Thematic Bible: Select readings

And Abraham drew near [to Yahweh] and said, "Will you also sweep away the righteous with the wicked? If perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city, will you also sweep [them] away and not forgive the place on account of the fifty righteous in her midst? Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to kill [the] righteous with [the] wicked, that the righteous would be as the wicked! Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?" read more.
And Yahweh said, "If I find fifty righteous in Sodom, in the midst of the city, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham answered and said, "Look, please, I was bold to speak to my Lord, but I [am] dust and ashes. Perhaps the fifty righteous are lacking five--will you destroy the whole city on account of the five?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] if I find forty-five there." And {once again he spoke} to him and said, "What if forty are found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] on account of the forty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if thirty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] if I find thirty there." And he said, "Please, now, I was bold to speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the twenty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the ten."

And Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the dawn. And when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he struck his hip socket, so that Jacob's hip socket was sprained as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking." But he answered, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." read more.
Then he said to him, "What [is] your name?" And he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked and said, "Please tell me your name." And he said, "Why do you ask this--for my name?" And he blessed him there. Then Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [which means] "I have seen God face to face and my life was spared."

Then King David went and sat before Yahweh and said, "Who [am] I, my lord Yahweh, and what [is] my house that you have brought me up to {this place}? Still, this [was] {insignificant} in your eyes, my lord Yahweh, and also you have spoken about the house of your servant from afar, and this [may be] the teaching of humans, my lord Yahweh. {What more can David say to you}? You know your servant, my lord Yahweh. read more.
Because of your word and according to your heart, you have done all of this great thing, [in order] to let your servant know. Therefore you [are] great, my lord Yahweh, for there is no one like you, and there [is] no god except you, in all that we have heard with our ears. Who [is] like your people, like Israel? [Israel is] the one nation on earth whose God {led them}, [in order] to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to do for you the great and awesome things for your land in the presence of your people whom he redeemed for himself from Egypt, [from the] nations and their gods. You have established your people Israel for yourself as a people forever, and you, O Yahweh, have become their God. So then, Yahweh God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever, and do just as you have promised. Your name shall be great forever, {and they will say}, 'Yahweh of hosts [is] God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David shall be established before you. For you, O Yahweh of hosts, [are] God of Israel! You have revealed to the ear of your servant, 'I will build a house for you'; therefore your servant {has found courage} to pray this prayer to you. Now, my Lord Yahweh, you alone [are] God, and your words [are] true. You have promised this good to your servant. So then, be content and bless the house of your servant to be forever in your presence, for you, my Lord Yahweh, have spoken, and because of your blessing, may the house of your servant be blessed forever."

Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all of the assembly of Israel, and he spread out his hands [to] the heavens, and he said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the loyal love for your servants who are walking before you with all their heart. You have kept for your servant David my father what you promised to him, and you have spoken with your mouth, and with your hand you have fulfilled [it] this very day. read more.
So then, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you promised to him, saying, 'For you, no man will be cut off from before me who [will be] sitting on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their ways to walk before me just as you have walked before me.' So then, O God of Israel, please let your word be confirmed which you have promised to your servant David my father. For will God really dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens could not contain you! {How could} this house that I have built? You must regard the prayer of your servant and his plea! O Yahweh my God, listen to the pleading and to the prayer that your servant [is] praying before you this day, so that your eyes [will] be open to this house night and day, to the place which you said, 'My name will be there,' to hear the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. You must listen to the plea of your servant and your people Israel which they pray [toward] this place; and you must hear from the place where you live, from heaven you must hear and you must forgive. [If] a man sins against his neighbor and he pronounces an oath against him to curse him, and the curse comes before your altar in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and you shall act and you shall judge your servant, to declare the wicked guilty by bringing his way upon his head and {to declare the righteous innocent} by rewarding him according to his righteousness. When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy {because} they sinned against you, and [when] they turn to you and confess your name and pray and beg for mercy from you in this house, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and you shall bring them back to the ground which you gave to their ancestors. When you shut up the heavens so there is no rain because they have sinned against you, then they pray to this place and they confess your name and they return from their sin because you punished them, then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you will teach them the good way in which they should go, and you will give rain upon your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance. If there should be in the land famine or disease, if there should be blight or mildew or locust or caterpillars, if it happens that his enemy lays siege against him in the land of his gates, if any plague or any disease, any prayer or any plea which is [offered] by any person for all of your people Israel, who each knows the infestation of his [own] heart and spreads out his palms to this house, then you shall hear in heaven the place of your dwelling, and you shall forgive and act and give to the man whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you alone know the heart of all the sons of man. [Do these things] so that they may fear you all the days that they live on the face of the land that you gave to our ancestors. Also for the foreigner who is not from your people Israel, and he comes from a distant land because of your name, (for they shall hear of your great name and your powerful hand and your outstretched arm), and he shall come and pray toward this house, you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, and act according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you as your people Israel, and to know that your name has been invoked over this house that I have built. If your people go out to battle against his enemy in the way that you shall send them and they pray to Yahweh, toward the city which you have chosen and the house which I have built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate} them. "If they sin against you (for there is not a person who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them to an enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near, and then they return their heart in the land where they have been taken captive and they return and plead to you in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned and we did wrong. We acted wickedly,' if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen and the house that you built for your name, then you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, their prayer and their plea, and you shall {vindicate them}. You shall forgive your people who sinned against you, [even] for all their transgressions which they committed against you. You shall give them compassion before their captors so that they may have compassion on them, for they [are] your people and your inheritance whom you brought from Egypt from the middle of the smelter of iron. [O,] that your eyes [may] be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, to listen to them in all things [when] they call to you. For you have separated them for yourself as an inheritance from all the peoples of the earth, as you promised through the hand of Moses your servant when you brought out our ancestors from Egypt, my Lord Yahweh!" It happened that when Solomon finished praying to Yahweh all of the prayer and this plea, he got up from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling down on his knees with his palms outstretched to heaven. He stood and blessed all of the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, "Blessed be Yahweh who gave a resting place to his people Israel. According to all that he promised, not one word has fallen from all of his promises [concerning] the good which he spoke through the hand of Moses his servant. May Yahweh our God be with us as he was with our ancestors, and may he not leave us or abandon us, to incline our hearts toward him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments which he commanded our ancestors. Let these my words which I pleaded before Yahweh [be] near to Yahweh our God, by day and by night, to maintain the justice of his servant and the justice of his people Israel {as each day requires} so that all of the people of the earth may know that Yahweh, he [is] God; there is none other. Let your heart be completely with Yahweh our God by walking in his statutes, by keeping his commands as this day."

And it happened that while he was in a certain place praying, when he stopped a certain one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples." And he said to them, "When you pray, say, "Father, may your name be treated as holy. May your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. read more.
And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation." And he said to them, "Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.' And that one will answer from inside [and] say, 'Do not cause me trouble! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you [anything].' I tell you, even if he does not give him [anything] [after he] gets up because [he] is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence he will get up [and] give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. But what father from among you, [if his] son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? Or also, [if] he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Therefore if you, [although you] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

And he told them a parable to [show that] they must always pray and not be discouraged, saying, "There was a certain judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect people. And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Grant me justice against my adversary!' read more.
And he was not willing for a time, but after these [things] he said to himself, 'Even if I do not fear God or respect people, yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end [by her] coming back!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying! And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? I tell you that {he will see to it that justice is done} for them soon! Nevertheless, [when] the Son of Man comes, then will he find faith on earth?"

See to it that no one pays back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue good toward one another and toward all [people]. Rejoice always, pray constantly, read more.
give thanks in everything; for this [is] the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but examine all [things]; hold fast to [what is] good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete, blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you [is] faithful, who also will do [this]. Brothers, pray for us. Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. I adjure you by the Lord, have this letter read aloud to all the brothers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with you.

Now we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you will not grieve as also the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose [again], thus also God will bring those who have fallen asleep through Jesus together with him. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who remain until the Lord's coming, will not possibly precede those who have fallen asleep. read more.
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be snatched away at the same time together with them in the clouds for a meeting with the Lord in the air, and thus we will be together with the Lord always. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) So the sisters sent [word] to him, saying, "Lord, behold, [the one] whom you love is sick." read more.
And [when he] heard [it], Jesus said, "This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, in order that the Son of God may be glorified through it." (Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.) So when he heard that he was sick, then he remained in the place {where} he was two days. Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were seeking just now to stone you, and are you going there again?" Jesus replied, Are [there] not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks around in the daylight, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks around in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him. He said these [things], and after this he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I can awaken him." So the disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well." (Now Jesus had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was speaking about {real sleep}.) So Jesus then said to them plainly, "Lazarus has died, and I am glad {for your sake} that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." Then Thomas (the one who is called Didymus) said to his fellow disciples, "Let us go also, so that we may die with him." So [when he] arrived, Jesus found he had already [been] four days in the tomb. (Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia. So many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary in order to console them concerning their brother.) Now Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet him, but Mary was sitting in the house. So Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever you ask God, God will grant you." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die {forever}. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who comes into the world." And [when she] had said this, she went and called her sister Mary privately, saying, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." So that one, when she heard [it], got up quickly and went to him. (Now Jesus has not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha went to meet him.) So the Jews who were with her in the house and were consoling her, [when they] saw Mary--that she stood up quickly and went out--followed her, [because they] thought that she was going to the tomb in order to weep there. Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was [and] saw him, fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Then Jesus, when he saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her weeping, was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled within himself. And he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. So the Jews were saying, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Was not this man who opened the eyes of the blind able to do [something] so that this man also would not have died?" Then Jesus, deeply moved within himself again, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying on it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the one who had died, said to him, "Lord, he is stinking already, because it has been four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes above and said, "Father, I give thanks to you that you hear me. And I know that you always hear me, but for the sake of the crowd standing around I said [it], so that they may believe that you sent me." And [when he] had said these [things], he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The one who had died came out, his feet and his hands bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped with a facecloth. Jesus said to them, "Untie him and let him go."

And [when] the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the [mother] of James, and Salome purchased fragrant spices so that they could go [and] anoint him. And very early in the morning on the first [day] of the week they came to the tomb [after] the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?" read more.
And [when they] looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away (for it was very large). And [as they] were going into the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene who was crucified. He has been raised, he is not here! See the place where they laid him! But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you." And they went out [and] fled from the tomb, because trembling and amazement had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. Now early on the first [day] of the week, [after he] rose, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had expelled seven demons. She went out [and] announced [it] to those who were with him [while they] were mourning and weeping. And those, [when they] heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, refused to believe [it]. And after these [things], he appeared in a different form to two of them [as they] were walking, [while they] were going out into the countryside. And these went [and] reported [it] to the others, and they did not believe them. And later, [while] they were reclining at table, he appeared to the eleven. And he reprimanded their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen him [after he] had been raised.

Now on the first [day] of the week, at very early dawn, they came back to the tomb bringing the fragrant spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, but [when they] went in, they did not find the body. read more.
And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men in gleaming clothing stood near them. And [as] they were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, they said to them, "Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has been raised! Remember how he spoke to you [while he] was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of men [who are] sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise?" And they remembered his words, and [when they] returned from the tomb, they reported all these [things] to the eleven and to all the rest. Now Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the [mother] of James and the others with them were telling these [things] to the apostles. And these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they refused to believe them. But Peter got up [and] ran to the tomb, and bending over to look, he saw only the [strips of] linen cloth, and he went away to his home wondering what had happened. And behold, on [that] same day, two of them were traveling to a village {named} Emmaus [that was] sixty stadia distant from Jerusalem, and they were conversing with one another about all these [things] that had happened. And it happened that while they were conversing, and discussing, Jesus himself also approached [and] began to go along with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. And he said to them, "What [are] these matters that you are discussing with one another [as you] are walking along?" And they stood still, looking sad. And one [of them], {named} Cleopas, answered [and] said to him, "[Are] you the only one living near Jerusalem and not knowing the things that have happened in it in these days?" And he said to them, "What [things]?" So they said to him, "The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, a man who was a prophet, powerful in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers handed him over to a sentence of death, and crucified him. But we were hoping that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. But in addition to all these [things], this [is] the third day {since} these [things] took place. But also some women from among us astonished us, who were at the tomb early in the morning, and [when they] did not find his body, they came back saying [they] had seen even a vision of angels, who said [that] he was alive! And some of those with us went out to the tomb and found [it] like this, just as the women had also said, but him they did not see." And he said to them, "O foolish and slow in heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary [that] the Christ suffer these [things] and enter into his glory?" And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures. And they drew near to the village where they were going, and he acted as though he was going farther. And they urged him strongly, saying, "Stay with us, because it is [getting] toward evening, and by this time the day is far spent." And he went in to stay with them. And it happened that when he reclined at the table with them, he took the bread [and] gave thanks, and [after] breaking [it], he gave [it] to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he became invisible to them. And they said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was speaking with us on the road, while he was explaining the scriptures to us?" And they got up [that] same hour [and] returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven and those with them assembled, saying, "The Lord has really been raised, and has appeared to Simon!" And they began describing {what happened} on the road, and how he was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread. And [while] they were saying these [things], he himself stood there among them. But they were startled and became terrified, [and] thought [they] had seen a ghost. And he said to them, "Why are you frightened? And for what [reason] do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that I am I myself! Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as {you see that I have}." And [when he] had said this, he showed them [his] hands and [his] feet. And [while] they were still disbelieving because of joy and were marveling, he said to them, "Do you have anything {to eat} here?" So they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took [it] [and] ate [it] in front of them. And he said to them, "These [are] my words that I spoke to you [while I] was still with you, that everything that is written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written [that] the Christ would suffer and would rise from the dead on the third day,

"But from where will wisdom be found? And {where in the world} [is the] place of understanding? A human being does not know its proper value, and it is not found in [the] land of the living. The deep says, 'It [is] not in me,' and [the] sea says, 'It is not with me.' read more.
"Refined gold cannot be gotten in its place, and silver cannot be weighed out [as] its price. It cannot be bought for the gold of Ophir, for precious onyx or sapphire. Gold and glass cannot be compared with it, and its substitution [cannot be] an ornament of refined gold. Black corals and crystal will not be mentioned, and wisdom's price [is] more than red corals. The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it; it cannot be bought for pure gold. Indeed, from where does wisdom come? And {where in the world} [is the] place of understanding? It is hidden from [the] eyes of all living, and it is concealed from [the] birds of the heaven. Abaddon and Death say, 'We heard its rumor with our ears.' "God understands its way, and he knows its place, for he himself looks to [the] end of the earth; he sees under all the heaven. {When he gave} weight to the wind and he apportioned [the] waters by measure, {when he made} a rule for the rain and a way for [the] thunder's lightning bolt, then he saw it and talked about it; he established it, and moreover, he explored it. And to the human beings he said, 'Look, the fear of the Lord [is] wisdom, and to depart from evil [is] understanding.'"

Happy [is] {the one} who finds wisdom, and one who obtains understanding. For her income is better than the income of silver, and her revenue than [that of] gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all your desires shall not compare with her. read more.
Length of days [is] in her right hand; in her left hand [are] riches and honor. Her ways [are] ways of pleasantness, and all her paths [are] peace. She is a tree of life for those who seize her; those who take hold of her are considered happy. Yahweh in wisdom founded the earth; he established the heavens in understanding. With his knowledge, depths broke open, and clouds dropped dew. My child, may they not escape from your {sight}; may you keep sound wisdom and prudence. They shall be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then you will walk in the confidence of your ways, and your foot will not stumble. If you sit down, you will not panic, and [if] you lie down, then your sleep shall be sweet.

Children, listen [to the] instruction of a father, and be attentive [in order] to know insight. For I have given you good instruction; do not forsake my teaching. When I was a son to my father, tender and alone before my mother, read more.
he taught me and said to me, "May your heart hold fast [to] my words; guard my commandments and live. Get wisdom and insight; do not forget and do not turn from the sayings of my mouth. Do not forsake her--then she will guard you; love her and she will keep you. The beginning of wisdom: Get wisdom! With all [that is in] your possession, gain insight. Cherish her and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. She will give a garland for your head; she shall bestow a crown of glory upon you." Listen, my child, take my sayings, and [the] years of your life shall be great. In the way of wisdom I have instructed you; I have led you in the path of uprightness. {When you walk}, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble. Seize the instruction! Do not let go! Guard her, for she is your life.

Concerning this {we have much to say and it is difficult to explain}, since you have become sluggish in hearing. For indeed, [although you] ought to be teachers {by this time}, you have need of someone to teach you again the beginning elements of the oracles of God, and {you have need of} milk, not solid food. For everyone who partakes of milk [is] unacquainted with the message of righteousness, because he is an infant. read more.
But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have trained their faculties for the distinguishing of both good and evil.

Therefore, leaving behind the elementary message about Christ, let us move on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and faith in God, teaching about baptisms and laying on of hands, and resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits. read more.
For [it is] impossible [concerning] those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and become sharers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the coming age, and having fallen away, to renew [them] again to repentance, [because they] have crucified again for themselves the Son of God and held him up to contempt. For ground that drinks the rain that comes often upon it, and brings forth vegetation usable to those [people] {for whose sake} [it is] also cultivated, shares a blessing from God. But [if it] produces thorns and thistles, [it is] worthless and near to a curse, whose end [is] for burning. But even if we are speaking in this way, dear friends, we are convinced of better [things] concerning you, and belonging to salvation. For God [is] not unjust, [so as] to forget your work and the love which you demonstrated for his name [by] having served the saints, and continuing to serve [them]. And we desire each one of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the full assurance of [your] hope until the end, in order that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and patience. For [when] God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, "Surely {I will greatly bless} you, and {I will greatly multiply} you." And so, [by] persevering, he obtained the promise. For people swear by what is greater [than themselves], and the oath for confirmation [is the] end of all dispute for them.

And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it runs out they will welcome you into the eternal dwellings.