The one who steals must steal no longer; rather he must labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one who has need.

Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God's wrath comes on the sons of disobedience.

For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise by understanding what the Lord's will is.

But as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

so that he may present the church to himself as glorious -- not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.

Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand.

Tychicus, my dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you, so that you too may know about my circumstances, how I am doing.

For it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God's grace together with me.

so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ,

The latter do so from love because they know that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel.

so that what you can be proud of may increase because of me in Christ Jesus, when I come back to you.

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that -- whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent -- I should hear that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel,

since you are encountering the same conflict that you saw me face and now hear that I am facing.

so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow -- in heaven and on earth and under the earth --

So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence,

so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world

by holding on to the word of life so that on the day of Christ I will have a reason to boast that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain.

Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be encouraged by hearing news about you.

So I hope to send him as soon as I know more about my situation,

though I am confident in the Lord that I too will be coming to see you soon.

In fact he became so ill that he nearly died. But God showed mercy to him -- and not to him only, but also to me -- so that I would not have grief on top of grief.

Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you can rejoice and I can be free from anxiety.

So welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him,

since it was because of the work of Christ that he almost died. He risked his life so that he could make up for your inability to serve me.

and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ's faithfulness -- a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ's faithfulness.

and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

So then, my brothers and sisters, dear friends whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand in the Lord in this way, my dear friends!

Yes, I say also to you, true companion, help them. They have struggled together in the gospel ministry along with me and Clement and my other coworkers, whose names are in the book of life.

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice!

Let everyone see your gentleness. The Lord is near!

And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

I do not say this because I am seeking a gift. Rather, I seek the credit that abounds to your account.

All the saints greet you, especially those who belong to Caesar's household.

that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects -- bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.

We proclaim him by instructing and teaching all people with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature in Christ.

I say this so that no one will deceive you through arguments that sound reasonable.

For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

So put to death whatever in your nature belongs to the earth: sexual immorality, impurity, shameful passion, evil desire, and greed which is idolatry.

bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others.

Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they will not become disheartened.

At the same time pray for us too, that God may open a door for the message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.

Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave of Christ, greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

And tell Archippus, "See to it that you complete the ministry you received in the Lord."

For from you the message of the Lord has echoed forth not just in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place reports of your faith in God have spread, so that we do not need to say anything.

but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we declare it, not to please people but God, who examines our hearts.

For you recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery: By working night and day so as not to impose a burden on any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.

You are witnesses, and so is God, as to how holy and righteous and blameless our conduct was toward you who believe.

And so we too constantly thank God that when you received God's message that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human message, but as it truly is, God's message, which is at work among you who believe.

For you became imitators, brothers and sisters, of God's churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they in fact did from the Jews,

because they hinder us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they constantly fill up their measure of sins, but wrath has come upon them completely.

But when we were separated from you, brothers and sisters, for a short time (in presence, not in affection) we became all the more fervent in our great desire to see you in person.

So when we could bear it no longer, we decided to stay on in Athens alone.

so that no one would be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this.

For in fact when we were with you, we were telling you in advance that we would suffer affliction, and so it has happened, as you well know.

So when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter somehow tempted you and our toil had proven useless.

But now Timothy has come to us from you and given us the good news of your faith and love and that you always think of us with affection and long to see us just as we also long to see you!

So in all our distress and affliction, we were reassured about you, brothers and sisters, through your faith.

We pray earnestly night and day to see you in person and make up what may be lacking in your faith.

so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

Finally then, brothers and sisters, we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us about how you must live and please God (as you are in fact living) that you do so more and more.

For this is God's will: that you become holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality,

And indeed you are practicing it toward all the brothers and sisters in all of Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more,

Now we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also we believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep as Christians.

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

So then we must not sleep as the rest, but must stay alert and sober.

He died for us so that whether we are alert or asleep we will come to life together with him.

See that no one pays back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.

in everything give thanks. For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith flourishes more and more and the love of each one of you all for one another is ever greater.

This is evidence of God's righteous judgment, to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which in fact you are suffering.

He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat in God's temple, displaying himself as God.

And so you know what holds him back, so that he will be revealed in his own time.

For the hidden power of lawlessness is already at work. However, the one who holds him back will do so until he is taken out of the way,

The arrival of the lawless one will be by Satan's working with all kinds of miracles and signs and false wonders,

and with every kind of evil deception directed against those who are perishing, because they found no place in their hearts for the truth so as to be saved.

Consequently God sends on them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false.

And so all of them who have not believed the truth but have delighted in evil will be condemned.

He called you to this salvation through our gospel, so that you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good thing you do or say.

Finally, pray for us, brothers and sisters, that the Lord's message may spread quickly and be honored as in fact it was among you,

and we did not eat anyone's food without paying. Instead, in toil and drudgery we worked night and day in order not to burden any of you.

Now such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and so provide their own food to eat.

But if anyone does not obey our message through this letter, take note of him and do not associate closely with him, so that he may be ashamed.

nor to occupy themselves with myths and interminable genealogies. Such things promote useless speculations rather than God's redemptive plan that operates by faith.

They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or the things they insist on so confidently.

and our Lord's grace was abundant, bringing faith and love in Christ Jesus.

But here is why I was treated with mercy: so that in me as the worst, Christ Jesus could demonstrate his utmost patience, as an example for those who are going to believe in him for eternal life.

To do this you must hold firmly to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck in regard to the faith.

who gave himself as a ransom for all, revealing God's purpose at his appointed time.

So I want the men to pray in every place, lifting up holy hands without anger or dispute.

And he must be well thought of by those outside the faith, so that he may not fall into disgrace and be caught by the devil's trap.

For it is sanctified by God's word and by prayer.

Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that everyone will see your progress.

Be conscientious about how you live and what you teach. Persevere in this, because by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.

But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they should first learn to fulfill their duty toward their own household and so repay their parents what is owed them. For this is what pleases God.