6
For I am already being poured out as a
•drink
offering, and the time for my departure is close.
7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8
There is reserved for me in the future the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved His appearing.
Final Instructions
9
Make every effort to come to me soon,
10
for Demas has deserted me, because he loved this present world, and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
11
Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you, for he is useful to me in the ministry.
12
I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus.
13
When you come, bring the cloak I left in Troas with Carpus, as well as the scrolls, especially the parchments.
14
Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his works.
15
Watch out for him yourself because he strongly opposed our words.
16
At my first defense, no one stood by me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be counted against them.
17
But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the proclamation might be fully made through me and all the Gentiles might hear. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth.
18
The Lord will rescue me from every evil work and will bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever!
•Amen
.
Benediction
19
Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.
20
Erastus has remained at Corinth; I left Trophimus sick at Miletus.
21
Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers.
22
The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Titus
Titus
Greeting
1
Paul, a
•slave
of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to build up the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,
2
in the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
3
In His own time He has revealed His message in the proclamation that I was entrusted with by the command of God our Savior:
4
To Titus, my true son in our common faith.
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Titus's Ministry in Crete
5
The reason I left you in Crete was to set right what was left undone and, as I directed you, to appoint elders in every town:
6
one who is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of wildness or rebellion.
7
For an
•overseer
, as God's administrator, must be blameless, not arrogant, not hot-tempered, not addicted to wine, not a bully, not greedy for money,
8
but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, righteous, holy, self-controlled,
9
holding to the faithful message as taught, so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it.
10
For there are also many rebellious people, full of empty talk and deception, especially those from Judaism.
11
It is necessary to silence them; they overthrow whole households by teaching what they shouldn't in order to get money dishonestly.
12
One of their very own prophets said,
Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.
13
This testimony is true. So, rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith
14
and may not pay attention to Jewish myths and the commands of men who reject the truth.
15
To the pure, everything is pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; in fact, both their mind and conscience are defiled.
16
They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified for any good work.
Titus
Sound Teaching and Christian Living
2
But you must say the things that are consistent with sound teaching.
2
Older men are to be level headed, worthy of respect, sensible, and sound in faith, love, and endurance.
3
In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not addicted to much wine. They are to teach what is good,
4
so they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children,
5
to be self-controlled, pure, homemakers, kind, and submissive to their husbands, so that God's message will not be slandered.
6
In the same way, encourage the young men to be self-controlled
7
in everything. Make yourself an example of good works with integrity and dignity in your teaching.
8
Your message is to be sound beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be ashamed, having nothing bad to say about us.
9
•Slaves
are to be submissive to their masters in everything, and to be well-pleasing, not talking back
10
or stealing, but demonstrating utter faithfulness, so that they may adorn the teaching of God our Savior in everything.
11
For the grace of God has appeared with salvation for all people,
12
instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age,
13
while we wait for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
14
He gave Himself for us to
•redeem
us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people for His own possession, eager to do good works.
15
Say these things, and encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
Titus
Christian Living among Outsiders
3
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,
2
to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people.
3
For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another.
4
But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love
for mankind appeared,
5
He saved us —
not by works of righteousness that we had done,
but according to His mercy,
through the washing of regeneration
and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
6
He poured out this Spirit on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7
so that having been
•justified
by His grace,
we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life.
8
This saying is trustworthy. I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed God might be careful to devote themselves to good works. These are good and profitable for everyone.
9
But avoid foolish debates, genealogies, quarrels, and disputes about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.
10
Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning,
11
knowing that such a person is perverted and sins, being self-condemned.
Final Instructions and Closing
12
When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me in Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.
13
Diligently help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey, so that they will lack nothing.
14
And our people must also learn to devote themselves to good works for cases of urgent need, so that they will not be unfruitful.
15
All those who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with all of you.
Philemon
Greeting
1
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother:
To Philemon our dear friend and coworker,
2
to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets in your home.
3
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philemon's Love and Faith
4
I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers,
5
because I hear of your love and faith toward the Lord Jesus and for all the
•saints
.
6
I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective through knowing every good thing that is in us for the glory of Christ.
7
For I have great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
An Appeal for Onesimus
8
For this reason, although I have great boldness in Christ to command you to do what is right,
9
I appeal to you, instead, on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an elderly man and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus,
10
appeal to you for my son, Onesimus. I fathered him while I was in chains.
11
Once he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me.
12
I am sending him back to you as a part of myself.
13
I wanted to keep him with me, so that in my imprisonment for the gospel he might serve me in your place.
14
But I didn't want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might not be out of obligation, but of your own free will.
15
For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a brief time, so that you might get him back permanently,
16
no longer as a
•slave
, but more than a slave — as a dearly loved brother. He is especially so to me, but even more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17
So if you consider me a partner, accept him as you would me.
18
And if he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.
19
I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it — not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self.
20
Yes, brother, may I have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.
21
Since I am confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
22
But meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.
Final Greetings
23
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, and so do
24
Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my coworkers.
25
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Hebrews
Hebrews
The Nature of the Son
1
Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways.
2
In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe through Him.
3
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
4
So He became higher in rank than the angels, just as the name He inherited is superior to theirs.
The Son Superior to Angels
5
For to which of the angels did He ever say,
You are My Son; today I have become Your Father,
or again,
I will be His Father, and He will be My Son
?
6
When He again brings His firstborn into the world, He says,
And all God's angels must worship Him.
7
And about the angels He says:
He makes His angels winds,
and His servants
a fiery flame,
8
but to the Son:
Your throne, God,
is forever and ever,
and the scepter of Your kingdom
is a scepter of justice.
9
You have loved righteousness
and hated lawlessness;
this is why God, Your God,
has anointed You
with the oil of joy
rather than Your companions.
10
And: