and that you are not intimidated by your opponents in any way. This is evidence that they will be destroyed and that you will be saved and all because of God.

And so, when Jesus' name is called, the knees of everyone should fall, wherever they're residing.

Yes, I also ask you, my true partner, to help these women. They have worked hard with me to advance the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.

For by him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether they are kings, lords, rulers, or powers. All things have been created through him and for him.

Because they are united in love, I pray that their hearts may be encouraged by all the riches that come from a complete understanding of the full knowledge of the Messiah, who is the mystery of God.

All of these things will be destroyed as they are used, because they are based on human commands and teachings.

These things have the appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion, humility, and harsh treatment of the body, but they have no value against self-indulgence.

Fathers, do not make your children resentful. Otherwise, they'll become discouraged.

He is coming with Onesimus, that faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.

Jesus, who is called Justus, also greets you. These are the only ones of the circumcision who are fellow workers for the kingdom of God. They have been an encouragement to me.

For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in union with the Messiah Jesus. You suffered the same persecutions from the people of your own country as they did from those Jews

as they try to keep us from telling the gentiles how they can be saved. As a result, they are constantly adding to the number of sins they have committed. However, wrath has overtaken them at last!

When people say, "There is peace and security," destruction will strike them as suddenly as labor pains come to a pregnant woman, and they will not be able to escape.

For this reason, God will send them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.

In the name of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is living in idleness and not living according to the tradition that they received from us.

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.

These include Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I handed over to Satan so that they may learn not to blaspheme.

even though she will be saved through the birth of the Child, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, along with good judgment.

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.

They will try to stop people from marrying and from eating certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

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.

Continue to give these instructions, so that they may be blameless.

But do not include younger widows on your list. For whenever their natural desires cause them to lose their devotion to the Messiah, they want to remarry.

They receive condemnation because they have set aside their prior commitment to the Messiah.

At the same time, they also learn how to be lazy while going from house to house. Not only this, but they even become gossips and keep busy by interfering in other people's lives, saying things they should not say.

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.

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

By doing this they store up a treasure for themselves that is a good foundation for the future, so that they can keep their hold on the life that is real.

Although some claim to have it, they have abandoned the faith. May grace be with all of you!

For that reason, I endure everything for the sake of those who have been chosen so that they, too, may receive the salvation that is in the Messiah Jesus, along with eternal glory.

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

They have abandoned the truth by claiming that the resurrection has already taken place, and so they destroy the faith of others.

Do not have anything to do with foolish and stupid discussions, because you know they breed arguments.

so that they might escape from the Devil's snare, even though they've been held captive by him to do his will.

They will hold to an outward form of godliness but deny its power. Stay away from such people.

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 they will not get very far because, as in the case of those two men, their stupidity will be plain to everyone.

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

They will refuse to listen to the truth and will turn to myths.

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.

That statement is true. For this reason, refute them sharply so that they may become healthy in the faith

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

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.

They should encourage the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children,

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.

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

Do all you can to send Zenas the expert in the Law and Apollos on their way, and see that they have everything they need.

Our own people should also learn to make good deeds a priority when urgent needs arise, so they won't be unproductive.

They will come to an end, but you will remain forever. They will all wear out like clothes.

You will roll them up like a robe, and they will be changed like clothes. But you remain the same, and your life will never end."

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

and might free those who were slaves all their lives because they were terrified by death.

do not harden your hearts as they did when they provoked me during the time of testing in the wilderness.

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.'

So in my anger I swore a solemn oath that they would never enter my rest."

As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as they did when they provoked me."

And to whom did he swear that they would never enter his rest? It was to those who disobeyed him, was it not?

So we see that they were unable to enter because of their unbelief.

because we have had the good news told to us as well as to them. But the message they heard did not help them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened to it.

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,"

and again in this passage, "They will never enter my rest."

and who have fallen away, as long as they continue to crucify the Son of God to their own detriment by exposing him to public ridicule.

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.

They serve in a sanctuary that is a copy, a shadow of the heavenly one. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tent: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain."

It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors at the time when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. Because they did not remain loyal to my covenant, I ignored them, declares the Lord.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

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.

Otherwise, would they not have stopped offering them, because the worshipers, cleansed once for all, would no longer be aware of any sins?

All these people died having faith. They did not receive the things that were promised, yet they saw them in the distant future and welcomed them, acknowledging that they were strangers and foreigners on earth.

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

If they had been thinking about what they had left behind, they would have had an opportunity to go back.

Instead, they were longing for a better country, that is, a heavenly one. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after he was born, because they saw that he was a beautiful child and were not afraid of the king's order.

By faith they went through the Red Sea as if it were dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do this, they were drowned.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.

Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, received promises, shut the mouths of lions,

Women received their dead raised back to life. Other people were brutally tortured, but refused to be ransomed, so that they might gain a better resurrection.

They were stoned to death, sawed in half, and killed with swords. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins. They were needy, oppressed, and mistreated.

The world wasn't worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and from caves to holes in the ground.

All these people won approval for their faith but they did not receive what was promised,

since God had planned something better for us, so that they would not be perfected without us.

For a short time they disciplined us as they thought best, but God does it for our good, so that we may share in his holiness.

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

See to it that you do not ignore the one who is speaking. For if the hearers did not escape when they ignored the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we turn away from the one who is from heaven!

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.

Continue to follow and be submissive to your leaders, since they are watching over your souls as those who will have to give a word of explanation. By doing this, you will be letting them carry out their duties joyfully, and not with grief, for that would be harmful for you.

Are not they the ones who blaspheme the noble Name by which you have been called?

And look at ships! They are so big that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are steered by a tiny rudder wherever the helmsman directs.

Where do those fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your selfish desires that are at war in your bodies, don't they?

Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.

They tried to find out what era or specific time the Spirit of the Messiah in them kept referring to when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.

It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you in regard to the things that have now been announced to you by those who brought you the good news through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. These are things that even the angels desire to look into.

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.

a stone they stumble over and a rock they trip on." They keep on stumbling because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

Continue to live such upright lives among the gentiles that, when they slander you as practicers of evil, they may see your good actions and glorify God when he visits them.