Now then, brothers, you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God, as in fact you are doing. We ask and encourage you in the Lord to do so even more.

In fact, you are showing love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia, but we urge you, brothers, to keep on doing this even more.

For we declare to you what the Lord has told us to say: We who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have died.

Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

However, brothers, you are not in the darkness, in order that the Day of the Lord might surprise you like a thief.

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

who died for us in order that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

So then, encourage one another and build each other up, as you are doing.

We urge you, brothers, to admonish those who are idle, cheer up those who are discouraged, and help those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.

Brothers, at all times we are obligated to thank God for you. It is right to do this because your faith is growing all the time and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.

As a result, we rejoice about you among God's churches about your endurance and faith through all the persecutions and afflictions you are experiencing.

This is evidence of God's righteous judgment and is intended to make you worthy of God's kingdom, for which you are suffering.

and to give us who are afflicted relief when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels

and every type of evil to deceive those who are dying, those who refused to love the truth that would save them.

At all times we are obligated to thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God chose you to be the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through faith in the truth.

We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do what we command.

We hear that some of you are living in idleness. You are not busy working you are busy interfering in other people's lives!

They want to be teachers of the Law, yet they do not understand either what they are talking about or the things about which they speak so confidently.

that is, if he understands that the Law is not intended for righteous people but for lawbreakers and rebels, for ungodly people and sinners, for those who are unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers, their mothers, or other people,

and the grace of our Lord overflowed toward me, along with the faith and love that are in the Messiah Jesus.

Moreover, in the area of teaching, I am not allowing a woman to instigate conflict toward a man. Instead, she is to remain calm.

He must manage his own family well and have children who are submissive and respectful in every way.

These are the things you must insist on and teach.

Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example for other believers in your speech, behavior, love, faithfulness, and purity.

If any woman is a believer and has relatives who are widows, she should help them. The church should not be burdened, so it can help those widows who have no other family members to care for them.

The sins of some people are obvious, leading them to judgment. The sins of others follow them there.

In the same way, good actions are obvious, and those that are not cannot remain hidden.

All who are under the yoke of slavery should regard their own masters as deserving of the highest respect, so that the name of God and our teaching may not be discredited.

Moreover, those who have believing masters should be respectful to them, because they are fellow believers. In fact, they must serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers and dear to them. These are the things you must teach and exhort.

and incessant conflict between people who are depraved in mind and deprived of truth. They think that godliness is a way to make a profit.

With food to eat and clothes to wear; content we are in everything.

But people who want to get rich keep toppling into temptation and are trapped by many stupid and harmful desires that plunge them into destruction and ruin.

Since you are in the presence of God, who gives life to everything, and in the presence of the Messiah Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, I solemnly charge you

Tell those who are rich in this age not to be arrogant and not to place their confidence in anything as uncertain as riches. Instead, let them place their confidence in God, who lavishly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

They are to do good, to be rich in good actions, to be generous, and to share.

Hold on to the pattern of healthy teachings that you have heard from me, along with the faith and love that are in the Messiah Jesus.

Remind others about these things, and warn them before God not to argue over words. Arguing does not do any good but only destroys those who are listening.

and what they say will spread everywhere like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are like that.

In a large house there are not only utensils made of gold and silver, but also those made of wood and clay. Some are for special use, while others are for ordinary use.

For some of these men go into homes and deceive foolish women who are burdened with sins and swayed by all kinds of desires.

These women are always studying but are never able to arrive at a full knowledge of the truth.

Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and their faith is a counterfeit.

But evil people and impostors will go from bad to worse as they deceive others and are themselves deceived.

From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures that are able to give you the wisdom you need for salvation through faith in the Messiah Jesus.

In the presence of God and the Messiah Jesus, who is going to judge those who are living and those who are dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly appeal to you

An elder must be blameless. He must be the husband of one wife and have children who are believers and who are not accused of having wild lifestyles or of being rebellious.

For there are many people who are rebellious, especially those who are converts from Judaism. They speak utter nonsense and deceive people.

They must be silenced, because they are the kind of people who ruin whole families by teaching what they should not teach in order to make money in a shameful way.

Everything is clean to those who are clean, but nothing is clean to those who are corrupt and unbelieving. Indeed, their very way of thinking and their consciences have been corrupted.

They claim to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified to do anything good.

Older men are to be sober, serious, sensible, and sound in faith, love, and endurance.

Likewise, older women are to show their reverence for God by their behavior. They are not to be gossips or addicted to alcohol, but to be examples of goodness.

Slaves are to submit to their masters in everything, aiming to please them and not argue with them

or steal from them. Instead, they are to show complete and perfect loyalty, so that in every way they may make the teaching about God our Savior more attractive.

He gave himself for us to set us free from every wrong and to cleanse us so that we could be his special people who are enthusiastic about doing good deeds.

These are the things you should teach. Encourage and refute with full authority. Do not let anyone look down on you.

They are not to insult anyone or be argumentative. Instead, they are to be gentle and perfectly courteous to everyone.

This saying is trustworthy. I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have put their faith in God may devote themselves to good actions. These things are good and helpful to other people.

But avoid foolish controversies, arguments about genealogies, quarrels, and fights about the Law. These things are useless and worthless.

All who are with me send you greetings. Greet our fellow believers who love us. May grace be with all of you! Amen.

For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son. Today I have become your Father"? Or again, "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son"?

And, "In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.

All of them are spirits on a divine mission, sent to serve those who are about to inherit salvation, aren't they?

For he did not put the coming world we are talking about under the control of angels.

because both the one who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified all have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers

Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

but the Messiah was faithful as the Son in charge of God's household, and we are his household if we hold on to our courage and the hope in which we rejoice.

even though they had seen my actions for 40 years. That is why I was indignant with that generation and said, "They are always going astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.'

because we are the Messiah's partners only if we hold on to our original confidence to the end.

We who have believed are entering that rest, just as he has said, "So in my anger I swore a solemn oath that they would never enter my rest,"

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. Instead, we have one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet he never sinned.

He can deal gently with people who are ignorant and easily deceived, since he himself is subject to weakness.

In the same way, the Messiah did not take upon himself the glory of being a high priest. No, it was God who said to him, "You are my Son. Today I have become your Father."

As he also says in another place, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

But solid food is for mature people, whose minds are trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.

Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case, things that point to salvation.

Then, instead of being lazy, you will imitate those who are inheriting the promises through faith and patience.

The descendants of Levi who accept the priesthood have a commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their own brothers, even though they are also descendants of Abraham.

Mortal men collect tithes, but we are informed by Scripture that Melchizedek keeps on living.

For the person we are talking about belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar.

For it is declared about him, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

but Jesus became a priest with an oath when God told him, "The Lord has taken an oath and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever."

For the Law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promised oath, which came after the Law, results in a Son who is eternally perfect.

Now the main point in what we are saying is this: we do have this kind of high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven

but God found something wrong with his people when he said, "Look! The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

since they deal only with food, drink, and various washings, which are required for the body until the time when things would be set right.

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are unclean purifies them physically,

This is why the Messiah is the mediator of a new covenant; so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance promised them, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the offenses committed under the first covenant.

Thus it was necessary for these earthly copies of the things in heaven to be cleansed by these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves are made clean with better sacrifices than these.

Indeed, just as people are destined to die once and after that to be judged,

In this passage he says, "You never wanted or took delight in sacrifices, offerings, burnt offerings, and sin offerings," which are offered according to the Law.

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Now, we do not belong to those who turn back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

By faith we understand that time was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are invisible.

For people who say such things make it clear that they are looking for a country of their own.

You have forgotten the encouragement that is addressed to you as sons: "My son, do not think lightly of the Lord's discipline or give up when you are corrected by him.

Now if you are without any discipline, in which all sons share, then you are illegitimate and not God's sons.

to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, to a judge who is the God of all, to the spirits of righteous people who have been made perfect,

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and worship God in reverence and fear in a way that pleases him.

Continue to remember those in prison as if you were in prison with them, as well as those who are mistreated, since they also are only mortal.