To the Thessalonian Church in union with God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, From Paul, Silas, and Timothy.

And to give relief to you who are suffering, as well as to us, at the Appearing of the Lord Jesus from Heaven with his mighty angels, 'in flaming fire.'

These men will pay the penalty of unutterable Ruin--banished 'from the presence of the Lord and from the glorious manifestation of his might,

With this in view, our constant prayer for you is that our God may count you worthy of the Call that you have received, and by his power make perfect your delight in all goodness and the efforts that have resulted from your faith.

Not lightly to let your minds become unsettled, nor yet to be disturbed by any revelation, or by any message, or by any letter, purporting to come from us, to the effect that the Day of the Lord is come.

But, Brothers, whom the Lord loves, it is our duty always to thank God about you, for, from the first, God chose you for Salvation through the purifying influence of the Spirit, and your belief in the Truth.

And that we may be preserved from wrong-headed and wicked men- -for it is not every one who believes in Christ.

But the Lord will not fail you; he will give you strength, and guard you from Evil.

We urge you, Brothers, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to avoid any Brother who is living an ill-ordered life, which is not in agreement with the teaching that you received from us.

May the Lord, from whom all peace comes, himself give you his peace at all times and in all ways. May he be with you all.

From Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the appointment of God, our Savior, and Christ Jesus, our Hope.

The object of all instruction is to call forth that love which comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.

and the loving-kindness of our Lord was boundless, and filled me with that faith and love which come from union with Christ Jesus.

But the Spirit distinctly says that in later times there will be some who will fall away from the Faith, and devote their attention to misleading spirits, and to the teaching of demons,

and they discourage marriage and enjoin abstinence from certain kinds of food; though God created these foods to be enjoyed thankfully by those who hold the Faith and have attained a full knowledge of the Truth.

But you should exclude the younger widows from the list; for, when they grow restive under the yoke of the Christ, they want to marry,

And not only that, but they learn to be idle as they go about from house to house. Nor are they merely idle, but they also become gossips and busy-bodies, and talk of what they ought not.

Love of money is a source of all kinds of evil; and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the Faith, and have been pierced to the heart by many a regret.

I urge you to keep his Command free from stain or reproach, until the Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

To Timothy, my dear Child, from Paul who, by the will of God, is an Apostle of Christ Jesus, charged to proclaim the Life that comes from union with Christ Jesus. May God, the Father, and Christ Jesus, our Lord, bless you, and be merciful to you, and give you peace.

It was God who saved us, and from him we received our solemn Call--not as a reward for anything that we had done, but in fulfillment of his own loving purpose. For that love was extended to us, through Christ Jesus, before time began,

Keep before you, as an example of sound teaching, all that you learnt from me as you listened with that faith and love which come from union with Christ Jesus.

Do you, then, my Child, find strength in the help which comes from the union with Christ Jesus;

and what you learnt from me, in the presence of many listeners, entrust to reliable men, who will be able in their turn to teach others.

Keep before your mind Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David, as told in the Good News entrusted to me;

and that is why I submit to anything for the sake of God's People, that they also may obtain the Salvation which comes from union with Christ Jesus, and imperishable glory.

Yet God's firm foundation still stands unmoved, and it bears this inscription-- 'THE LORD KNOWS THOSE WHO ARE HIS'; and this-- 'LET ALL THOSE WHO USE THE NAME OF THE LORD TURN AWAY FROM WICKEDNESS.'

If, then, a man has escaped from the pollution of such errors as I have mentioned, he will be like a thing kept for better use, set apart, serviceable to its owner, ready for any good purpose.

Flee from the passions of youth, but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, in the company of those who, with a pure heart, invoke the Lord.

and they may yet come to a sober mind, and escape from the snares of the Devil, when captured by the Lord's Servant to do the will of God.

but wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and deceived themselves.

You, however, must stand by what you learnt and accepted as true. You know who they were from whom you learnt it;

and that, from your childhood, you have known the Sacred Writings, which can give you the wisdom that, through belief in Christ Jesus, leads to Salvation.

The Lord will rescue me from all evil, and bring me safe into his Heavenly Kingdom. All glory to him for ever and ever! Amen.

From Paul, a servant of God, and an Apostle of Jesus Christ, charged to strengthen the faith of God's Chosen People, and their knowledge of that Truth which makes for godliness, .

There are, indeed, many unruly persons--great talkers who deceive themselves, principally converts from Judaism,

For he gave himself on our behalf, to deliver us from all wickedness, and to purify for himself a People who should be peculiarly his own and eager to do good.

From Paul, now a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, a Brother.

It may be that he was separated from you for an hour, for this very reason, that you might have him back for ever,

Yes, Brother, let me gain something from you because of your union with the Lord. Cheer my heart by your Christlike spirit.

For he who purifies, and those whom he purifies, all spring from One; and therefore he is not ashamed to call them 'Brothers.'

and so might deliver all those who, from fear of death, had all their lives been living in slavery.

Therefore, Christian Brothers, you who, all alike, have received the Call from Heaven, fix your attention on Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our Religion.

Be careful, Brothers, that there is never found in any one of you a wicked and faithless heart, shown by his separating himself from the Living God.

Rather encourage one another daily--while there is a 'To-day'--to prevent any one among you from being hardened by the deceitfulness of Sin.

There is no created thing that can hide itself from the sight of God. Everything is exposed and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we have to give account.

Every High Priest, taken from among men, is appointed as a representative of his fellow-men in their relations with God, to offer both gifts and sacrifices in expiation of sins.

Jesus, in the days of his earthly life, offered prayers and supplications, with earnest cries and with tears, to him who was able to save him from death; and he was heard because of his devout submission.

Son though he was, he learned obedience from his sufferings;

But 'solid food' is for Christians of mature faith--those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish right from wrong.

For if those who were once for all brought into the Light, and learned to appreciate the gift from Heaven, and came to share in the Holy Spirit,

Ground that drinks in the showers that from time to time fall upon it, and produces vegetation useful to those for whom it is tilled, receives a blessing from God;

It was this Melchizedek, King of Salem and Priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and gave him his blessing;

Those descendants of Levi, who are from time to time appointed to the priesthood, are directed to collect tithes from the people in accordance with the Law--that is from their own Brothers, although they also are descended from Abraham.

But Melchizedek, although not of this lineage, received tithes from Abraham, and gave his blessing to the very man who had God's promises.

For it is plain that our Lord ad sprung from the tribe of Judah, though of that tribe Moses said nothing about their being priests.

This was the High Priest that we needed--holy, innocent, spotless, withdrawn from sinners, exalted above the highest Heaven,

There shall be no need for every man to instruct his fellow-citizen, or for a man to say to his Brother 'Learn to know the Lord'; For every one will know me, From the lowest to the highest.

how much more will the blood of the Christ, who, through his eternal Spirit, offered himself up to God, as a victim without blemish, purify our consciences from a lifeless formality, and fit us for the service of the Living God!

And that is why he is the intermediary of a new Covenant; in order that, as a death has taken place to effect a deliverance from the offenses committed under the first Covenant, those who have received the Call may obtain the eternal inheritance promised to them.

Otherwise, would not the offering of these sacrifices have been abandoned, as the worshipers, having been once purified, would have had their consciences clear from sins?

let us draw near to God in all sincerity of heart and in perfect faith, with our hearts purified by the sprinkled blood from all consciousness of wrong, and with our bodies washed with pure water.

Faith led to Enoch's removal from earth, that he might not experience death. 'He could not be found because God had removed him.' For, before his removal, he was renowned as having pleased God;

And so from one man--and that when his powers were dead--there sprang a people as numerous 'as the stars in the heavens or the countless grains of sand upon the shore.'

All these died sustained by faith. They did not obtain the promised blessings, but they saw them from a distance and welcomed the sight, and they acknowledged themselves to be only aliens and strangers on the earth.

For he argued that God was able even to raise a man from the dead--and indeed, figuratively speaking, Abraham did receive Isaac back from the dead.

Faith saved Rahab, the prostitute, from perishing with the unbelievers, after she had entertained the spies with friendliness.

since God had in view some better thing for us, that they, apart from us, should not attain perfection.

Weigh well the example of him who had to endure such opposition from 'men who were sinning against themselves,' so that you should not grow weary or faint-hearted.

Beware how you refuse to hear him who is speaking. For, if the Israelites did not escape punishment, when they refused to listen to him who taught them on earth the divine will, far worse will it be for us, if we turn away from him who is teaching us from Heaven.

Let your love for the Brethren continue. :24 Give our greeting to all your Leaders, and to all Christ's People. Our friends from Italy send their greetings to you.

Through him let us offer, as our sacrifice, continual praise to God--an offering from lips that glorify his Name.

May God, the source of all peace, who brought back from the dead him who, 'by virtue of the blood that rendered valid the unchangeable Covenant, is the Great Shepherd of God's Sheep,' Jesus, our Lord--

Give our greeting to all your Leaders, and to all Christ's People. Our friends from Italy send their greetings to you.

My Brothers, whatever may be the temptations that beset you from time to time, always regard them as a reason for rejoicing,

If one of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask wisdom from the God who gives freely to every one without reproaches, and it will be given to him.

Such a man must not expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,

Every good thing given us, and every perfect gift, is from above, and comes down to us from the Maker of the Lights in the heavens, who is himself never subject to change or to eclipse.

Some one, indeed, may say--"You are a man of faith, and I am a man of action." "Then show me your faith," I reply, "apart from any actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions."

From the very same mouth come blessings and curses! My Brothers, it is not right that this should be so.

Does a spring give both good and bad water from the same source?

That is not the wisdom which comes from above; no, it is earthly, animal, devilish.

But the wisdom from above is, before every thing else, pure; then peace-loving, gentle, open to conviction, rich in compassion and good deeds, and free from partiality and insincerity.

Do you suppose there is no meaning in the passage of Scripture which asks--'Is envy to result from the longings of the Spirit which God has implanted within you?'

Therefore submit to God; but resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.

The prayer offered in faith will save the man who is sick, and the Lord will raise him from his bed; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

My Brothers, should one of you be led astray from the Truth, and some one bring him back again,

Be sure that he who brings a sinner back from his mistaken ways will save that man's soul from Death, and throw a veil over countless sins.

and who were chosen in accordance with the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the consecration of the Spirit, to learn obedience, and to be purified by the sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Christ, from Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ. May blessing and peace be yours in ever-increasing measure.

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has, in his great mercy, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

At the thought of this you are full of exultation, though (if it has been necessary) you have suffered for the moment somewhat from various trials;

And it was revealed to them that it was not for themselves, but for you, that they were acting as Ministers of the truths which have now been told to you, by those who, with the help of the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven, have brought you the Good News--truths into which even angels long to look.

but in your whole life show yourselves to be holy, after the pattern of the Holy One from whom you received your Call.

For you know that it was not by perishable things, such as silver and gold, that you were Ransomed from the aimless way of living which was handed down to you from your ancestors,

who, through him, are faithful to God who raised him from the dead and gave him honour, so that your faith and hope are now in God.

since your new Life has come, not from perishable, but imperishable, seed, through the Message of the Everliving God.

Dear friends, I urge you, as pilgrims and strangers upon earth, to refrain from indulging the cravings of your earthly nature, for they make war upon the soul.

Let your daily life among the Gentiles be so upright, that, whenever they malign you as evil-doers, they may learn, as they watch, from the uprightness of your conduct, to praise God 'at the time when he shall visit them.'

He 'never sinned, nor was anything deceitful ever heard from his lips.'

Again, you married women should submit to your husbands, so that if any of them reject the Message, they may, apart from the Message, be won over, by the conduct of their wives,