Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters. He who speaks against a fellow believer or judges a fellow believer speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but its judge.

But there is only one who is lawgiver and judge -- the one who is able to save and destroy. On the other hand, who are you to judge your neighbor?

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit."

Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord's name.

Think of how we regard as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job's endurance and you have seen the Lord's purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up -- and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path will save that person's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those temporarily residing abroad (in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, the province of Asia, and Bithynia) who are chosen

who by God's power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who predicted the grace that would come to you searched and investigated carefully.

They were shown that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things now announced to you through those who proclaimed the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven -- things angels long to catch a glimpse of.

but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct,

And if you address as Father the one who impartially judges according to each one's work, live out the time of your temporary residence here in reverence.

Through him you now trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

So you who believe see his value, but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

or to governors as those he commissions to punish wrongdoers and praise those who do good.

Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are perverse.

When he was maligned, he did not answer back; when he suffered, he threatened no retaliation, but committed himself to God who judges justly.

For in the same way the holy women who hoped in God long ago adorned themselves by being subject to their husbands,

like Sarah who obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You become her children when you do what is good and have no fear in doing so.

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

For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. But the Lord's face is against those who do evil.

For who is going to harm you if you are devoted to what is good?

But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess.

Yet do it with courtesy and respect, keeping a good conscience, so that those who slander your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame when they accuse you.

who went into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels and authorities and powers subject to him.

So, since Christ suffered in the flesh, you also arm yourselves with the same attitude, because the one who has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin,

They will face a reckoning before Jesus Christ who stands ready to judge the living and the dead.

Now it was for this very purpose that the gospel was preached to those who are now dead, so that though they were judged in the flesh by human standards they may live spiritually by God's standards.

If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, who is the Spirit of God, rests on you.

For it is time for judgment to begin, starting with the house of God. And if it starts with us, what will be the fate of those who are disobedient to the gospel of God?

So then let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator as they do good.

So as your fellow elder and a witness of Christ's sufferings and as one who shares in the glory that will be revealed, I urge the elders among you:

In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Through Silvanus, whom I know to be a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, in order to encourage you and testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.

Greet one another with a loving kiss. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

From Simeon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, have been granted a faith just as precious as ours.

I can pray this because his divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness through the rich knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence.

But concerning the one who lacks such things -- he is blind. That is to say, he is nearsighted, since he has forgotten about the cleansing of his past sins.

For he received honor and glory from God the Father, when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory: "This is my dear Son, in whom I am delighted."

But false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. These false teachers will infiltrate your midst with destructive heresies, even to the point of denying the Master who bought them. As a result, they will bring swift destruction on themselves.

For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but threw them into hell and locked them up in chains in utter darkness, to be kept until the judgment,

especially those who indulge their fleshly desires and who despise authority. Brazen and insolent, they are not afraid to insult the glorious ones,

yet even angels, who are much more powerful, do not bring a slanderous judgment against them before the Lord.

But these men, like irrational animals -- creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed -- do not understand whom they are insulting, and consequently in their destruction they will be destroyed,

By forsaking the right path they have gone astray, because they followed the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness,

These men are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm, for whom the utter depths of darkness have been reserved.

For by speaking high-sounding but empty words they are able to entice, with fleshly desires and with debauchery, people who have just escaped from those who reside in error.

The one who says "I have come to know God" and yet does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in such a person.

The one who says he resides in God ought himself to walk just as Jesus walked.

The one who says he is in the light but still hates his fellow Christian is still in the darkness.

The one who loves his fellow Christian resides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

But the one who hates his fellow Christian is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

I am writing to you, fathers, that you have known him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, that you have conquered the evil one.

I have written to you, children, that you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, that you have known him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young people, that you are strong, and the word of God resides in you, and you have conquered the evil one.

And the world is passing away with all its desires, but the person who does the will of God remains forever.

Who is the liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the person who denies the Father and the Son.

Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either. The person who confesses the Son has the Father also.

These things I have written to you about those who are trying to deceive you.

If you know that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been fathered by him.

And everyone who has this hope focused on him purifies himself, just as Jesus is pure).

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; indeed, sin is lawlessness.

Everyone who resides in him does not sin; everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him.

Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous.

The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil.

Everyone who has been fathered by God does not practice sin, because God's seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God.

By this the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed: Everyone who does not practice righteousness -- the one who does not love his fellow Christian -- is not of God.

not like Cain who was of the evil one and brutally murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, but his brother's were righteous.

We know that we have crossed over from death to life because we love our fellow Christians. The one who does not love remains in death.

Everyone who hates his fellow Christian is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

And the person who keeps his commandments resides in God, and God in him. Now by this we know that God resides in us: by the Spirit he has given us.

By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses Jesus as the Christ who has come in the flesh is from God,

You are from God, little children, and have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

We are from God; the person who knows God listens to us, but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God.

The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has in us. God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears punishment has not been perfected in love.

If anyone says "I love God" and yet hates his fellow Christian, he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

And the commandment we have from him is this: that the one who loves God should love his fellow Christian too.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been fathered by God, and everyone who loves the father loves the child fathered by him.

Now who is the person who has conquered the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Jesus Christ is the one who came by water and blood -- not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

(The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has testified concerning his Son.)

The one who has the Son has this eternal life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have this eternal life.

I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

If anyone sees his fellow Christian committing a sin not resulting in death, he should ask, and God will grant life to the person who commits a sin not resulting in death. There is a sin resulting in death. I do not say that he should ask about that.

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us insight to know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This one is the true God and eternal life.

From the elder, to an elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth (and not I alone, but also all those who know the truth),

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, people who do not confess Jesus as Christ coming in the flesh. This person is the deceiver and the antichrist!

Everyone who goes on ahead and does not remain in the teaching of Christ does not have God. The one who remains in this teaching has both the Father and the Son.

because the person who gives him a greeting shares in his evil deeds.

From the elder, to Gaius my dear brother, whom I love in truth.

I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not acknowledge us.

Therefore, if I come, I will call attention to the deeds he is doing -- the bringing of unjustified charges against us with evil words! And not being content with that, he not only refuses to welcome the brothers himself, but hinders the people who want to do so and throws them out of the church!

Dear friend, do not imitate what is bad but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does what is bad has not seen God.

From Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, wrapped in the love of God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.