13:1Let brotherly love continue. 13:2Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for in doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it. 13:3Remember those who are in bonds, as bound with them; and those who are ill-treated, since you are also in the body. 13:4Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled: but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. 13:5Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.” 13:6So that with good courage we say, “The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?” 13:7Remember your leaders, men who spoke to you the word of God, and considering the results of their conduct, imitate their faith. 13:8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 13:9Don’t be carried away by various and strange teachings, for it is good that the heart be established by grace, not by food, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited. 13:10We have an altar from which those who serve the holy tabernacle have no right to eat. 13:11For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside of the camp. 13:12Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside of the gate. 13:13Let us therefore go out to him outside of the camp, bearing his reproach. 13:14For we don’t have here an enduring city, but we seek that which is to come. 13:15Through him, then, let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which proclaim allegiance to his name. 13:16But don’t forget to be doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. 13:17Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch on behalf of your souls, as those who will give account, that they may do this with joy, and not with groaning, for that would be unprofitable for you. 13:18Pray for us, for we are persuaded that we have a good conscience, desiring to live honorably in all things. 13:19I strongly urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you sooner. 13:20Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus, 13:21make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 13:22But I exhort you, brothers, endure the word of exhortation; for I have written to you in few words. 13:23Know that our brother Timothy has been freed, with whom, if he comes shortly, I will see you. 13:24Greet all of your leaders and all the saints. The Italians greet you. 13:25Grace be with you all. Amen.
James
1:1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the Dispersion: Greetings. 1:2Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, 1:3knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 1:4Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 1:5But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him. 1:6But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. 1:7For that man shouldn’t think that he will receive anything from the Lord. 1:8He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 1:9But let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position; 1:10and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away. 1:11For the sun arises with the scorching wind, and withers the grass, and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in his pursuits. 1:12Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love him. 1:13Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God can’t be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. 1:14But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. 1:15Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, produces death. 1:16Don’t be deceived, my beloved brothers. 1:17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow. 1:18Of his own will he gave birth to us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. 1:19So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; 1:20for the anger of man doesn’t produce the righteousness of God. 1:21Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 1:22But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. 1:23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror; 1:24for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 1:25But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom, and continues, not being a hearer who forgets, but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does. 1:26If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he doesn’t bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is worthless. 1:27Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
2:1My brothers, don’t hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory with partiality. 2:2For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your synagogue, and a poor man in filthy clothing also comes in; 2:3and you pay special attention to him who wears the fine clothing, and say, “Sit here in a good place”; and you tell the poor man, “Stand there,” or “Sit by my footstool”; 2:4haven’t you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 2:5Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him? 2:6But you have dishonored the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts? 2:7Don’t they blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called? 2:8However, if you fulfill the royal law, according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. 2:9But if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. 2:10For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. 2:11For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 2:12So speak, and so do, as men who are to be judged by a law of freedom. 2:13For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 2:14What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him? 2:15And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, 2:16and one of you tells them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled”; and yet you didn’t give them the things the body needs, what good is it? 2:17Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself. 2:18Yes, a man will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith. 2:19You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder. 2:20But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead? 2:21Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 2:22You see that faith worked with his works, and by works faith was perfected; 2:23and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God. 2:24You see then that by works, a man is justified, and not only by faith. 2:25In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? 2:26For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.
3:1Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment. 3:2For in many things we all stumble. If anyone doesn’t stumble in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also. 3:3Indeed, we put bits into the horses’ mouths so that they may obey us, and we guide their whole body. 3:4Behold, the ships also, though they are so big and are driven by fierce winds, are yet guided by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot desires. 3:5So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest! 3:6And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna. 3:7For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and sea creature, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind; 3:8but nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 3:9With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the image of God. 3:10Out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 3:11Does a spring send out from the same opening fresh and bitter water? 3:12Can a fig tree, my brothers, yield olives, or a vine figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh water. 3:13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his deeds are done in gentleness of wisdom. 3:14But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and don’t lie against the truth. 3:15This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic. 3:16For where jealousy and selfish ambition are, there is confusion and every evil deed. 3:17But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 3:18Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
4:1Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members? 4:2You lust, and don’t have. You murder and covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask. 4:3You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4:4You adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 4:5Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously”? 4:6But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 4:7Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 4:8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 4:9Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom. 4:10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you. 4:11Don’t speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. 4:12Only one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge another? 4:13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.” 4:14Whereas you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. 4:15For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that.” 4:16But now you glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil. 4:17To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.
5:1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you. 5:2Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. 5:3Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against you, and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up your treasure in the last days. 5:4Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Armies. 5:5You have lived in luxury on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. 5:6You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you. 5:7Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain. 5:8You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 5:9Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door. 5:10Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of perseverance, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 5:11Behold, we call them blessed who endured. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and have seen the Lord in the outcome, and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. 5:12But above all things, my brothers, don’t swear— not by heaven, or by the earth, or by any other oath; but let your “yes” be “yes”, and your “no”, “no”; so that you don’t fall into hypocrisy. 5:13Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises. 5:14Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, 5:15and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 5:16Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective. 5:17Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn’t rain on the earth for three years and six months. 5:18He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. 5:19Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, 5:20let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
1 Peter
1:1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen ones who are living as foreigners in the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 1:2according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1:4to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn’t fade away, reserved in Heaven for you, 1:5who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1:6Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been put to grief in various trials, 1:7that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ— 1:8whom not having known you love; in whom, though now you don’t see him, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory— 1:9receiving the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1:10Concerning this salvation, the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 1:11searching for who or what kind of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, pointed to, when he predicted the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that would follow them. 1:12To them it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to you, they ministered these things, which now have been announced to you through those who preached the Good News to you by the Holy Spirit sent out from heaven; which things angels desire to look into. 1:13Therefore prepare your minds for action, be sober, and set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ— 1:14as children of obedience, not conforming yourselves according to your former lusts as in your ignorance, 1:15but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior; 1:16because it is written, “You shall be holy; for I am holy.” 1:17If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man’s work, pass the time of your living as foreigners here in reverent fear: 1:18knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers, 1:19but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish or spot, the blood of Christ; 1:20who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in this last age for your sake, 1:21who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God. 1:22Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently: 1:23having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever. 1:24For, “All flesh is like grass, and all of man’s glory like the flower in the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls; 1:25but the Lord’s word endures forever.” This is the word of Good News which was preached to you.
2:1Putting away therefore all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisies, envies, and all evil speaking, 2:2as newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the Word, that with it you may grow, 2:3if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious: 2:4coming to him, a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God, precious. 2:5You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 2:6Because it is contained in Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, chosen, and precious: He who believes in him will not be disappointed.” 2:7For you who believe therefore is the honor, but for those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected, has become the chief cornerstone,” 2:8and, “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” For they stumble at the word, being disobedient, to which also they were appointed. 2:9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: 2:10who in time past were no people, but now are God’s people, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 2:11Beloved, I beg you as foreigners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 2:12having good behavior among the nations, so in that of which they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they see, glorify God in the day of visitation. 2:13Therefore subject yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether to the king, as supreme; 2:14or to governors, as sent by him for vengeance on evildoers and for praise to those who do well. 2:15For this is the will of God, that by well-doing you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: 2:16as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God. 2:17Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. 2:18Servants, be in subjection to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the wicked. 2:19For it is commendable if someone endures pain, suffering unjustly, because of conscience toward God. 2:20For what glory is it if, when you sin, you patiently endure beating? But if, when you do well, you patiently endure suffering, this is commendable with God. 2:21For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps, 2:22who did not sin, “neither was deceit found in his mouth.” 2:23Who, when he was cursed, didn’t curse back. When he suffered, didn’t threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. 2:24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed. 2:25For you were going astray like sheep; but now have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
3:1In the same way, wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; so that, even if any don’t obey the Word, they may be won by the behavior of their wives without a word; 3:2seeing your pure behavior in fear. 3:3Let your beauty be not just the outward adorning of braiding the hair, and of wearing jewels of gold, or of putting on fine clothing; 3:4but in the hidden person of the heart, in the incorruptible adornment of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God very precious. 3:5For this is how the holy women before, who hoped in God also adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands: 3:6as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose children you now are, if you do well, and are not put in fear by any terror. 3:7You husbands, in the same way, live with your wives according to knowledge, giving honor to the woman, as to the weaker vessel, as being also joint heirs of the grace of life; that your prayers may not be hindered. 3:8Finally, be all like-minded, compassionate, loving as brothers, tender hearted, courteous, 3:9not rendering evil for evil, or insult for insult; but instead blessing; knowing that to this were you called, that you may inherit a blessing. 3:10For, “He who would love life, and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. 3:11Let him turn away from evil, and do good. Let him seek peace, and pursue it. 3:12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears open to their prayer; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 3:13Now who is he who will harm you, if you become imitators of that which is good? 3:14But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “Don’t fear what they fear, neither be troubled.” 3:15But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear: 3:16having a good conscience; that, while you are spoken against as evildoers, they may be disappointed who curse your good way of life in Christ. 3:17For it is better, if it is God’s will, that you suffer for doing well than for doing evil. 3:18Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 3:19in which he also went and preached to the spirits in prison, 3:20who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ship was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. 3:21This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you—not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 3:22who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him.
4:1Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind; for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin; 4:2that you no longer should live the rest of your time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 4:3For we have spent enough of our past time doing the desire of the Gentiles, and having walked in lewdness, lusts, drunken binges, orgies, carousings, and abominable idolatries. 4:4They think it is strange that you don’t run with them into the same excess of riot, blaspheming: 4:5who will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 4:6For to this end the Good News was preached even to the dead, that they might be judged indeed as men in the flesh, but live as to God in the spirit. 4:7But the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer. 4:8And above all things be earnest in your love among yourselves, for love covers a multitude of sins. 4:9Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 4:10As each has received a gift, employ it in serving one another, as good managers of the grace of God in its various forms. 4:11If anyone speaks, let it be as it were the very words of God. If anyone serves, let it be as of the strength which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 4:12Beloved, don’t be astonished at the fiery trial which has come upon you, to test you, as though a strange thing happened to you. 4:13But because you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory you also may rejoice with exceeding joy. 4:14If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed; because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified. 4:15For let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil doer, or a meddler in other men’s matters. 4:16But if one of you suffers for being a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this matter. 4:17For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. If it begins first with us, what will happen to those who don’t obey the Good News of God? 4:18“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will happen to the ungodly and the sinner?” 4:19Therefore let them also who suffer according to the will of God in doing good entrust their souls to him, as to a faithful Creator.
5:1Therefore I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and who will also share in the glory that will be revealed. 5:2Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, not for dishonest gain, but willingly; 5:3neither as lording it over those entrusted to you, but making yourselves examples to the flock. 5:4When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away. 5:5Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility, to subject yourselves to one another; for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 5:6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; 5:7casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you. 5:8Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 5:9Withstand him steadfast in your faith, knowing that your brothers who are in the world are undergoing the same sufferings. 5:10But may the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 5:11To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. 5:12Through Silvanus, our faithful brother, as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand. 5:13She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, greets you; and so does Mark, my son. 5:14Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
2 Peter
1:1Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 1:2Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 1:3seeing that his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and virtue; 1:4by which he has granted to us his precious and exceedingly great promises; that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust. 1:5Yes, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence; and in moral excellence, knowledge; 1:6and in knowledge, self-control; and in self-control perseverance; and in perseverance godliness; 1:7and in godliness brotherly affection; and in brotherly affection, love. 1:8For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1:9For he who lacks these things is blind, seeing only what is near, having forgotten the cleansing from his old sins. 1:10Therefore, brothers, be more diligent to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble. 1:11For thus you will be richly supplied with the entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 1:12Therefore I will not be negligent to remind you of these things, though you know them, and are established in the present truth. 1:13I think it right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you; 1:14knowing that the putting off of my tent comes swiftly, even as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 1:15Yes, I will make every effort that you may always be able to remember these things even after my departure. 1:16For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 1:17For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 1:18We heard this voice come out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. 1:19We have the more sure word of prophecy; and you do well that you heed it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the morning star arises in your hearts: 1:20knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation. 1:21For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit.
2:1But false prophets also arose among the people, as false teachers will also be among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction. 2:2Many will follow their immoral ways, and as a result, the way of the truth will be maligned. 2:3In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn’t linger, and their destruction will not slumber. 2:4For if God didn’t spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 2:5and didn’t spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly; 2:6and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, having made them an example to those who would live in an ungodly way; 2:7and delivered righteous Lot, who was very distressed by the lustful life of the wicked 2:8(for that righteous man dwelling among them, was tormented in his righteous soul from day to day with seeing and hearing lawless deeds): 2:9the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment; 2:10but chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries; 2:11whereas angels, though greater in might and power, don’t bring a railing judgment against them before the Lord. 2:12But these, as unreasoning creatures, born natural animals to be taken and destroyed, speaking evil in matters about which they are ignorant, will in their destroying surely be destroyed, 2:13receiving the wages of unrighteousness; people who count it pleasure to revel in the daytime, spots and defects, reveling in their deceit while they feast with you; 2:14having eyes full of adultery, and who can’t cease from sin; enticing unsettled souls; having a heart trained in greed; children of cursing; 2:15forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wrongdoing; 2:16but he was rebuked for his own disobedience. A mute donkey spoke with a man’s voice and stopped the madness of the prophet. 2:17These are wells without water, clouds driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever. 2:18For, uttering great swelling words of emptiness, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by licentiousness, those who are indeed escaping from those who live in error; 2:19promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for a man is brought into bondage by whoever overcomes him. 2:20For if, after they have escaped the defilement of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in it and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 2:21For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 2:22But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, “The dog turns to his own vomit again,” and “the sow that has washed to wallowing in the mire.”
3:1This is now, beloved, the second letter that I have written to you; and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by reminding you; 3:2that you should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior: 3:3knowing this first, that in the last days mockers will come, walking after their own lusts, 3:4and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 3:5For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth formed out of water and amid water, by the word of God; 3:6by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. 3:7But the heavens that now exist, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 3:8But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 3:9The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 3:10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 3:11Therefore since all these things will be destroyed like this, what kind of people ought you to be in holy living and godliness, 3:12looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, which will cause the burning heavens to be dissolved, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 3:13But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. 3:14Therefore, beloved, seeing that you look for these things, be diligent to be found in peace, without defect and blameless in his sight. 3:15Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you; 3:16as also in all of his letters, speaking in them of these things. In those, there are some things that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unsettled twist, as they also do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 3:17You therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, beware, lest being carried away with the error of the wicked, you fall from your own steadfastness. 3:18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
1 John
1:1That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life 1:2(and the life was revealed, and we have seen, and testify, and declare to you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was revealed to us); 1:3that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yes, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 1:4And we write these things to you, that our joy may be fulfilled. 1:5This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1:6If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and don’t tell the truth. 1:7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 1:8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1:9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1:10If we say that we haven’t sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
2:1My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. 2:2And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. 2:3This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments. 2:4One who says, “I know him,” and doesn’t keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth isn’t in him. 2:5But whoever keeps his word, God’s love has most certainly been perfected in him. This is how we know that we are in him: 2:6he who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked. 2:7Brothers, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. 2:8Again, I write a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you; because the darkness is passing away, and the true light already shines. 2:9He who says he is in the light and hates his brother, is in the darkness even until now. 2:10He who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him. 2:11But he who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 2:12I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. 2:13I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, little children, because you know the Father. 2:14I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 2:15Don’t love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him. 2:16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s. 2:17The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever. 2:18Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen. By this we know that it is the final hour. 2:19They went out from us, but they didn’t belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us. 2:20You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 2:21I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 2:22Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 2:23Whoever denies the Son, the same doesn’t have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also. 2:24Therefore, as for you, let that remain in you which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father. 2:25This is the promise which he promised us, the eternal life. 2:26These things I have written to you concerning those who would lead you astray. 2:27As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him. 2:28Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 2:29If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.