-- whose appearing the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will reveal at the right time.

In this way they will save up a treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the future and so lay hold of what is truly life.

From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to further the promise of life in Christ Jesus,

And entrust what you heard me say in the presence of many others as witnesses to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well.

No one in military service gets entangled in matters of everyday life; otherwise he will not please the one who recruited him.

Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he will not be crowned as the winner unless he competes according to the rules.

Think about what I am saying and the Lord will give you understanding of all this.

This saying is trustworthy: If we died with him, we will also live with him.

If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us.

But avoid profane chatter, because those occupied with it will stray further and further into ungodliness,

and their message will spread its infection like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are in this group.

So if someone cleanses himself of such behavior, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart, useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

correcting opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance and then knowledge of the truth

and they will come to their senses and escape the devil's trap where they are held captive to do his will.

But understand this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

They will maintain the outward appearance of religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these.

But they will not go much further, for their foolishness will be obvious to everyone, just like it was with Jannes and Jambres.

Now in fact all who want to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

But evil people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves.

For there will be a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching. Instead, following their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves, because they have an insatiable curiosity to hear new things.

And they will turn away from hearing the truth, but on the other hand they will turn aside to myths.

Finally the crown of righteousness is reserved for me. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will award it to me in that day -- and not to me only, but also to all who have set their affection on his appearing.

Alexander the coppersmith did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him in keeping with his deeds.

The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever! Amen.

He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught, so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching and correct those who speak against it.

In this way they will train the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children,

and a sound message that cannot be criticized, so that any opponent will be at a loss, because he has nothing evil to say about us.

I, Paul, have written this letter with my own hand: I will repay it. I could also mention that you owe me your very self.

At the same time also, prepare a place for me to stay, for I hope that through your prayers I will be given back to you.

For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my son! Today I have fathered you"? And in another place he says, "I will be his father and he will be my son."

They will perish, but you continue. And they will all grow old like a garment,

and like a robe you will fold them up and like a garment they will be changed, but you are the same and your years will never run out."

Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to serve those who will inherit salvation?

how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first communicated through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him,

while God confirmed their witness with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

saying, "I will proclaim your name to my brothers; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you."

Again he says, "I will be confident in him," and again, "Here I am, with the children God has given me."

"As I swore in my anger, 'They will never enter my rest!'"

For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, "As I swore in my anger, 'They will never enter my rest!'" And yet God's works were accomplished from the foundation of the world.

but to repeat the text cited earlier: "They will never enter my rest!"

saying, "Surely I will bless you greatly and multiply your descendants abundantly."

but Jesus did so with a sworn affirmation by the one who said to him, "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever'" --

But showing its fault, God says to them, "Look, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will complete 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 fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regard for them, says the Lord.

"For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people.

"And there will be no need at all for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying, 'Know the Lord,' since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest.

"For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer."

how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

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

For a will takes effect only at death, since it carries no force while the one who made it is alive.

so also, after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, to those who eagerly await him he will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation.

"Then I said, 'Here I am: I have come -- it is written of me in the scroll of the book -- to do your will, O God.'"

then he says, "Here I am: I have come to do your will." He does away with the first to establish the second.

By his will we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

"This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws on their hearts and I will inscribe them on their minds,"

then he says, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no longer."

but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume God's enemies.

For we know the one who said, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people."

For you need endurance in order to do God's will and so receive what is promised.

For just a little longer and he who is coming will arrive and not delay.

But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I take no pleasure in him.

God had told him, "Through Isaac descendants will carry on your name,"

And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets.

Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, for without it no one will see the Lord.

Then his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too."

Marriage must be honored among all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers.

Your conduct must be free from the love of money and you must be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you and I will never abandon you."

So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work. Let them do this with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you.

equip you with every good thing to do his will, working in us what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

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

And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything.

But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him.

For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord,

But the rich person's pride should be in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a wildflower in the meadow.

For the sun rises with its heat and dries up the meadow; the petal of the flower falls off and its beauty is lost forever. So also the rich person in the midst of his pursuits will wither away.

Happy is the one who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him.

But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out -- he will be blessed in what he does.

Speak and act as those who will be judged by a law that gives freedom.

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

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, because you know that we will be judged more strictly.

So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded.

Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

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."

You ought to say instead, "If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that."

Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure!

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.

Such trials show the proven character of your faith, which is much more valuable than gold -- gold that is tested by fire, even though it is passing away -- and will bring praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Therefore, get your minds ready for action by being fully sober, and set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

For it says in scripture, "Look, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and priceless cornerstone, and whoever believes in him will never be put to shame."

In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands. Then, even if some are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without a word by the way you live,

Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as the weaker partners and show them honor as fellow heirs of the grace of life. In this way nothing will hinder your prayers.

in that he spends the rest of his time on earth concerned about the will of God and not human desires.

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

Whoever speaks, let it be with God's words. Whoever serves, do so with the strength that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

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?

And if the righteous are barely saved, what will become of the ungodly and sinners?