Law you are not an observer of the Law but its judge.

But, as it is, you pride yourselves on your pretensions. All such pride is wrong.

You must love him, though you have not seen him, but since you believe in him though you do not now see him, rejoice with triumphant, unutterable joy

It was disclosed to them that they were serving not themselves but you in dealing with these things, which have now been told you by those who through the holy Spirit sent from heaven brought you the good news; things into which angels long to look!

but like the holy Being who has called you, you must also prove holy in all your conduct,

but with precious blood, like that of an unblemished, spotless lamb, the blood of Christ,

who was predestined for this before the foundation of the world, but was revealed only at the end of the ages,

for you have been born anew from a germ not perishable, but imperishable, through the message of the living, everlasting God.

But the word of the Lord will last forever," that is, the good news that has been brought to you.

Come to him, as to a living stone rejected by men, but chosen and prized in the sight of God,

It is you, therefore, who believe who see its value, but for men who do not believe, "The stone which the builders refused has been made a cornerstone,"

But you are the chosen race, the royal priesthood, the consecrated nation, his own people, so that you may declare the virtues of him who has called you out of darkness into his wonderful light;

you who were once "no people" but are now "God's people"; once "unpitied" but now "pitied indeed."

Live like free men, only do not make your freedom an excuse for doing wrong, but be slaves of God.

You servants must be submissive to your masters and perfectly respectful to them; not only to those who are kind and considerate, but also to those who are unreasonable.

For God approves a man if from a sense of duty he endures suffering unjustly inflicted??20 for what credit is there in your enduring being beaten for doing wrong? But if you endure suffering for doing what is right, you have God's approval.

He was abused but he did not retort. He suffered but he did not threaten, but committed his case to him who judges justly.

For you were astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

For the eyes of the Lord are upon upright men, And his ears are open to their entreaty, But the Lord's face is set against men that do wrong."

Even if you should suffer for uprightness, you are blessed. But do not be afraid of them, nor be troubled,

but reverence Christ in your hearts as Lord, and always be ready to make your defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that you have. But do so gently and respectfully,

For Christ himself died once for all, for sin, an upright man for unrighteous men, to bring us to God, and was physically put to death, but he was made alive in the Spirit.

Baptism, which corresponds to it, now saves you also (not as the mere removing of physical stain, but as the craving for a conscience right with God)??hrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

and no longer lives by what men desire, but for the rest of his earthly life by what God wills.

but they will have to answer for it to him who is ready to judge living and dead.

But the end of all things is near. Be serious and collected, therefore, and pray.

but be glad that you are in a measure sharing the sufferings of the Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may be triumphantly happy.

but if a man suffers for being a Christian, he must not be ashamed of it, but must do honor to God through that name.

I appeal therefore to those who are elders among you; I am their brother-elder and a witness to what the Christ suffered, and I am to share in the glory that is to be revealed??2 be shepherds of the flock of God that is among you, not as though it were forced upon you but of your own free will, and not from base love of gain but freely,

and not as tyrannizing over those in your charge but proving models for the flock;

You younger men must show deference to the elders. And you must all clothe yourselves in humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud, but shows mercy to the humble.

for I know that I must soon put it away, as our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me.

For they were no fictitious stories that we followed when we informed you of the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and of his coming, but we had been eye-witnesses of his majesty.

for no prophecy ever originated in the human will, but under the influence of the holy Spirit men spoke for God.

There were false prophets too among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will introduce destructive sects and deny the Master who has bought them, thus bringing on themselves swift destruction.

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but plunged them into Tartarus, and committed them to dark dungeons to await their doom,

and if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others, when he brought the flood upon the godless world;

especially those who yield to their physical nature and indulge in passions that defile them, and despise authority. Rash, headstrong men! They stand in no awe of majesty, but deride beings

They have eyes for nobody but adulterous women??yes insatiable in sin. They lure unsteadfast souls. Their hearts are trained in greed. They are accursed!

but he was rebuked for his offense; a dumb animal spoke with a human voice and checked the prophet's madness.

But by the same command the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, and are kept for the day when godless men are to be judged and destroyed.

But do not overlook this one fact, dear friends, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like one day.

The Lord is not slow about his promise, in the sense that some men think; he is really showing his patience with you, because he does not want any to perish, but wishes all men to be brought to repentance.

But if we live in the light, just as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from every sin.

He is himself an atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the whole world.

Whoever says, "I know him," but does not obey his commands, is a liar, and there is no truth in his heart;

but whoever obeys his message really has the love of God in perfection in his heart. This is the way we can be sure that we are in union with him;

Dear friends, it is no new command that I am writing you, but an old one that you have had from the beginning. That old command is the same as the message you have heard.

But whoever hates his brother is in darkness, and is living in darkness, and he does not know where he is going, for the darkness has blinded his eyes.

for all that there is in the world, the things that our physical nature and our eyes crave, and the proud display of life??hese do not come from the Father, but from the world;

and the world with its cravings is passing away, but whoever does God's will will endure forever.

They have gone out from our number, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had, they would have stayed with us. It was to make it clear that none of them really belonged to us that they withdrew.

But you have been anointed by the Holy One. You all know the truth;

I do not write to you because you do not know it, but because you do know it, and because no lie can come from the truth.

You still retain in your hearts the anointing with the Spirit that you received from him, and you do not need to have anyone teach you. But just as that anointing of his teaches you about everything, and as it is true and no falsehood, keep in union with him just as it has taught you to do.

But if someone who is rich sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how can he have any love for God in his heart?

Dear children, let us love not with words or lips only but in reality and truth.

Dear friends, do not believe every inspired utterance, but test the utterances to see whether they come from God, for many false prophets have come out into the world.

The love consists not in our having loved God, but in his loving us and sending his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear. For fear suggests punishment and no one who feels fear has attained perfect love.

It was he, Jesus Christ himself, who came in water and in blood; not in water only, but in water and in blood. The Spirit also testifies to this, for the Spirit is truth.

Any wrongdoing is sin, but there are sins that are not deadly.

We know that no child of God commits sin, but the fact that he is God's child protects him, and the evil one cannot touch him.

The Elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I truly love??nd not only I but all who know the truth??2 because of the truth that stays in our hearts and will be with us forever;

And now I beg you, my lady??ot as though I were writing you any new command, but one which we have had from the beginning??et us love one another.

Look out for yourselves, take care not to lose what we have worked for, but make sure that you are paid for it in full.

If anyone comes to you without bringing this teaching, do not let him come into the house or bid him good morning.

Though I have a great deal to write to you, I would rather not write it with paper and ink, but I hope to come to see you, and talk with you face to face, so that your happiness may be complete.

I have written briefly to the church, but Diotrephes who likes to be their leader will not accept what I say.

So if I come, I will bring up the things that he is doing, and how he is maliciously accusing me. Not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers himself, and he is interfering with those who want to do so, and has them put out of the church.

Dear friend, do not follow bad examples, but good ones. The man who does right is a child of God; the man who does wrong has never seen God.

I have a great deal to write to you, but I do not want to write it with pen and ink;

and the angels who neglected their responsibilities and abandoned their homes he has put in everlasting chains to be kept in darkness for the judgment of the great Day,

But these people deride anything they do not understand, and the things they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, they use for their own destruction.

They are stains on your religious meals, where they carouse together, boldly attending to no one but themselves; rainless clouds driven before the wind; leafless trees without fruit, doubly dead, and uprooted;

But you, dear friends, must remember what was foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,

But you, dear friends, must build yourselves up on the foundation of your most holy faith and pray in the holy Spirit,

When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. But he laid his right hand upon me, and said, "Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last,

But I hold it against you that you do not love as you did at first.

But it is in your favor that you hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, as I do.

I know of your distress and poverty??hough you are rich!?? know how you are slandered by those who claim to be Jews when they are not so, but only a synagogue of Satan!

Do not be afraid of what you are going to suffer. See! The devil is going to put some of you into prison to be tested there, and for ten days to endure persecution. Prove faithful even unto death and I will give you the crown of life.

I know where you live; where Satan has his throne! Yet you cling to my name and did not renounce your faith in me even in the days when my faithful Antipas, my witness, was put to death among you??here Satan lives.