And we have confidence in the Lord in regard to you that you are doing, and will do, what we command.

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God our Saviour and Christ Jesus our hope:

Yet a woman will be brought safely through childbirth if she and her husband continue to live in faith and love and growing holiness, with habitual self-restraint.

Now the Spirit expressly declares that in later times some will fall away from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and the teachings of demons;

If you warn the brethren of these dangers you will be a good and faithful servant of Christ Jesus, inwardly feeding on the lessons of the faith and of the sound teaching of which you have been, and are, so close a follower.

Be on your guard as to yourself and your teaching. Persevere in these things; for by doing this you will make certain your own salvation and that of your hearers.

and if we have food and clothing, with these we will be satisfied.

For, as its appointed time, this will be brought about by the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, for proclaiming the promise of the Life which is in Christ Jesus:

Mark well what I am saying: the Lord will give you discernment in everything.

"If we patiently endure pain, we shall also share His Kingship; "If we disown Him, He will also disown us;

But from irreligious and frivolous talk hold aloof, for those who indulge in it will proceed from bad to worse in impiety,

and their teaching will spread like a running sore. Hymenaeus and Philetus are men of that stamp.

If therefore a man keeps himself clear of these latter, he himself will be for specially honourable use, consecrated, fit for the Master's service, and fully equipped for every good work.

He must speak in a gentle tone when correcting the errors of opponents, in the hope that God will at last give them repentance, for them to come to a full knowledge of the truth

and recover sober-mindedness and freedom from the Devil's snare, though they are now entrapped by him to do his will.

But of this be assured: in the last days grievous times will set in.

For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, profane. They will be disobedient to parents, thankless, irreligious,

destitute of natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers. They will have no self-control, but will be brutal, opposed to goodness,

treacherous, headstrong, self-important. They will love pleasure instead of loving God,

and will keep up a make-believe of piety and yet live in defiance of its power. Turn away from people of this sort.

But they will have no further success; for their folly will be as clearly manifest to all men, as that of the opponents of Moses came to be.

And indeed every one who is determined to live a godly life as a follower of Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

But bad men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, misleading and being misled.

For a time is coming when they will not tolerate wholesome instruction, but, wanting to have their ears tickled, they will find a multitude of teachers to satisfy their own fancies;

and will turn away from listening to the truth and will turn aside to fables.

From this time onward there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who love the thought of His Appearing.

Alexander the metal-worker showed bitter hostility towards me: the Lord will requite him according to his doings.

The Lord will deliver me from every cruel attack and will keep me safe in preparation for His heavenly Kingdom. To Him be the glory until the Ages of the Ages! Amen.

wherever there is a man of blameless life, true to his one wife, having children who are themselves believers and are free from every reproach of profligacy or of stubborn self-will.

After a first and second admonition, have nothing further to do with any one who will not be taught;

I Paul write this with my own hand--I will pay you in full. (I say nothing of the fact that you owe me even your own self.)

I write to you in the full confidence that you will meet my wishes, for I know you will do even more than I say.

For to which of the angels did God ever say, "My Son art Thou: I have this day become Thy Father;" and again, "I will be a Father to Him, and He shall be My Son"?

The heavens will perish, but Thou remainest; and they will all grow old like a garment,

and, as though they were a mantle Thou wilt roll them up; yes, like a garment, and they will undergo change. But Thou art the same, and Thy years will never come to an end."

Are not all angels spirits that serve Him--whom He sends out to render service for the benefit of those who, before long, will inherit salvation?

while God corroborated their testimony by signs and marvels and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed in accordance with His own will.

as when He says: "I will proclaim Thy name to My brothers: in the midst of the congregation I will hymn Thy praises;"

and again, "As for Me, I will be one whose trust reposes in God;" and again, "Here am I, and here are the children God has given Me."

Since, then, it is still true that some will be admitted to that rest, and that because of disobedience those who formerly had Good News proclaimed to them were not admitted,

And advance we will, if God permits us to do so.

But if it only yields a mass of thorns and briers, it is considered worthless, and is in danger of being cursed, and in the end will be destroyed by fire.

saying, "Assuredly I will bless you and bless you, I will increase you and increase you."

for these men hold office without any oath having been taken, but He holds it attested by an oath from Him who said to Him, "The Lord has sworn and will not recall His words, Thou art a Priest for ever" --

For, being dissatisfied with His people, God says, "'There are days coming,' says the Lord, 'When I will establish with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new Covenant--

But this is the Covenant that I will covenant with the house of Israel after those days,' says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds and will write them upon their hearts. And I will indeed be their God and they shall be My People.

And there shall be no need for them to teach each one his fellow citizen and each one his brother, saying, Know the Lord. For all will know Me from the least of them to the greatest;

Because I will be merciful to their wrongdoings, and their sins I will remember no longer.'"

For where there is a legal 'will,' there must also be a death brought forward in evidence--the death of him who made it.

And a will is only of force in the case of a deceased person, being never of any avail so long as he who made it lives.

so the Christ also, having been once offered in sacrifice in order that He might bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, separated from sin, to those who are eagerly expecting Him, to make their salvation complete.

Then I said, 'I have come--in the roll of the book it is written concerning Me--to do Thy will, O God.'"

He then adds, "I have come to do Thy will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second.

It is through that divine will that we have been set free from sin, through the offering of Jesus Christ as our sacrifice once for all.

"'This is the Covenant that I will make with them after those days,' says the Lord: 'I will put My laws upon their hearts and will write them on their minds;'"

He adds, "And their sins and offences I will remember no longer."

There remains nothing but a certain awful expectation of judgement, and the fury of a fire which before long will devour the enemies of the truth.

How much severer punishment, think you, will he be held to deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, has not regarded as holy that Covenant-blood with which he was set free from sin, and has insulted the Spirit from whom comes grace?

For we know who it is that has said, "Vengeance belongs to Me: I will pay back;" and again, "The Lord will be His people's judge."

For you not only showed sympathy with those who were imprisoned, but you even submitted with joy when your property was taken from you, being well aware that you have in your own selves a more valuable possession and one which will remain.

Therefore do not cast from you your confident hope, for it will receive a vast reward.

For you stand in need of patient endurance, so that, as the result of having done the will of God, you may receive the promised blessing.

For there is still but a short time and then "The coming One will come and will not delay.

And why need I say more? For time will fail me if I tell the story of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, and of David and Samuel and the Prophets;

simply fixing our gaze upon Jesus, our Prince Leader in the faith, who will also award us the prize. He, for the sake of the joy which lay before Him, patiently endured the cross, looking with contempt upon its shame, and afterwards seated Himself-- where He still sits--at the right hand of the throne of God.

but may rather be restored. Persistently strive for peace with all men, and for that growth in holiness apart from which no one will see the Lord.

For they could not endure the order which had been given, "Even a wild beast, if it touches the mountain, shall be stoned to death;"

His voice then shook the earth, but now we have His promise, "Yet again I will, once for all, cause not only the earth to tremble, but Heaven also."

Let marriage be held in honour among all, and let the marriage bed be unpolluted; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

Your lives should be untainted by love for money. Be content with what you have; for God Himself has said, "I will never, never let go your hand: I will never never forsake you."

So that we fearlessly say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid: what can man do to me?"

Obey your leaders and be submissive to them. For they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give account; that they may do this with joy and not with lamentation. For that would be of no advantage to you.

fully equip you with every grace that you may need for the doing of His will, producing in us that which will truly please Him through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory to the Ages of the Ages! Amen.

You will rejoice to hear that our brother Timothy has been set at liberty. If he comes soon, I will see you with him.

And if any one of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask God for it, who gives with open hand to all men, and without upbraiding; and it will be given him.

but a rich man should rejoice in being brought low, for like flowers among the herbage rich men will pass away.

The sun rises with his scorching heat and dries up the herbage, so that its flowers drop off and the beauty of its appearance perishes, and in the same way rich men with all their prosperity will fade away.

Blessed is he who patiently endures trials; for when he has stood the test, he will gain the victor's crown--even the crown of Life--which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

In accordance with His will He made us His children through the Message of the truth, so that we might, in a sense, be the Firstfruits of the things which He has created.

But he who looks closely into the perfect Law--the Law of freedom--and continues looking, he, being not a hearer who forgets, but an obedient doer, will as the result of his obedience be blessed.

For he who shows no mercy will have judgement given against him without mercy; but mercy triumphs over judgement.

Nay, some one will say, "You have faith, I have actions: prove to me your faith apart from corresponding actions and I will prove mine to you by my actions.

Submit therefore to God: 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 who are half-hearted towards God.

Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

Come, you who say, "To-day or to-morrow we will go to this or that city, and spend a year there and carry on a successful business,"

when, all the while, you do not even know what will happen to-morrow. For what is the nature of your life? Why, it is but a mist, which appears for a short time and then is seen no more.

Instead of that you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we shall live and do this or that."

Come, you rich men, weep aloud and howl for your sorrows which will soon be upon you.

your gold and your silver have become covered with rust, and the rust on them will give evidence against you, and will eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded up wealth in these last days.

And the prayer of faith will restore the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up to health; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven.

let him know that he who brings a sinner back from his evil ways will save the man's soul from death and throw a veil over a multitude of sins.

Rid yourselves therefore of all ill-will and all deceitfulness, of insincerity and envy, and of all evil speaking.

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

And who will be able to harm you, if you show yourselves zealous for that which is good?

For it is better that you should suffer for doing right, if such be God's will, than for doing evil;

that in future you may spend the rest of your earthly lives, governed not by human passions, but by the will of God.

But they will have to give account to Him who stands ready to pronounce judgement on the living and the dead.

For it is with this end in view that the Good News was proclaimed even to some who were dead, that they may be judged, as all mankind will be judged, in the body, but may be living a godly life in the spirit.