You should serve as shepherds of God's flock [i.e., the church], among whom you minister, providing careful oversight [of the people], not because you feel forced to, but because you want to, as this is in accordance with the way God wants it to be. Do not [serve as elders] simply out of a desire for the income you receive, but because your heart is in it.

not by way of lording it over your heritage, but by becoming examples to the flock.

And in the same way, let the younger men be ruled by the older ones. Let all of you put away pride and make yourselves ready to be servants: for God is a hater of pride, but he gives grace to those who make themselves low.

Do not give way to him but be strong in your faith, in the knowledge that your brothers who are in the world undergo the same troubles.

But he that lacketh these things is blind and gropeth for the way with his hand, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

For so the way will be open to you into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

So I think it right, as long as I am in this "tent," to rouse you by way of reminding you,

And many shall follow their lascivious doings; by reason of whom the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of.

And sent destruction on Sodom and Gomorrah, burning them up with fire as an example to those whose way of life might in the future be unpleasing to him;

and if He rescued righteous Lot, who was tormented by the immoral conduct of unprincipled and ungodly men

Most of all, however, them who go their way, after the flesh, with a coveting of defilement, and who despise, lordship, - daring! willful! before dignitaries, they tremble not, defaming,

and receive the reward of unrighteousness. They count it pleasure to live deliciously for a season. Spots they are, and filthiness, living at pleasure, and in deceitful ways feasting with you:

Having eyes full of evil desire, never having enough of sin; turning feeble souls out of the true way; they are children of cursing, whose hearts are well used to bitter envy;

forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the'son of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing;

For, great swelling words of vanity, uttering, they entice with carnal covetings - in wanton ways - them who are, well-nigh, escaping from the men who, in error, have their behaviour;

They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to corrupt habits; for a man is the slave of anything to which he gives way.

For if, after men have escaped the corrupting ways of the world through a full knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they again become entangled in them and are conquered by them, then their last condition is worse than their former one.

For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

Beloved, I am now writing you this second letter. In this [as in the first one], I am stirring up your untainted mind to remind you,

Know this first, that mockers will come in the last days, in their mockery, men who walk the way of their own lusts

and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For, from since the fathers became asleep, all things continue this way from the beginning of creation.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his word, as he seems to some, but he is waiting in mercy for you, not desiring the destruction of any, but that all may be turned from their evil ways.

If all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what men you ought to be! What holy and pious lives you ought to lead,

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.

This is the message [of God’s promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection].

If we claim to share a relationship with God and yet live in darkness [i.e., in a sinful way], we are lying and are not living a truthful life.

But the person who obeys what His teaching requires, truly in this person love for God has been made complete. This is [another way] to be sure that we are in [fellowship with] Him:

whoever says he lives in Christ [that is, whoever says he has accepted Him as God and Savior] ought [as a moral obligation] to walk and conduct himself just as He walked and conducted Himself.

Whoever loves his brother is always in the light and puts no hindrance in anyone's way.

Dear children, it is [now] the last hour [i.e., the final period of God's dealing with people on earth], and since you have heard that an antichrist [i.e., a person who is against Christ] is coming, even now [you should be aware that] many antichrists have [already] come. This is [one way] we know that this is the last hour.

I am writing these things to you about those whose purpose is that you may be turned out of the true way.

My little children, let no man take you out of the true way: he who does righteousness is upright, even as he is upright;

In this way it is clear who are the children of God and who are the children of the Evil One; anyone who does not do righteousness or who has no love for his brother, is not a child of God.

not [hate each other] the way Cain did, who belonged to the evil one [i.e., Satan], when he murdered his brother [Abel]. And why did he murder him? It was because his [own] actions were evil and his brother's were righteous [See Heb. 11:4].

We know what love is--through Christ's having laid down His life on our behalf; and in the same way we ought to lay down our lives for our brother men.

Little children [i.e., dear ones], we should not [merely] claim to love [people], or [even just] talk about it, but [we should love] by what we do [for them] in a genuine way.

In this way we may be certain that we are true, and may give our heart comfort before him,

Whoever practices obedience to His commands remains in union with Him and He in union with him; and in this way we know that He remains in union with us, by the Spirit that He has given us.

In this way you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spiritual utterance which owns that Jesus Christ has come in human form comes from God,

We are children of God. Whoever knows God by experience listens to us; whoever is not a child of God does not listen to us. This is the way to distinguish a true spiritual utterance from one that is false.

This is the way God's love for us has been shown, namely, God has sent His only Son into the world that we through Him might have life.

In this way is seen the true love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Beloved! If, in this way, God, loved us, we also, ought to love, one another.

This is [one way] to know we live in [fellowship with] God and that He lives in our hearts: [It is] because He has given us His Holy Spirit [to live within us, See 3:24].

In this way love is made complete in us, so that we may be without fear on the day of judging, because as he is, so are we in this world.

Love has in it no element of fear; but perfect love drives away fear, because fear involves pain, and if a man gives way to fear, there is something imperfect in his love.

In this way, we are certain that we have love for the children of God, when we have love for God and keep his laws.

The one who believes in the Son of God [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies confidently on Him as Savior] has the testimony within himself [because he can speak authoritatively about Christ from his own personal experience]. The one who does not believe God [in this way] has made Him [out to be] a liar, because he has not believed in the evidence that God has given regarding His Son.

I have written in this way to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may be sure you have life eternal.

If anyone [of you] observes his brother [or sister] sinning [in a way that would not lead] to [spiritual] death, he should ask [God, in prayer, to help that person], and God will give him [spiritual] life, [that is], to such ones, provided their sin is not leading to [spiritual] death. There is such a sin that leads to [spiritual] death. [See Heb. 6:4-6; I Tim. 5:6; Heb. 10:26-27; II Pet. 2:20-22]. I am not suggesting that you should ask [God, in prayer] about such a situation.

It gave me great joy to see some of your children walking in the true way, even as we were ordered to do by the Father.

I pray that you may prosper, beloved, in every way, and be in good health, even as your soul is prospering.

For it gave me great joy when some of the brothers came and gave witness that you had the true faith and were walking in the true way.

I have no greater joy than to have news that my children are walking in the true way.

who testified about thy love in sight of the congregation, whom thou will do well having helped send on their way worthily of God.

As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them, the same kind of way with these who indulged in fornication, and who went rear of queer flesh, are set forth an example, undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

Nevertheless in the same way also these men who dream, indeed defile flesh, and reject lordship, and speak evil of dignities.

But these people [i.e., the "certain men" of verse 4] speak against whatever they do not understand, and what they do understand naturally, the way animals do, proves to be their ruination.

Woe be unto them, for they have followed the way of Cain, and are utterly given to the error of Balaam for lucre's sake, and are cast away in the treason of Korah.

to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly deeds they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh and cruel things ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God] will not be hurt by the second death (the lake of fire).’

But I have some things against you, because you have with you those who keep the teaching of Balaam, by whose suggestion Balak made the children of Israel go out of the right way, taking food which was offered to false gods, and going after the desires of the flesh.

You also have some who in the same way are holding to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

Still I have this against you: you are tolerating that Jezebel of a woman who styles herself a prophetess and seduces my servants by teaching them to give way to sexual vice and to eat food which has been sacrificed to idols.

And I gave her time for a change of heart, but she has no mind to give up her unclean ways.

So I will cast her on a sickbed, and I will throw those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her ways.

Whoever conquers will be clothed this way -- in white clothes -- and I will never blot his name out of the book of life, but I will own him as mine in the presence of my Father and His angels.

To all those who are dear to me, I give sharp words and punishment: then with all your heart have sorrow for your evil ways.

[When] the fourth angel sounded its trumpet [I saw] one third of the sun, one third of the moon, and one third of the stars being struck, so that one third [of their light] would become darkened. So, the daytime had [only] one third of its [normal] light, and the nighttime was the same way.

And in those days shall men seek death, and shall in no way find it; and shall desire to die, and death flees from them.

And in this way I saw the horses in the vision, and those seated on them, who had fiery [red] and hyacinth-colored and sulphurous [yellow] breastplates, and the heads of the horses [were] like the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire and smoke and sulphur.

And if any man wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouth and devours their enemies. And if any man wants to harm them, he must be killed this way.

And their slain bodies upon the spacious way of the great city, which is called spiritually Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

And the great dragon was forced down, the old snake, who is named the Evil One and Satan, by whom all the earth is turned from the right way; he was forced down to the earth, and his angels were forced down with him.

Whoever leads others into captivity will go into captivity himself. Whoever kills with the sword must be killed with the sword himself. In this way will be shown the patient endurance and the fidelity of God's people.

And those who are on the earth are turned from the true way by him through the signs which he was given power to do before the beast; giving orders to those who are on the earth to make an image to the beast, who was wounded by the sword, and came to life.

And a second angel came after, saying, Destruction has come to Babylon the great, which gave to all the nations the wine of the wrath of her evil ways.

In this way is shown the patient endurance of God's people, who always cling to God's commands and their faith in Jesus.

And they sing the song of Moses the bondman of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty, righteous and TRUE are thy ways, thou King of the nations.

And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, "Go your ways, pour out your vials of wrath upon the earth."

And men were burned with great heat: and they said evil things against the name of the God who has authority over these punishments; and they were not turned from their evil ways to give him glory.

And the sixth agent poured out his bowl upon the great river Euphrates, and the water of it was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the sun-rising might be prepared.

And there were lightnings and sounds and thunders, and there was a great earthquake, as has not happened from the [time] humanity has been on the earth--so great in this way [was] the earthquake.

and on her forehead a name was written by way of symbol, "Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of all abominations on earth."

The Beast that you saw was, but is not, and is about to rise out of the bottomless pit, and is on its way to destruction. Those who are living on earth will be amazed--those whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world--when they see that the Beast was, but is not, and yet will come.'

And the beast who was, but is not, is himself also an eighth, although he is one of the seven kings, and is on his way to perdition.

For through the wine of the wrath of her evil desires all the nations have come to destruction; and the kings of the earth made themselves unclean with her, and the traders of the earth had their wealth increased by the power of her evil ways.

because her sins have piled up all the way to heaven and God has remembered her crimes.

Pay her back the way she also paid,
and double it according to her works.
In the cup in which she mixed,
mix a double portion for her.

As she gave glory to herself, and became more evil in her ways, in the same measure give her pain and weeping: for she says in her heart, I am seated here a queen, and am no widow, and will in no way see sorrow.

They will stand a long way off for fear of her torture, saying, 'Alas! Alas for the great city, for Babylon the mighty city, because in a single day your judgment has overtaken you!'

The businessmen who dealt in these things, who had grown rich from their business with her, will stand a long way off for fear of her torture, weeping and mourning,

because in a single hour a wealth so vast has been destroyed!' All ship pilots and all who travel by sea, sailors and seafaring men, stood a long way off

Be glad, heaven, and you saints, and you apostles, and you prophets, for God has brought judgment on her for you [i.e., for the way she treated you].'"

Then a mighty angel picked up a stone like a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying:

In this way, Babylon the great city
will be thrown down violently
and never be found again.

And never again will the shining of lights be seen in you; and the voice of the newly-married man and the bride will never again be sounding in you: for your traders were the lords of the earth, and by your evil powers were all the nations turned out of the right way.

Then I saw heaven open, and there before me was a white horse whose rider was called "Faithful and True." And He [i.e., Christ] judges and wages war in a just way.

And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who did the signs before him, by which they were turned from the true way who had the mark of the beast, and who gave worship to his image: these two were put living into the sea of ever-burning fire.

And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the Book of Life; and the dead were judged according to what they had done as written in the books [that is, everything done while on earth].

He who talked to me had a golden wand by way of a measuring-rod, to measure the City and its gates and wall;