so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow [in submission], of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and that every tongue should acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

that you may be without reproach, the inoffensive spotless children of God in the midst of a depraved and perverse generation (among whom you should shine as stars in the world,

and if my blood should serve as a libation to ratify your faith, I should rejoice and congratulate with you all thereupon;

In the same way you should also be glad and rejoice with me.

for he long'd to see you all, and was greatly concern'd, that you should hear he was sick. and indeed he was sick almost unto death:

He certainly was sick and close to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.

I sent him therefore the diligentlier, that when ye should see him, ye might rejoice again, and I might be the less sorrowful.

So, you should welcome him in [the fellowship of] the Lord with great joy, and regard such people with honor,

As many therefore as are perfect should think this way. And if ye think anything differently, this also God will reveal to you.

In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.

Brothers, you people should join together in imitating me, and take note of those who are following my example.

You should let your gentleness be known to all people. The Lord is near. [Note: This "nearness" could refer to Christ's second coming or to His nearness to His people in a spiritual sense].

Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and [special] petition, along with thanksgivings, you should make your requests known to God.

You people should do those things which you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and [then] the God [who gives] peace will be with you.

Yes, He is the Head of the church as His body. For He is the beginning, the first-born among the dead, so that He alone should stand first in everything.

For it pleased the Father for all the fullness [of deity—the sum total of His essence, all His perfection, powers, and attributes] to dwell [permanently] in Him (the Son),

and through [the intervention of] the Son to reconcile all things to Himself, making peace [with believers] through the blood of His cross; through Him, [I say,] whether things on earth or things in heaven.

But now he has reconciled you to himself by the sacrifice of Christ's earthly body in death--it has pleased God that you should stand in his presence holy, pure, and blameless,

It is His will that they should understand the glorious wealth which this secret holds for the Gentiles, in the fact of Christ's presence among you as your hope of glory.

And this I say, lest any one should mislead you with enticing words.

Beware, lest there should be any one who makes a spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceits, according to the tradition of men, according to the rudiments of the world, and not according to Christ;

But now you also should stop practicing them: anger, wrath, malice, slander, filthy language from your mouth.

putting up with one another and forgiving one another. If anyone should have a complaint against anyone, just as also the Lord forgave you, thus also you [do the same].

You should let the peace given by Christ rule in your hearts, since you people were called [to be at peace] in one body [i.e., the church]; and you should be thankful.

You should let the message of Christ live in you abundantly [i.e., as individuals and collectively]. Use [much] wisdom in teaching and warning one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing with favor [i.e., with thankfulness] in your hearts toward God.

You wives should submit to your husbands, as this is proper in [the fellowship of] the Lord.

You husbands should love your wives and not be harsh toward them.

You children should obey your parents in everything, for this is very pleasing to the Lord.

You fathers [Note: By implication, this would include both parents] should not stir up your children [i.e., irritate or exasperate them], so that they do not become discouraged.

You slaves should obey your earthly masters in everything, [and] do not do it just when they are looking [at you], or to gain their favor, but do it with a sincere heart, out of reverence for the Lord.

You masters should treat your slaves in a just and fair way, knowing that you also have a Master [who] is in heaven.

that I may publish it in the manner, it should necessarily be done.

Your speech should always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.

Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions--if he should come to you, welcome him),

For you brothers [should] know that our coming to you was not a waste of time.

but as we were allowed of God, that the gospel should be committed unto us: even so we speak, not as though we intended to please men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

But we were gentle in the midst of you, as a nurse should cherish her children:

For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil: night and day working, that we should burden no one of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.

that ye should walk worthy of God, who calls you to his own kingdom and glory.

forbidding that we should speak to the Gentiles in order that they may be saved; that they may fill up their sins always: but the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.

so that no one would be unsettled by these difficulties [to which I have referred]. For you know that we have been destined for this [as something unavoidable in our position].

For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.

For this cause, I also, no longer concealing my anxiety, sent, that I might get to know your faith, lest by any means he that tempteth, should have tempted you, and, in vain, should have been our toil.

Finally then, brothers, we request and urge you, in [the fellowship of] the Lord, that you should live [dedicated lives] and please God. Just as you people received direction from us [on doing this], see that you [continue to] do it more and more.

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

that each man among you should learn to take his own wife out of pure and honorable motives,

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.

It is not needed that I should write to you about brotherly love; for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.

That ye should walk reputably toward those without, and, of no one, have, need.

Now I would not have you, my brethren, be mistaken about the state of the dead, lest you should be as greatly afflicted as those, who have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also should we believe that God will, through Jesus, bring with him those who sleep.

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that ye should be written to,

But you, brothers, are not in darkness, so that that day, like a thief, should take you by surprise;

So then, we should not be [spiritually] asleep, like the rest [i.e., the unsaved world], but we should be alert and sober [i.e., in control of our senses].

But we, being of the day, should be sober, putting on a breastplate of faith and love, and a helmet, the hope of salvation.

So that, whether we are awake or sleep, we should live together with him.

And regard them very highly, in a loving way, because of the work they do. You should live at peace with one another.

You should be joyful at all times.

We always have to thank God for you, brothers, as it is right that we should, because your faith is growing so wonderfully and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.

This is a positive proof of the righteous judgment of God [a sign of His fair verdict], so that you will be considered worthy of His kingdom, for which indeed you are suffering.

and that you, who are distress'd, should obtain your repose, together with us, when the Lord Jesus, with his angels, the ministers of his power, shall descend from heaven,

whenever he should come to be glorified on that day by his saints and to be marveled at by all who believe, because our testimony was believed among you,

that ye be not suddenly moved from your mind, and be not troubled; neither by spirit, neither by words, nor yet by letter, which should seem to come from us, as though the day of Christ were at hand.

And now ye know that which restrains, that he should be revealed in his own time.

For this reason God is sending on them an energy of delusion, that they should put faith in a falsehood;

so that they all should be condemned, who are faithless to the truth, but take pleasure in evil.

But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

For ye yourselves know that ye should imitate us; because we were not disorderly among you;

not, that we had no just claim, but to present ourselves as a pattern, which you should imitate,

For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

Now to such men we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that, working with quietness, they should eat their own bread.

But you, brothers, should not get tired of doing what is right.

and if any one should disregard what we have prescrib'd, signify it to us by letter, and don't converse with him, that he may be put to shame.

Now we know that the Law is good, if a man uses it in the way it should be used,

Yet for this very cause I obtained mercy, so that in me, the chief of sinners, Jesus Christ might display all his boundless patience as an illustration for those who should later believe in him, and so gain life eternal.

Of whom is Hymeneus and Alexander; whom I have delivered to Satan, that they should not be taught to blaspheme.

I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings should be offered for all men,

whose will it is that all men should be saved, and come into full knowledge of the truth.

which gave himself a ransom for all men, that it should be testified at his time;

My wish, then, is that in every place the men should offer prayer, lifting up holy hands, free from anger and disputation;

Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves modestly and appropriately and discreetly in proper clothing, not with [elaborately] braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive clothes,

A woman should learn in silence with full submission.

But I do not allow a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man [in the assembly], but she should remain quiet.

The minister should be a man of blameless character; he should be husband of but one wife; he should live a sober, self-restrained, orderly life; he should be hospitable, skilled in teaching;

he should be a man who rules his own household well, and keeps his children ever under control and thoroughly well behaved.

nor must he be a new convert; for fear he should be elated with pride, and so involve himself in the same ruin as the devil.

He should also have a good reputation among outsiders, lest he fall into reproach, and into a snare of the devil.

Deacons, likewise, should be worthy of respect, not hypocritical, not drinking a lot of wine, not greedy for money,

They should keep holding on to the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.

They, too, should first be tested till approved, and then, if they are found above reproach, they should serve as deacons.

Women [i.e., probably the deacons' wives], in the same way, should be serious-minded [i.e., dignified], not gossips, [but] sober-minded [see verse 2] and trustworthy in everything.

Deacons should be husbands of one wife, managing their children and their own family affairs well.

I am writing this to you in case I should be detained, to let you see how you ought to behave in the household of God??he Church of the everliving God, the pillar and mainstay of the truth.

For everything created by God is good, and nothing should be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,

But you should have nothing to do with those worldly myths [See 1:4] and superstitious tales [often] told by old women. Instead, train yourself for living a godly life.

Let no one despise your youth; instead, you should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

But if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must learn to practice godliness toward their own family first and to repay their parents, for this pleases God.

Those are the points on which you should dwell, that there may be no call for your censure.

No widow under sixty years of age should be put on this roll. A widow must have had but one husband,