Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in union with the Messiah Jesus will be persecuted.

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

For the time will come when people will not tolerate healthy doctrine, but with itching ears will surround themselves with teachers who cater to their people's own desires.

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

The victor's crown of righteousness is now waiting for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on the day that he comes, and not only to me but also to all who eagerly wait for his appearing.

Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will pay him back for what he did.

The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will take me safely to his heavenly kingdom. Glory belongs to him forever and ever! Amen.

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.

Use wholesome speech that cannot be condemned. Then any opponent will be ashamed because he cannot say anything bad about us.

19I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. (I will not mention to you that you owe me your very life.)

21Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you because I know that you will do even more than I ask.

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"?

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."

how will we escape if we neglect a salvation as great as this? It was first proclaimed by the Lord himself, and then it was confirmed to us by those who heard him,

while God added his testimony through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

when he says, "I will announce your name to my brothers. I will praise you within the congregation."

And again, "I will trust him." And again, "I am here with the children God has given me."

Therefore, as long as the promise of entering his rest remains valid, let us be afraid! Otherwise, some of you will fail to reach it,

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

Therefore, since it is still true that some will enter it, and since those who once heard the good news failed to enter it because of their disobedience,

And this we will do, if God permits.

However, if it continues to produce thorns and thistles, it is worthless and in danger of being cursed, and in the end will be burned.

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

He said, "I will certainly bless you and give you many descendants."

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."

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.

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.

Never again will everyone teach his neighbor or his brother by saying, "Know the Lord,' because all of them will know me, from the least important to the most important.

For I will be merciful regarding their wrong deeds, and I will never again remember their sins."

In speaking of a "new" covenant, he has made the first one obsolete, and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead actions so that we may serve the living God!

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

For a will is in force only when somebody has died, since it never takes effect as long as the one who made it is alive.

so the Messiah was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. And he will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly wait for him.

Then I said, "See, I have come to do your will, O God' In the volume of the scroll this is written about me."

Then he says, "See, I have come to do your will." He takes away the first in order to establish the second.

By God's will we have been sanctified once and for all through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus, the Messiah.

"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts and will write them on their minds,

and I will never again remember their sins and their lawless deeds."

but only a terrifying prospect of judgment and a raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

For we know the one who said, "Vengeance belongs to me; I will pay them back," and again, "The Lord will judge his people."

For you need endurance, so that after you have done God's will you can receive what he has promised.

For "in a very little while the one who is coming will return he will not delay;

but my righteous one will live by faith, and if he turns back, my soul will take no pleasure in him."

Now faith is the assurance that what we hope for will come about and the certainty that what we cannot see exists.

about whom it had been said, "It is through Isaac that descendants will be named for you."

Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up and causes you trouble, or many of you will become defiled.

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!

At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven."

Let marriage be kept honorable in every way, and the marriage bed undefiled. For God will judge those who commit sexual sins, especially those who commit adultery.

Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for God has said, "I will never leave you or abandon you."

Hence we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?"

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.

equip you with everything good to do his will, accomplishing in us what pleases him through Jesus, the Messiah. To him be glory forever and ever! Amen.

You should know that our brother Timothy has been set free. If he comes soon, he will be with me when I see you.

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to everyone generously without a rebuke, and it will be given to him.

and a rich person in his having been humbled, because he will fade away like a wild flower.

For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass. The flower in it drops off, and its beauty is gone. That is how the rich person will fade away in his pursuits.

How blessed is the man who endures temptation! When he has passed the test, he will receive the victor's crown of life that God has promised to those who keep on loving him.

In accordance with his will he made us his children by the word of truth, so that we might become the most important of his creatures.

But the one who looks at the perfect law of freedom and remains committed to it thereby demonstrating that he is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of what that law requires will be blessed in what he does.

then you will have made false distinctions among yourselves and will have judged from evil motives, will you not?

But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and will be convicted by the Law as violators.

For the one who has shown no mercy will be judged without mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

But someone may say, "You have faith, and I have actions." Show me your faith without any actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions.

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more severely than others.

Therefore, submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you.

Come close to God, and he will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Humble yourselves in the Lord's presence, and he will exalt you.

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town, stay there a year, conduct business, and make money."

You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Instead you should say, "If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that."

your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be used as evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasures in these last days.

Do not complain about each other, brothers, or you will be condemned. Look! The Judge is standing at the door!

And the prayer offered in faith will save the person who is sick. The Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.

you may be sure that whoever brings a sinner back from his wrong path will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

This is why it says in Scripture: "Look! I am laying a chosen, precious cornerstone in Zion. The one who believes in him will never be ashamed."

For it is God's will that by doing right you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.

Who will harm you if you are devoted to doing what is good?

But do this gently and respectfully, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak evil of your good conduct in the Messiah will be ashamed of slandering you.

After all, if it is the will of God, it is better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong.

so that he can live the rest of his mortal life guided, not by human desires, but by the will of God.

For you spent enough time in the past doing what the gentiles like to do, living in sensuality, sinful desires, drunkenness, wild celebrations, drinking parties, and detestable idolatry.

They insult you now because they are surprised that you are no longer joining them in the same excesses of wild living.

They will give an account to the one who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

Because everything will soon come to an end, be sensible and clear-headed, so you can pray.

For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who refuse to obey the gospel of God?

"If it is hard for the righteous person to be saved, what will happen to the ungodly and sinful person?"

So then, those who suffer according to God's will should entrust their souls to their faithful Creator and continue to do what is good.

Then, when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the victor's crown of glory that will never fade away.

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you by the Messiah Jesus to his eternal glory, will restore you, establish you, strengthen you, and support you.

For if you possess these qualities, and if they continue to increase among you, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in attaining a full knowledge of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

So then, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election certain, for if you keep on doing this you will never fail.

For in this way you will be generously granted entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Messiah.

because I know that the removal of my bodily tent will come soon, as indeed our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, has shown me.

And I will make every effort to see that you will always remember these things after I am gone.

Therefore we regard the message of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp that is shining in a gloomy place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.