For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness spring up and cause trouble, and by it many become defiled;

that no one be immoral or godless like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.

For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,

and the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further word be spoken to them.

For they could not endure the order that was given, "If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned."

The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."

and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks better than the blood of Abel.

See to it that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less shall we escape, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?

This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, in order that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe,

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account. Let them do this with joy, and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to live honorably in all things.

I urge you all the more to do this so that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant,

equip you with every good thing to do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I will see you if he comes soon.

for you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

But he must ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

But one who looks intently into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but a doer that acts, this man will be blessed in what he does.

Religion that is pure and undefiled in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believeand shudder.

But are you willing to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is useless?

You see that faith was working with his works, and faith was completed by works,

You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

If we put bits into the mouths of horses that they may obey us, we guide their whole bodies.

What causes quarrels and fights among you? Is it not your passions that are at war in your members?

You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Or do you think that the Scripture says without reason: "He jealously desires the Spirit which he has made to dwell in us"?

Yet you do not know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.

Do not grumble, brethren, against one another, that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no be no, that you may not fall under condemnation.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.

let him know that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you inquired and searched carefully,

It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaventhings into which angels long to look.

You know that you were redeemed from the futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,

but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

Through him you have confidence in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Like newborn babes, long for the pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,

and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall;" they stumble because they disobey the wordas they were desstined to do.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in case they speak against you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

For it is God's will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of foolish men.

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

You wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without a word by the behavior of their wives,

Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with honor as the weaker partner, since you are joint heirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

Do not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but give a blessing instead; for to this you were called, that you may inherit a blessing.

but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect;

and keep a clear conscience, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

For it is better to suffer for doing right, if that should be God's will, than for doing wrong.

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit;

who formerly did not obey, when the patience of God waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.

And corresponding to that, baptism now saves younot the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good consciencethrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they abuse you;

For this reason the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they might live in the spirit according to the will of God.

Whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belongs the glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God.

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and a partaker in the glory that is to be revealed,

shepherd the flock of God that is under your care, serving as overseersnot under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;

Likewise you that are younger men be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.

But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren throughout the world.

With the help of Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.

By these he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and become partakers of the divine nature.

For whoever lacks these things is blind and shortsighted, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

since I know that the putting aside of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.

And I will see to it that after my departure you will be able at any time to call these things to mind.

First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation,

(for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds),

They have eyes full of adultery, that never cease from sin; they entice unstable souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!

They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for whatever overcomes a man, to that he is enslaved.

For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.

This is now the second letter that I have written to you, beloved, and in both of them I have aroused your sincere mind by way of reminder;

that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken through your apostles.

First of all you must understand this, that scoffers will come in the last days, with scoffing, following their own lusts

They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and by means of water,

through which the world at that time was destroyed, being deluged with water.

But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with fire, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your own steadfastness.