as you are practicing it toward all the brothers all over Macedonia. We beg you, brothers, to continue to live better and better;

Also we do not want you to have any misunderstanding, brothers, about those who are falling asleep, so as to keep you from grieving over them as others do who have no hope.

For on the Lord's own authority we say that those of us who may be left behind and are still living when the Lord comes back, will have no advantage at all over those who have fallen asleep.

Take care that none of you ever pays back evil for evil, but always keep looking for ways to show kindness to one another and everybody.

To the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen.

Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan to be so disciplined that they will stop their abusive speech.

who is ever willing for all mankind to be saved and to come to an increasing knowledge of the truth.

So I want the men everywhere to offer prayer, lifting to heaven holy hands which are kept unstained by anger and dissensions.

I do not permit a married woman to practice teaching or domineering over a husband; she must keep quiet.

This is a saying to be trusted: "Whoever aspires to the office of pastor desires an excellent work."

If you continue to put these things before the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, ever feeding your own soul on the truths of the faith and of the fine teaching which you have followed.

Whoever fails to provide for his own relatives, and especially for those of his immediate family, has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

No soldier ever allows himself to be involved in the business affairs of life, so that he may please the officer who enlisted him.

You must keep on fleeing from the evil impulses of youth, but ever strive for uprightness, faith, love, and peace, in association with those who call upon the Lord with pure hearts.

Alexander, a worker in metal, did me ever so much harm. The Lord will repay him for what he did.

The Lord will rescue me from every wicked work and save me to His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

For God's favor has appeared with its offer of salvation to all mankind,

Constantly remind people to submit to and obey the rulers who have authority over them, so as to be ready for any good enterprise,

Yes, I have felt great joy and encouragement over your love, because the hearts of God's people have been refreshed by you, my brother.

For to what angel did God ever say, "You are my Son, today I have become your Father"?

But regarding the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, will stand forever and ever; a righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.

But to what angel did He ever say: "Just keep your seat at my right hand, until I make your foes a footstool for your feet"?

For it was not to angels that He gave authority over that world to be, of which we are speaking.

You made Him inferior to angels for a little while, yet you have crowned Him with glory and honor, you have set Him over the works of your hands,

You have put all things under His feet!" Now when He gave Him authority over everything, He did not leave a single thing that was not put under His authority. But as yet we do not see everything actually under His authority,

but Christ as a Son set over the house of God was faithful; and we are that house, if we keep up our courage and the joy that hope inspires to the very end.

See to it, my brothers, that no wicked, unbelieving heart is found in any of you, as shown by your turning away from the ever-living God,

For whoever is admitted into God's rest himself has rested from his works, just as God did.

For every high priest who is taken from men is appointed to officiate on behalf of men in matters relating to God, that is, to offer gifts and sin-offerings.

and so is obliged to offer sin-offerings, not only for the people but for himself as well.

For although you ought to be teachers of others because you have been Christians so long, you actually need someone to teach you over and over again the very elements of the truths that God has given us, and you have gotten into such a state that you are in constant need of milk instead of solid food.

saying: "I will certainly bless you over and over again, I will extensively increase your numbers."

For He of whom this is said became a member of a different tribe no member of which ever officiated at the altar.

who does not need, as did the Levitical priests, to offer sacrifices, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; this latter is just what He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; so this High Priest too must have some sacrifice to offer,

how much more surely will the blood of Christ, who with an eternal Spirit gave Himself a spotless offering to God, purify your consciences from works that mean mere death, to serve the ever living God?

And He does not enter to offer Himself over and over again, as the high priest enters the sanctuary year after year with blood that is not his own;

for, if that had been the case, He would have had to suffer over and over again, ever since the creation of the world. But, as it is, once at the close of the ages He has appeared, to put away sin by His sacrifice.

Every other priest stands officiating day after day and over and over again offering the same sacrifices, although they are unable to take away our sins.

and since in Him we have a Great Priest over the house of God,

let us, without ever wavering, keep on holding to the hope that we profess, for He is to be trusted who has made the promise,

It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the ever living God!

By faith Abraham, when he was put to the test, offered Isaac as a sacrifice; that is, he who had received the promise was starting to offer as a sacrifice his only son,

So then, through Christ, let us always offer God the sacrifice of praise; that is, the speech of lips that glorify the name of God.

Continue to obey and to be submissive to your leaders, for they are ever watching in defense of your souls, as men who will have to give account of their trust. Treat them in this way, so that they may work with joy and not with grief.

perfectly fit you to do His will, He Himself, through Jesus Christ, accomplishing through you what is pleasing to Him. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, sends greetings to the twelve tribes that are scattered over the world.

For whoever obeys the whole law, except to slip in a single instance, is guilty of breaking it all.

For merciless judgment will be the portion of the merciless man; yet mercy will triumph over judgment.

So the tongue, too, is a little organ but can boast of great achievements. See how a spark, ever so tiny, can set a vast forest on fire!

What causes wars and quarrels among you? Is it not your different desires which are ever at war within your bodies? You desire things and cannot have them, and so you commit murder.

You faithless wives! Do you not know that the friendship of the world means enmity with God? So whoever wants to be a friend to the world puts himself down as an enemy to God.

Stop talking against one another, brothers. Whoever is in the habit of talking against a brother or of criticizing his brother is criticizing and condemning the law. But if you are in the habit of criticizing the law, you are not a practicer but a critic of the law.

Come now, you rich people, weep aloud and howl over the miseries that are sure to overtake you.

So be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer keeps on waiting and waiting for the precious crop from his land; how he keeps up his patience over it until he gets the early and late rains,

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

you may be sure that whoever brings a sinner back from his evil ways will save the man's soul from death, and cover up a multitude of sins.

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the foreign-born Jews who are scattered over Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In accordance with His great mercy He has begotten us anew to an ever living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead;

and keep on building yourselves up, as living stones, into a spiritual house for a consecrated priesthood, to offer up, through Jesus Christ, spiritual sacrifices that will be acceptable to God.

It must be so, because the Scriptures say: "Here now I lay in Zion a chosen stone, a costly cornerstone, And not a single one who puts his trust in Him will ever be put to shame."

and: "A stone for them to stumble over and a rock to trip them up." They keep on stumbling over the message, because they are disobedient to it, and this is their appointed doom.

You married women, in the same way, must be submissive to your husbands, so that, if any of them do not believe the message, they may be won over without a word through the living of the wives,

For "Whoever wants to enjoy life and see delightful days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.

So then, since Christ has suffered in our physical form, you too must arm yourselves with the same determination. For whoever suffers in his physical form has done with sin,

If anyone is preaching, let him do it as one who utters the oracles of God; if anyone is rendering any service to others, let him do it with all the strength that God supplies, so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

and not as domineering over those in your charge but proving yourselves models for the flock to imitate;

Resist him and be strong in faith, because you know that your brotherhood all over the world is experiencing the same sort of sufferings.

For whoever lacks these qualities is blind -- or short-sighted-- and forgetful of the cleansing that he has received from his former sins.

for no prophecy has ever yet originated in man's will, but men who were led by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

and saying, "Where is His promised coming? For ever since our forefathers fell asleep everything has remained exactly as it was from the beginning of creation!"

My dear children, I am writing you this so that you may not sin; yet if anyone ever sins, we have One who pleads our case with the Father, Jesus Christ, One who is righteous.

Whoever says, "I know Him," but does not practice obedience to His commands is a liar, and there is no truth in his heart;

but whoever practices obedience to His message really has a perfect love of God in his heart. By this we can be sure that we are in union with Him:

Whoever claims, "I am always in union with Him," ought to live as He lived.

Whoever claims to be in the light, and yet continues to hate his brother is still in darkness.

Whoever continues to love his brother is always in the light, and he is no hindrance to others.

But whoever continues to hate his brother is in darkness and is living in darkness, and he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

and the world is passing away and with it the evil longings it incites, but whoever perseveres in doing God's will lives on forever.

No one who disowns the Son can have the Father. Whoever owns the Son has the Father too.

No one who continues to live in union with Him practices sin. No one who practices sin has ever seen Him or come to know Him.

Dear children, avoid letting anyone lead you astray. Whoever practices doing right is upright, just as He is upright.

Whoever practices sin belongs to the devil, because the devil has practiced sin from the beginning. This is why the Son of God appeared, to undo the devil's works.

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love our brothers. Whoever does not continue to love continues still in death.

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.

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.

Whoever does not love has never come to know God by experience, because God is love.

No one has ever seen God; yet if we practice loving one another, God remains in union with us, and our love for Him attains perfection in our hearts,

Whoever owns that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in union with him and he in union with God.

So we know by experience and trust the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever continues to love continues in union with God and God in union with him.

If anyone says, "I love God," and yet habitually hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

This is the command that we get from Him, that whoever loves God loves his brother too.

Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his own heart. Whoever does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has borne to His Son.

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son does not have life.

No one has God, who goes too far and fails to stay by the teaching of Christ. Whoever stays by this teaching has the Father and the Son.

For whoever keeps on bidding him good morning is sharing in his wicked works.

Dearly beloved, do not follow bad examples but good ones. Whoever practices doing right is God's child; whoever practices doing wrong has never seen God.

I hope to see you very soon and will talk it over face to face. Goodbye. Our friends wish to be remembered to you. Remember me to our friends individually.

These persons are grumblers, ever complaining about their lot. They live to satisfy their evil passions, their lips boast arrogant things, and they flatter others for personal gain.