and having disarmed principalities and powers, he made a public show of them, and led them captive in triumph in him.

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

Wherefore, if ye be dead with Christ from ordinances of the world: Why as though ye yet lived in the world, are ye led with traditions of them that say

let the things above, and not such worldly matters be the object of your thoughts.

among whom you once led your daily life when you lived in them.

but now renounce them all, as well as anger, animosity, malice: let calumny and obscene discourse be banish'd from your lips.

Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,

As saints of God, then, holy and dearly loved, let your behaviour be marked by pity and mercy, kind feeling, a low opinion of yourselves, gentle ways, and a power of undergoing all things;

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, and let it be through Him that you give thanks to God the Father.

Whatever you are doing, let your hearts be in your work, as a thing done for the Lord and not for men.

Pray for me too, that God may give me an opening for the message, and let me tell the secret of Christ on account of which I am kept in prison

Let Christian wisdom rule your behaviour to the outside world; make the very most of your time;

Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

I have sent him with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, one of your own number, for this very purpose, to let you know how I am, and to cheer your hearts.

and with him is Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will let you know everything about the situation here [in Rome].

And when this Letter has been read among you, let it be read also in the Church of the Laodiceans, and you in turn must read the one I am sending to Laodicea.

to lead a life worthy of the God who called you to his own realm and glory.

so that no one would be unsettled by these difficulties [to which I have referred]. For you know that we have been destined for this [as something unavoidable in our position].

For you know the commands which we laid upon you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you,

For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the [blast of the] trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

Therefore encourage one another, and let each one help to strengthen his friend, as in fact you do.

But we beg you, brethren, to know those who labour among you, and take the lead among you in the Lord, and admonish you,

Let no one give evil for evil; but ever go after what is good, for one another and for all.

Do not put out the light of the Spirit;

Do not make light of preaching.

Let all things be tested; keep to what is good;

This is a proof of God's righteous judgment, His aim being to let you show yourselves worthy of His kingdom, for which you are suffering; since,

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.

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

For the rest, my brothers, let there be prayer for us that the word of the Lord may go forward with increasing glory, even as it does with you;

For you know well how you must imitate me. For I did not lead an idle or disorderly life among you;

For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, If any will not work, neither let him eat.

and the attention they bestow on mere fables and endless pedigrees, such as lead to controversy rather than to a true stewardship for God, which only exists where there is faith. And I make the same request now.

Knowing this, that the law is laid down not for the just one, but for the lawless and disorderly, for the profane and sinful, for the wicked and unholy, for the patricides and matricides, for manslayers,

For lewd persons, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,

according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.

This charge I commit unto thee, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which led the way to thee, that by them thou mayest war the good warfare;

keeping hold of faith and a good conscience. For some people have let that go and have had their faith ruined,

Well, my very first counsel is that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving, are to be offered for all men ??2 for kings and all in authority, that we may lead a tranquil life in all piety and gravity;

For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

My desire, then, is that it should be the custom everywhere for the men to lead the prayers, with hands reverently uplifted, avoiding heated controversy.

Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.

I allow no woman to teach, or to exercise authority over a man; but let her keep quiet.

And Adam was not seduced by the serpent, but the woman being led astray was first in the transgression.

Now an overseer must be blameless and beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

(and if any one his own house how to lead hath not known, how an assembly of God shall he take care of?)

Deacons, likewise, should be worthy of respect, not hypocritical, not drinking a lot of wine, not greedy for money,

And let these be proved first,

And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.

Likewise let their wives be grave, not tattlers, modest, faithful in all things.

Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

in case I am delayed, to let you know how people ought to conduct themselves in the household of God, because it is the church of the living God, the support and bulwark of the truth.

These having laid down to the brethren, thou shalt be a good servant of Jesus Christ, brought up in the words of faith and good doctrine, which thou bast closely followed.

As for profane legends and old wives' tales, leave them alone. Train yourself to lead a religious life;

Let these be your orders and your teaching.

Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Till I come, hold to reading loud, to entreaty, to doctrine.

Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, [that special endowment] which was intentionally bestowed on you [by the Holy Spirit] through prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands on you [at your ordination].

Attend to these duties, let them absorb you, so that all men may note your progress.

Do not say sharp words to one who has authority in the church, but let your talk be as to a father, and to the younger men as to brothers:

Honour widows that are widows indeed. But if any widow have children or grand children, let these learn first to shew piety at home,

But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.

as for the widow, who is really such, and without any assistance, let her place all her hopes in God, and be assiduous in supplication and prayer.

Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man,

But refuse younger widows, for whenever their physical desires lead them away from Christ, they want to marry,

If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.

Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.

Never let any charge be brought against a presbyter, unless it is certified by two or three witnesses.

There are some men whose sins are conspicuous and lead on to judgment, while there are others whose sins dog their steps.

Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.

And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort.

he is a conceited ignoramus with a morbid appetite for discussions and controversies which lead to envy, quarreling, abuse, base suspicions,

And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil: which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

to observe these precepts, to lead an unspotted life without reproof until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

Tell those who are rich in this age not to be arrogant and not to place their confidence in anything as uncertain as riches. Instead, let them place their confidence in God, who lavishly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

For this reason let me remind you to rekindle God's gift which is yours through the laying on of my hands.

But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

And if anyone competes as an athlete [in competitive games], he is not crowned [with the wreath of victory] unless he competes according to the rules.

All I endure is for the sake of the elect, to let them obtain their share of the salvation of Christ Jesus and also of eternal glory.

Let it be your care to get the approval of God, as a workman who has no cause for shame, giving the true word in the right way.

But avoid all irreverent babble and godless chatter [with its profane, empty words], for it will lead to further ungodliness,

Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

But avoid foolish discussions with ignorant men, knowing--as you do--that these lead to quarrels;

He should instruct his opponents in a gentle spirit; for, possibly, God may give them a repentance that will lead to a fuller knowledge of Truth,

For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

and led captive by ever-changing impulses, are always learning but never able to arrive at knowledge of truth.

As Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, even so do these resist the truth, men they are of corrupt minds, and lewd as concerning the faith:

But wicked men and juggling impostors shall advance in evil, leading and being led astray.

But you, on your part, must continue to abide by what you have learned and been led to rely upon, because you know from whom you learned it

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: