But now you too must once for all put them all aside -- anger, rage, malice, and abusive, filthy talk from your lips.

Stop lying to one another, for you have stripped off the old self with its practices,

So as God's own chosen people, consecrated and dearly loved, you must once for all clothe yourselves with tenderheartedness, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience; you must keep on

Let the peace that Christ can give keep on acting as umpire in your hearts, for you were called to this state as members of one body. And practice being thankful.

You married women must continue to live in subordination to your husbands, for this is your Christian duty.

Children, practice obedience to your parents in everything, for this is acceptable in Christians.

Slaves, practice obedience to your earthly masters in everything, not as though they were watching you and as though you were merely pleasing men, but with sincerity of heart, because you fear the Lord.

Whatever you do, do it with all your heart, as work for the Lord and not for men,

for you know that it is from the Lord that you are going to get your pay in the form of an inheritance; so keep on serving Christ the Lord.

For the man who wrongs another will be paid back the wrong he has done; and there are no exceptions.

Masters, you must practice doing the right and square things by your slaves, for you know that you have a Master in heaven.

At the same time keep on praying for me too, that God may open the door of opportunity for the message, so that I may tell the open secret about Christ, for the sake of which I am held a prisoner,

I am sending him to you for the express purpose of letting you know my circumstances, and of cheering your hearts;

So does Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only converts from Judaism that are fellow-workers with me here for the kingdom of God, who have proved a real comfort to me.

Epaphras, one of your own number, a slave of Christ Jesus, wishes to be remembered to you. He is always earnestly pleading for you in his prayers that you may stand fast as men mature and of firm convictions in everything required by the will of God.

For I can testify how great his toiling for you is and for the brothers in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

We always thank God for you all as we continually mention you in our prayers,

for we can never for a moment before our God forget your energizing faith, your toiling love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

For we know, brothers so beloved by God, that He has chosen you,

for our preaching of the good news came to you not entirely in words but with power and with the Holy Spirit and with absolute certainty (for you know the kind of men we were among you for your own sakes).

(1:7) For the message of the Lord has rung out from you, not only in Macedonia and Greece, but everywhere the report of your faith in God has been told, so that we need never mention it.

For the people themselves tell us what a welcome you gave us, and how you turned from idols to the true God, to serve the God who lives on and is real,

and to wait for the coming from heaven of His Son, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

For you know yourselves, brothers, that our visit to you was by no means a failure.

For our appeal did not originate from a delusion or an impure motive; it was not made in fraud;

for since we have been so approved by God as to be entrusted with the good news, we are now telling it, not to please men but God, who proves and finds approved our hearts.

Indeed, we never resorted to flattery, as you are well aware, nor to any pretext for making money; God is our witness.

Because we were yearning for you so tenderly, we were willing, not only to share with you God's good news, but to lay down our very lives too for you, all because you were so dearly loved by us.

for you know how, as a father deals with his children, we used to encourage you, cheer you on, and charge each of you

For another reason too, we, as far as we are concerned, are constantly giving thanks to God; that is, when you received the message you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the message of men but as the message of God, as it really is, which keeps on working in you who believe.

For you, brothers, followed the example of God's churches in Judea that are in union with Christ Jesus, for you too have suffered the same sort of ill-treatment at the hands of your fellow-countrymen as they did at the hands of the Jews,

Now we, brothers, on our part, when we were separated from you for a little while -- in person but not in heart -- were extremely eager and intensely longing to see you.

For what is our hope or happiness or crown of boasting, except you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ when He comes?

so that none of you might be deceived amid these difficulties. For you knew yourselves that this is our appointed lot,

for when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were going to be pressed with difficulties, and it took place, as you know.

That was why, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for I was afraid that the tempter had tempted you and our labor might be lost.

for now I am really living, since you are standing firm in the Lord.

For how can I render God enough thanks for you, for all the joy I have on account of you in the presence of our God,

May the Lord make you increase and overflow in love for one another and for all men, as my love for you does,

For you are aware of the instructions which we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

For it is God's will that you should keep pure in person, that you should practice abstinence from sexual immorality,

that no one should do wrong and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord takes vengeance for all such things, as we told you before and solemnly warned you.

For God did not call us to a life of immorality, but to one of personal purity.

Now as to brotherly love, you have no need of anyone's writing you, for you have yourselves been taught by God to love one another,

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then through Jesus, God will bring back with Him those who have fallen asleep.

For on the Lord's own authority we say that those of us who may be left behind and are still living when the Lord comes back, will have no advantage at all over those who have fallen asleep.

For the Lord Himself, at the summons sounded by the archangel's call and by God's trumpet, will come down from heaven, and first of all the dead in union with Christ will rise,

for you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the Lord is coming like a thief in the night.

for you are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or the darkness.

For those who sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunken at night,

but let us who belong to the day keep sober, clothed with faith and love for a coat of mail and with the hope of salvation for a helmet.

For God appointed us not to reap His wrath but to gain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

who died for us, so that whether we still live or sleep we may live in fellowship with Him.

continue to hold them in the highest esteem for the sake of the work they do. Practice living at peace with one another.

Take care that none of you ever pays back evil for evil, but always keep looking for ways to show kindness to one another and everybody.

Make it a habit to give thanks for everything, for this is God's will for you through Christ Jesus.

Brothers, pray for us.

We always ought to be thanking God for you, brothers, as it is right to do so, because your faith is growing so much and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing

so that we are always boasting of you among the churches of God for your patient endurance and faith, in spite of your persecutions and crushing sorrows which you are enduring.

This is a proof of God's righteous judgment, His aim being to let you show yourselves worthy of His kingdom, for which you are suffering; since,

indeed, it is right for God to repay with crushing sorrows those who cause you these crushing sorrows,

in a flame of fire, who will take vengeance on those who do not know God, that is, those who will not listen to the good news of our Lord Jesus.

With this in view we are always praying for you too, that our God may make you worthy of His call, and by His power fully satisfy your every desire for goodness, and complete every activity of your faith,

the one who keeps up his opposition and so far exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, that he actually takes his seat in the sanctuary of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work, but only until he who is holding it back has been gotten out of the way.

and with a completely wicked deception for men who are on the way to destruction, because they refused to love the truth so as to be saved.

We ought always to be thanking God for you, brothers dearly loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through the Spirit's consecration of you and through your faith in the truth,

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the message of the Lord may continue to spread and prove its glorious power as it did among you,

and that we may be delivered from unprincipled and wicked men; for not all men have faith.

May the Lord guide you into a realization of God's love for you and into a patient endurance like Christ's.

You know yourselves how you ought to follow my example; for I was not a shirker when I was with you;

I did not eat any man's bread without paying for it, but with toil and hard labor I worked night and day, in order not to be a burden to any of you.

Not that I have no right to be supported, but to make myself an example for you to follow.

For when I was with you, I gave you this direction, "If a person refuses to work, he must not be allowed to eat."

to stop devoting themselves to myths and never-ending pedigrees, for such things lead to controversies rather than stimulate our trusteeship to God through faith.

that is, if he understands that law is not enacted for upright people but for the lawless and disorderly, the godless and sinful, the ignorant and profane, people who kill their fathers or mothers, murderers,

I am always thanking Christ Jesus our Lord who has given me strength for it, for thinking me trustworthy and putting me into the ministry,

Yet, mercy was shown me for the very purpose that in my case as the foremost of sinners Jesus might display His perfect patience, to make me an example to those who in the future might believe on Him to obtain eternal life.

by keeping your hold on faith and a good conscience; for some have thrust the latter aside and so have made shipwreck of their faith.

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties, prayers, and thanksgiving be offered for all men,

for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead peaceful, quiet lives in perfect piety and seriousness.

who is ever willing for all mankind to be saved and to come to an increasing knowledge of the truth.

For there is but one God and one intermediary between God and men, the man Christ Jesus

who gave Himself as a ransom for all, a fact that was testified to at the proper time,

and for which purpose I was appointed a preacher and an apostle -- I am telling the truth, I am not lying, -- a teacher of the heathen in the realm of faith and truth.

but with good deeds; for this is appropriate for women who profess to be pious.

For Adam was formed first, and then Eve;

For those who render good service win a good standing for themselves in their faith in Christ Jesus.

who forbid people to marry and teach them to abstain from certain sorts of food which God created for the grateful enjoyment of those who have faith and a clear knowledge of the truth.

For everything in God's creation is good, and nothing is to be refused, provided it is accepted with thanksgiving;

for in this way it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

But make it your habit to let worldly and old women's stories alone. Continue training yourself for the religious life.

Physical training, indeed, is of some service, but religion is of service for everything, for it contains a promise for the present life as well as the future.

Let no one think little of you because you are young, but always set an example for believers, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.

Make it your habit to pay close attention to yourself and your teaching. Persevere in these things, for if you do you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.

Always care for widows who are really dependent.

But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to practice piety in the treatment of their own families, and to pay the debt they owe their parents or grandparents, for this is acceptable to God.

Whoever fails to provide for his own relatives, and especially for those of his immediate family, has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

must have a reputation for doing good deeds, as bringing up children, being hospitable to strangers, washing the feet of God's people, helping people in distress, or devoting herself to any sort of doing good.

Keep the young widows off this roll, for when they get to indulging their lower nature in opposition to Christ, they want to marry,