Each of you must give what you have decided in your heart, not with regret or under compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.

If I must boast, I will boast about the things that show how weak I am.

I must boast, although it does not do any good. Let's talk about visions and revelations from the Lord.

This will be the third time I am coming to you. "Every accusation must be verified by two or three witnesses."

But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, "Though you are a Jew, you have been living like a gentile and not like a Jew. So how can you insist that the gentiles must live like Jews?"

But what does the Scripture say? "Drive out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman must never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman."

For the whole Law is summarized in a single statement: "You must love your neighbor as yourself."

Each person must examine his own actions, and then he can boast about his own accomplishments and not about someone else.

For everyone must carry his own load.

The thief must no longer steal but must work hard and do what is good with his own hands, so that he might earn something to give to the needy.

Indeed, just as the church is submissive to the Messiah, so wives must be submissive to their husbands in everything.

In the same way, husbands must love their wives as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself.

But each individual man among you must love his wife as he loves himself; and may the wife fear her husband.

Therefore, my dear brothers whom I long for, my joy and my victor's crown, this is how you must stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.

However, you must remain firmly established and steadfast in the faith, without being moved from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

But now you must also get rid of anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene speech, and all such sins.

For it is God's will that you be sanctified: You must abstain from sexual immorality.

Each of you must know how to control his own body in a holy and honorable manner,

Furthermore, you must never take advantage of or exploit a brother in this regard, because the Lord avenges all these things, just as we already told you and warned you.

But since we belong to the day, let's be sober. We must put on the breastplate of faith and love, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

For you yourselves know what you must do to imitate us. We never lived in idleness among you.

Therefore, an elder must be blameless, the husband of one wife, stable, sensible, respectable, hospitable to strangers, and teachable.

He must not drink excessively or be a violent person, but instead be gentle. He must not be argumentative or love money.

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

He must not be a recent convert, so that he won't become arrogant and fall into the Devil's condemnation.

He must be well thought of by outsiders, so he doesn't fall into disgrace and the trap set for him by the Devil.

Ministers, too, must be serious. They must not be two-faced, addicted to wine, or greedy for money.

They must hold firmly to the secret of the faith with clear consciences.

But they must first be tested. Then, if they prove to be blameless, they may become ministers.

Their wives must also be serious. They must not be gossips, but instead be stable and trustworthy in everything.

Ministers must be husbands of one wife and must manage their children and their families well.

These are the things you must insist on and teach.

But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to respect their own family by repaying their parents, for this is pleasing in God's sight.

She must be well known for her good actions as a woman who has raised children, welcomed strangers, washed the saints' feet, helped the suffering, and devoted herself to doing good in every way.

For the Scripture says, "You must not muzzle an ox while it is treading out grain," and, "A worker deserves his pay."

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.

But you, man of God, must flee from all these things. Instead, you must pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness.

However, God's solid foundation still stands. It has this inscription on it: "The Lord knows those who belong to him," and "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from evil."

A servant of the Lord must not argue. Instead, he must be kind to everyone, teachable, willing to suffer wrong,

You must realize, however, that in the last days difficult times will come.

But you must be clear-headed about everything. Endure suffering. Do the work of an evangelist. Devote yourself completely to your ministry.

You, too, must watch out for him, for he violently opposed our message.

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.

Because an overseer is God's servant manager, he must be blameless. He must not be arrogant or irritable. He must not drink too much, be a violent person, or make money in shameful ways.

Instead, he must be hospitable to strangers, must appreciate what is good, and be sensible, honest, moral, and self-controlled.

He must be devoted to the trustworthy message that agrees with what we teach, so that he may be able to encourage others with healthy doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

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.

For this reason we must pay closer attention to the things we have heard, or we may drift away,

No creature can hide from him, but everyone is exposed and helpless before the eyes of the one to whom we must give a word of explanation.

When a change in the priesthood takes place, there must also be a change in the Law.

For where there is a will, the death of the one who made it must be established.

But you must continue to remember those earlier days, how after you were enlightened you endured a hard and painful struggle.

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him.

For they could not endure the command that was given: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death."

But you must let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

But he must ask in faith, without any doubts, for the one who has doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

You must understand this, my dear brothers. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.

Nevertheless, you are doing the right thing if you obey the royal Law in keeping with the Scripture, "You must love your neighbor as yourself."

You must make it your habit to speak and act like people who are going to be judged by the law of liberty.

You, too, must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the coming of the Lord is near.

For it is written, "You must be holy, because I am holy."

If you call "Father" the one who judges everyone impartially according to what they have done, you must live in reverent fear as long as you are strangers in a strange land.

Now that you have obeyed the truth and have purified your souls to love your brothers sincerely, you must love one another intensely and with a pure heart.

You household servants must submit yourselves to your masters out of respect, not only to those who are kind and fair, but also to those who are unjust.

In a similar way, you wives must submit yourselves to your husbands so that, even if some of them refuse to obey the word, they may be won over without a word through your conduct as wives

In a similar way, you husbands must live with your wives in an understanding manner, as with a most delicate partner. Honor them as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing may interfere with your prayers.

Finally, all of you must live in harmony, be sympathetic, love as brothers, and be compassionate and humble.

"For the person who wants to love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.

He must turn away from evil and do good. He must seek peace and pursue it.

Therefore, since the Messiah suffered in a mortal body, you, too, must arm yourselves with the same determination, because the person who has suffered in a mortal body has stopped sinning,

Whoever speaks must speak God's words. Whoever serves must serve with the strength that God supplies, so that in every way God may be glorified through Jesus, the Messiah. Glory and power belong to him forever and ever! Amen.

Be shepherds of God's flock that is among you, watching over it, not because you must but because you want to, and not greedily but eagerly, as God desires.

In a similar way, you young people must submit to the elders. All of you must clothe yourselves with humility for the sake of each other, because: "God opposes the arrogant, but gives grace to the humble."

For this very reason, you must make every effort to supplement your faith with moral character, your moral character with knowledge,

First of all, you must understand this: No prophecy in Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation,

First of all you must understand this: In the last days mockers will come and, following their own desires, will ridicule us

The one who says that he abides in him must live the same way he himself lived.

What you have heard from the beginning must abide in you. If what you have heard from the beginning abides in you, you will also abide in the Son and in the Father.

Little children, we must stop expressing love merely by our words and manner of speech; we must love also in action and in truth.

Dear friends, if this is the way God loved us, we must also love one another.

And this is the commandment that we have from him: the person who loves God must also love his brother.

And this is what demonstrates love: that we live according to God's commandments. Just as you have heard from the beginning what he commanded, you must live by it.

But you, dear friends, must remember the statements and predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

But you, dear friends, must continue to build your most holy faith for your own benefit. Furthermore, continue to pray in the Holy Spirit.

This is the revelation of Jesus the Messiah, which God gave him to show his servants the things that must happen soon. He made it known by sending his messenger to his servant John,

After these things, I saw a door standing open in heaven. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this."

Then the seven thunders told me, "You must prophesy again about many nations, nations, languages, and kings."

And if anyone should want to hurt them, fire comes out of their mouths and burns up their enemies. If anyone wants to hurt them, he must be killed in this manner.

Five of them have fallen, one is living, and the other has not yet come. When he comes, he must remain in power for a little while.

He threw him into the bottomless pit, locked it, and sealed it over him to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were over. After that, he must be set free for a little while.

He told me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord God of the spirits and of the prophets has sent his messenger to show his servants the things that must happen soon."