So do not give up your hope which will be greatly rewarded.

By faith Abel offered up to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he received the witness that he was righteous, God witnessing to his gifts: and through it he having died is still speaking.

By faith [that pleased God] Enoch was caught up and taken to heaven so that he would not have a glimpse of death; and he was not found because God had taken him; for even before he was taken [to heaven], he received the testimony [still on record] that he had walked with God and pleased Him.

By faith Abraham, being called, did obey, to go forth to the place that he was about to receive for an inheritance, and he went forth, not knowing whither he doth go;

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;

By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were swallowed up.

By faith Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed along with those who were disobedient, because she had welcomed the spies [sent by the sons of Israel] in peace.

Who by faith subdued kingdoms, wrought justice, attained the promises, shut up the mouths of lions,

obtained promises, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness became filled up with dynamite, became mighty in war, put to flight the armies of the aliens:

Women received their dead from rising up: and others were beaten, not receiving redemption; that they might attain a better resurrection.

And [still] others experienced mockings and floggings, and were even chained up and put in prison.

They were stoned, they were cut up with knives, they were tested, they were put to death with the sword, they went about in sheepskins and in goatskins; being poor and in pain and cruelly attacked,

of whom the world was not worthy: they wandered up and down in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens, and caverns of the earth.

earnestly looking up to Jesus the author and the finisher of faith; who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Just consider and meditate on Him who endured from sinners such bitter hostility against Himself [consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

and you have forgotten the divine word of encouragement which is addressed to you as sons,

“My son, do not make light of the discipline of the Lord,
And do not lose heart and give up when you are corrected by Him;

Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, like Esau, - who, for the sake of one meal, yielded up his own firstborn rights;

For it is no tangible blazing fire that you have come up to, no blackness and darkness and storm,

But you have come up to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to countless angels,

Let your character [your moral essence, your inner nature] be free from the love of money [shun greed—be financially ethical], being content with what you have; for He has said, “I will never [under any circumstances] desert you [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you [assuredly not]!”

For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sins are burned up outside the camp.

Through him then let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which make confession to his name.

Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

And the God of the peace, who did bring up out of the dead the great shepherd of the sheep -- in the blood of an age-during covenant -- our Lord Jesus,

And I beseech you, brethren, hold up the word of entreaty: for I also sent to you in a few words.

because he is double-minded and undecided in all that he does [i.e., he cannot make up his mind and follow through about anything].

But let the brother of low position be glad that he is lifted up;

but let one who is rich exult in being lowered; for the rich will pass away like the flower of the grass ??11 up comes the sun with the scorching wind and withers the grass, its flower drops off, and the splendour of it is ruined: so shall the rich fade away amid their pursuits.

For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; its flower falls off and its beauty fades away; so too will the rich man, in the midst of his pursuits, fade away.

Blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] is the man who is steadfast under trial and perseveres when tempted; for when he has passed the test and been approved, he will receive the [victor’s] crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

When that desire becomes pregnant, it gives birth to sin; and when that sin grows up, it gives birth to death.

But prove yourselves doers of the word [actively and continually obeying God’s precepts], and not merely listeners [who hear the word but fail to internalize its meaning], deluding yourselves [by unsound reasoning contrary to the truth].

For if any one listens but does not obey, he is like a man who carefully looks at his own face in a mirror.

But, he that hath obtained a nearer view into the perfect law of liberty, and hath taken up his abode by it, becoming - not a forgetful hearer, but a work doer, the same, happy in his doing, shall be.

And you do honour to the man in fair clothing and say, Come here and take this good place; and you say to the poor man, Take up your position there, or be seated at my feet;

Nevertheless, you are doing the right thing if you obey the royal Law in keeping with the Scripture, "You must love your neighbor as yourself."

So too, faith, if it does not have works [to back it up], is by itself dead [inoperative and ineffective].

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar?

Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.

So, the tongue is a small part [of the body], yet it boasts of great accomplishments. Look at how large a forest is burned up by even a tiny spark.

does a fountain throw up salt water and fresh, by the same conveyance?

and greater grace he doth give, wherefore he saith, 'God against proud ones doth set Himself up, and to lowly ones He doth give grace?'

be subject, then, to God; stand up against the devil, and he will flee from you;

Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Don't, my brethren, treat one another with detraction. he that reflects upon his brother, and censures his brother, reflects upon the law, and censures the law: if you censure the law, instead of obeying it, you set up for a judge.

Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days.

You have given your decision against the upright man and have put him to death. He puts up no fight against you.

So wait patiently, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits [expectantly] for the precious harvest from the land, being patient about it, until it receives the early and late rains.

So you also must be patient: keeping up your courage; for the Coming of the Lord is now close at hand.

And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

And, again, he prayed, and, the heaven, gave, rain, and, the land, shot up her fruit.

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

according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

Praised the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy having begotten us again to a living hope, by the rising up of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

for you know that you have not been ransomed with anything perishable like silver or gold, from the futile way of living in which you were brought up,

Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

Now that, by your obedience to the Truth, you have purified your lives, so that there is growing up among you a genuine brotherly affection, love one another earnestly with all your hearts;

"All mankind resemble the herbage, and all their beauty is like its flowers. The herbage dries up, and its flowers drop off;

as newborn babes desire earnestly the pure mental milk of the word, that by it ye may grow up to salvation,

Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

For it says in the Scripture [Isa. 28:16], "Look, I am placing a stone in [the city of] Zion [i.e., Jerusalem]. It is a specially selected, very valuable cornerstone. And the person who trusts in the Him [i.e., the One represented by this stone] will never have to suffer shame [i.e., because of unforgiven sin being brought up against him]."

and

A stone to stumble over,
and a rock to trip over.

They stumble because they disobey the message; they were destined for this.

But you are a special people, a holy nation, priests and kings, a people given up completely to God, so that you may make clear the virtues of him who took you out of the dark into the light of heaven.

Submit, for the Lord's sake, to every authority set up by man, whether it be to the Emperor as supreme ruler,

As servants of God, you should live as free people, but do not use this freedom to cover up your wrongdoing.

Servants obey your masters with all fear, not only if they be good and courteous: but also though they be froward.

For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.

But it is no credit to you if you put up with a beating you deserve. But if you patiently tolerate suffering for doing good, this is pleasing to God.

who when He was reviled did not revile in return. When He suffered, He did not threaten, but gave Himself up to Him who judges righteously.

Who, our sins, himself, bare up, in his body, unto the tree, in order that we, from our sins getting away, in righteousness, might live, - by whose stripes, ye have been healed;

Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;

but let it be [the inner beauty of] the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, [one that is calm and self-controlled, not overanxious, but serene and spiritually mature] which is very precious in the sight of God.

To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;

who formerly did not obey, when the patience of God waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.

By which also the figure, immersion, now saves us (not by laying aside of the filth of the flesh, but the question of a good. consciousness toward God,) by the rising up of Jesus Christ:

who is on the right hand of God, having gone up into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being subordinated unto him.

Because for long enough, in times past, we have been living after the way of the Gentiles, given up to the desires of the flesh, to drinking and feasting and loose behaviour and unclean worship of images;

Above all keep your love for one another strong, because love covers up a host of sins.

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

And if people who are trying to do right [i.e., Christians] are saved through [suffering] such difficulties, where will the ungodly and sinful person end up, [if not in hell]?

Likewise, ye younger, be subjected to the elders. And all being subject to one another, be wrapped up in humility: for God opposes the proud, and gives grace to the humble.

For this cause make yourselves low under the strong hand of God, so that when the time comes you may be lifted up;

Be sober, vigilant, because your opponent the devil, as a roaring lion, doth walk about, seeking whom he may swallow up,

This brief message is being inscribed [or delivered] by Silvanus, whom I consider to be a faithful brother. [In it] I am exhorting you and giving testimony that it is a message about God's genuine unearned favor upon you. So, continue to follow [and obey] what it says.

whereby superlatively great and precious promises are freely given to us: that by these ye might become partakers of a divine nature, having fled far away from the corruption that is in the world through inordinate concupiscence.??5 And for this very purpose employing the greatest diligence, lead up in the train of your faith courage; and with courage intelligence;

Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;

since I know my tent must be folded up very soon ??as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me.

Yea, I will give diligence also, that, at every time, ye may be able, after my own departure, to be keeping up the remembrance of, these very things.

And we have the prophetic word more firm; which holding to, ye do well, as to a light shining in a dusty place, even till the day shine through, and the morning star spring up in your hearts:

For - if, God, spared not, messengers, when they sinned, but, to pits of gloom, consigning them, in the lowest hades, delivered them up to be kept, unto judgment, -

And sent destruction on Sodom and Gomorrah, burning them up with fire as an example to those whose way of life might in the future be unpleasing to him;

These men are dried-up springs, mere clouds driven by a storm. Gloomy darkness is reserved for them.

For if people who have escaped from the defiling practices of the world by coming to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, become tangled up in them again, and are overcome by them, these people are worse off than before they were converted.