But we must always thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God has chosen you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

For you yourselves know how you must imitate us: We were not irresponsible among you;

For when I was with you, I gave you this direction, "If a person refuses to work, he must not be allowed to eat."

but we command such and exhort them in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietude working, they must eat their own bread.

But you, brethren, must not grow weary in the path of duty;

You must not regard him as an enemy but warn him as a brother.

The aim of your instruction must be love that springs from a pure heart and from a good conscience and from a sincere faith.

he must keep in mind that no law is ever made for honest people but for the lawless and the insubordinate, for the impious and the sinful, for the irreverent and the profane, for parricides and matricides, murderers,

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 on behalf of all men. This must be our testimony, as opportunities present themselves;

Now I want the men to offer prayer at any meeting of the church; and let the hands they lift to heaven be holy ??they must be free from anger and dissension.

Likewise the women are to dress in suitable apparel, with modesty and self-control. Their adornment must not be with braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive clothing,

A woman must learn in quietness with all submission.

I do not permit a woman to teach, nor have authority over a man, but she must remain silent.

A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

He must not drink excessively or be a violent person, but instead be gentle. He must not be argumentative or love money.

He must manage his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity [keeping them respectful and well-behaved]

and He must not be a new convert, so that he will not [behave stupidly and] become conceited [by appointment to this high office] and fall into the [same] condemnation incurred by the devil [for his arrogance and pride].

Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;

but upholding and fully understanding the mystery [that is, the true doctrine] of the [Christian] faith with a clear conscience [resulting from behavior consistent with spiritual maturity].

and these also must be tested first; then let them serve [if they] are above reproach.

Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.

Deacons must be husbands of one wife, managing [their] children and their own households well.

But if I am delayed, [I am writing] in order that you may know how one must conduct oneself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and mainstay of the truth.

These are the things you must insist on and teach.

Widows who really need it must be supported from the funds.

But if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must learn to show profound respect for their own household first, and to pay back recompense to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.

[But] do not put a widow on the list [i.e., of people being helped by the church. See Acts 6:1] who is under sixty years old. [And she must] have been the wife of one man,

and has a reputation for good deeds; [she is eligible] if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the feet of the saints (God’s people), if she has assisted the distressed, and has devoted herself to doing good in every way.

But the younger widows you must not enrol; for as soon as they begin to chafe against the yoke of Christ, they want to marry,

As it is, some widows have already turned after Satan. ??16 Any believer, man or woman, who has widowed relatives, must give them relief; the church is not to be burdened with them; she has to relieve the widows who really need relief.

If any believing woman has widows, she must help them, and the church must not be burdened, in order that it may help those [who are] truly widows.

The elders who lead well must be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor by speaking and teaching.

For the scripture says, "You must not muzzle an ox [while it] is threshing," and "The worker [is] worthy of his wages."

Those guilty of sin must be rebuked before all, as a warning to the rest.

I testify before God, and Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that you must guard these things without prejudice, doing nothing by partiality.

All those who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, lest the name of God and the teaching be slandered.

And those who have believing masters must not look down on [them] because they are brothers, but rather they must serve, because those who benefit by their service are believers and dearly loved.

If we have food and clothes, we must be content with that.

But you, O man of God, must flee from these things; and strive for uprightness, godliness, good faith, love, fortitude, and a forgiving temper.

Impress on those who are rich in the present age that they must not be haughty nor set their hopes on riches--that unstable foundation--but on God who provides us richly with all things for our enjoyment.

They must be beneficent, rich in noble deeds, open-handed and liberal;

So you must not be ashamed to testify to our Lord, nor be ashamed of me who am in prison for his sake, but join with me in suffering for the good news, through the power of God.

You then, my child, must be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

All that you have been taught by me in the hearing of many witnesses, you must hand on to trusty men who shall themselves, in turn, be competent to instruct others also.

You therefore must endure hardship, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.

However, the solid foundation of God stands firm, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are his," and "Everyone who names the name of the Lord must abstain from unrighteousness."

You must keep on fleeing from the evil impulses of youth, but ever strive for uprightness, faith, love, and peace, in association with those who call upon the Lord with pure hearts.

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,

He must correct those who are in opposition with courtesy and gentleness in the hope that God may grant that they will repent and be led to the knowledge of the truth [accurately understanding and welcoming it],

You must realize, however, that in the last days difficult times will come.

Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, must suffer persecutions.

But you must cling to the things which you have learnt and have been taught to believe, knowing who your teachers were,

But as for you, you must exercise habitual self-control, and not live a self-indulgent life, but do the duty of an evangelist and fully discharge the obligations of your office.

of whom you also must beware; for he greatly opposed our words.

An elder must be blameless. He must be the husband of one wife and have children who are believers and who are not accused of having wild lifestyles or of being rebellious.

For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;

And he must be hospitable [to believers, as well as strangers], a lover of what is good, sensible (upright), fair, devout, self-disciplined [above reproach—whether in public or in private].

He must hold firmly to the trustworthy word [of God] as it was taught to him, so that he will be able both to give accurate instruction in sound [reliable, error-free] doctrine and to refute those who contradict [it by explaining their error].

For there are many individuals who are unruly, empty talkers and deceivers, particularly those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped;

Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.

But you must say the things that are consistent with sound teaching.

In the same way exhort aged women to let their conduct be such as becomes consecrated persons. They must not be slanderers nor enslaved to wine-drinking. They must be teachers of what is right.

they must give good counsel, so that the young women may be trained to love their husbands and children,

Slaves must be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not to talk back,

teaching us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we must live prudently and righteously and holily in this present age;

This is what you must teach and urge and insist upon with full authority. No one is to look down on you.

Remind people that they must submit to the rulers who are in authority over them; that they must obey the magistrates, be prepared for every right action,

They must not slander anyone, but be peaceable, gentle, showing complete courtesy to all people.

It is a sure saying. I want you to insist on this, that those who have faith in God must profess honest occupations. Such counsels are right and good for men.

But also our [people] must learn to engage in good deeds for necessary needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.

But I must add, prepare me also a lodging; for I hope that through your prayers I shall be restored to you.

When He again brings His firstborn into the world, He says, And all God’s angels must worship Him.

We must, therefore, pay even more attention to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.

You must not harden your hearts as they did in provoking me, as on the day in the desert they tested me,

and yet the warning continues to be spoken: "If you but hear His voice, you must not harden your hearts as they did in provoking me."

Therefore we must be wary that, while the promise of entering his rest remains open, none of you may seem to have come short of it.

Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:

He again fixes a definite day, saying long afterward through David, as has been quoted: "If you but hear His voice, you must not harden your hearts."

So there must still be a promised Sabbath of Rest for God's people.

Thus we must make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by following the same pattern of disobedience.

And no creature is hidden in the sight of him, but all [things are] naked and laid bare to the eyes of him to whom {we must give our account}.

and must be one who is able to bear patiently with the ignorant and erring, because he himself also is beset with infirmity.

Because of this, he must make a sin offering for himself as well as for the people.

to himself the honour of the priesthood: he must be called thereto by God, as Aaron was.

Therefore we must progress beyond the elementary instructions about Christ and move on to maturity, not laying this foundation again: repentance from dead works and faith in God,

Now think how great this priest-king must have been to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth part of the best of the spoil.

For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must be a change of law as well.

Every High Priest, however, is appointed to offer both bloodless gifts and sacrifices. Therefore this High Priest also must have some offering to present.

while above it, and overshadowing the Cover on which atonement was made, are the Cherubim of the Presence. But I must not now dwell on these things in detail.

but the second tent is entered only once a year by the high priest alone ??and it must not be without blood, which he presents on behalf of himself and the errors of the People.

For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Indeed, just as men must die but once and after that be judged,

But you must continue to remember those earlier days, how after you were enlightened you endured a hard and painful struggle.

You must not lose your courage, for it will be richly rewarded,

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

of whom it had been said, "Through Isaac your offspring must be traced."