Nor is that all. There is also the case of Rebecca, when she was about to bear children to our ancestor Isaac.

And I ask you to give her a Christian welcome--one worthy of Christ's People--and to aid her in any matter in which she may need your assistance. She has proved herself a staunch friend to me and to many others.

To Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who have worked hard for the Master; to my dear friend Persis, for she has done much hard work for the Master;

(If she has done so, let her remain as she is, or else be reconciled to her husband) and also that a man is not to divorce his wife.

For, through his wife, the husband who is an unbeliever has become associated with Christ's People; and the wife who is an unbeliever has become associated with Christ's People through our Brother whom she has married. Otherwise your children would be 'defiled,' but, as it is, they belong to Christ's People.

And so his interests are divided. Again, the unmarried woman, whether she is old or young, is anxious about the Master's Cause, striving to be pure both in body and in spirit, while the married woman is anxious about worldly matters, desiring to please her husband.

If, however, a father thinks that he is not acting fairly by his unmarried daughter, when she is past her youth, and if under these circumstances her marriage ought to take place, let him act as he thinks right. He is doing nothing wrong-let the marriage take place.

A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives; but, if the husband should pass to his rest, the widow is free to marry any one she wishes, provided he is a believer.

Yet she will be happier if she remains as she is-in my opinion, for I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

Have not we a right to take a wife with us, if she is a Christian, as the other Apostles and the Master's brothers and Kephas all do?

Indeed, if a woman does not keep her head covered, she may as well cut her hair short. But, since to cut her hair short, or shave it off, marks her as one of the shameless women, let her keep her head covered.

(The word Hagar meaning in Arabia Mount Sinai) and it ranks with the Jerusalem of to-day, for she and her children are in slavery.

But the Jerusalem above is free, and she it is who is our mother.

So that he might himself bring the Church, in all her beauty, into his own presence, with no spot or wrinkle or blemish of any kind, but that she might be holy and faultless.

However, for you individually, let each love his wife as if she were himself; and the wife be careful to respect her husband.

I do not consent to a woman's becoming a teacher, or exercising authority over a man; she ought to be silent.

As for the woman who is really widowed and left quite alone, her hopes are fixed on God, and she devotes herself to prayers and supplications night and day.

A widow, when her name is added to the list, should not be less than sixty years old; she should have been a faithful wife,

and be well spoken of for her kind actions. She should have brought up children, have shown hospitality to strangers, have washed the feet of her fellow Christians, have relieved those who were in distress, and devoted herself to every kind of good action.

Indeed, under the Law, almost everything is purified with blood; and, unless blood is shed, no forgiveness is to be obtained.

Again, it was faith that enabled Sarah to conceive (though she was past the age for child-bearing), because she felt sure that he who had given her the promise would not fail her.

Faith saved Rahab, the prostitute, from perishing with the unbelievers, after she had entertained the spies with friendliness.

Was not it the same with the prostitute, Rahab? Was not it as the result of her actions that she was pronounced righteous, after she had welcomed the messengers and hastened them away by a different road?

Yet I have this against you--You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who declares that she is a Prophetess, and misleads my servants by her teaching, till they commit licentious acts and eat idol-offerings.

I gave her time to repent, but she is determined not to turn from her licentiousness.

She was with child; and 'she is crying out in the pain and agony of childbirth.'

But to the woman were given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she might fly to her place in the wilderness, where she is being tended for 'one year, and for two years, and for half a year' in safety from the Serpent.

Then a second angel followed, crying-- 'She has fallen! She has fallen--Babylon the Great, who has made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her licentiousness!'

for men shed the blood of Christ's People and of the Prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve.'

The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold ornaments, precious stones, and pearls. In her hand she held a gold cup, full of idolatrous abominations, and the unclean fruits of her licentiousness;

As for the woman whom you saw, she is the great city that holds sway over all the kings of the earth.'

With a mighty voice he cried-- 'She has fallen! She has fallen--Babylon the Great! She has become an abode of demons, a stronghold of every wicked spirit, a stronghold of every foul and hateful bird.

Pay her back the treatment with which she has treated you; yes, repay twice over what her actions deserve; in the cup which she mixed for you, mix for her as much again;

for her self-glorification and her luxury, give her now an equal measure of torture and misery. In her heart she says 'I sit here a queen; no widow am I; I shall never know misery.'

Therefore in one day shall these Curses befall her--death, misery, and famine, and she shall be utterly consumed by fire; for mighty is the Lord God who condemned her.