American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
For we know that if the earthly house of our {Or, bodily frame Compare Wisd. 9:15}tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.
Now I make known unto you brethren, the {See marginal note on chapter 4:15.}gospel which I {See marginal note on chapter 1:17.}preached unto you, which also ye received, wherein also ye stand,
by which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast {Greek: with what word.}the word which I {See marginal note on chapter 1:17.}preached unto you, except ye believed {Or, without cause}in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures;
and that he appeared to Cephas; then to the twelve;
then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep;
then he appeared to {Or, Jacob}James; then to all the apostles;
and last of all, as to the child untimely born, he appeared to me also.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not found {Or, void}vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Whether then it be I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
Now if Christ is preached that he hath been raised from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ been raised:
and if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching {Or, void}vain, {Some ancient authorities read our.}your faith also is {Or, void}vain.
Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we witnessed of God that he raised up {Greek: the Christ.}Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead are not raised.
For if the dead are not raised, neither hath Christ been raised:
and if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
{Or, If in this life only we have hoped in Christ &c.}If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable.
But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep.
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, so also in {Greek: the Christ.}Christ shall all be made alive.
But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's, at his {Greek: presence.}coming.
Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to {Greek: the God and Father.}God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power.
For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy that shall be abolished is death.
For, He put all things in subjection under his feet. {Or, But when he shall have said, All things are put in subjection (evidently excepting him that did subject all things unto him), when, I say, all things &c.}But when he saith, {Psalm 8:6.}All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him.
And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all.
Else what shall they do that are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?
why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour?
I protest by {Or, your glorying}that glorying in you, brethren, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
If after the manner of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus, {Or, what doth it profit me, if the dead are not raised? Let us eat &c.}what doth it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.
Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals.
Awake to soberness righteously, and sin not; for some have no knowledge of God: I speak this to move you to shame.
But some one will say, How are the dead raised? and with what manner of body do they come?
Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened except it die:
and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other kind;
but God giveth it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own.
All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fishes.
There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
it is sown a {Greek: psychical.}natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a {Greek: psychical.}natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
So also it is written, {Genesis 2:7.}The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is {Greek: psychical.}natural; then that which is spiritual.
The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven.
As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
And as we have borne the image of the earthy, {Many ancient authorities read let us also bear.}we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Behold, I tell you a mystery: {Or, We shall not all &c.}We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed,
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
But when {Many ancient authorities omit this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and.}this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, {Isaiah 25:8.}Death is swallowed up {Or, victoriously}in victory.
{Hosea 13:14.}O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?
The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law:
but thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not {Or, void}vain in the Lord.
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:
and Paul, as his custom was, went in unto them, and for three {Or, weeks}sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
opening and alleging that it behooved the Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom, said he, I proclaim unto you, is the Christ.
And some of them were persuaded, and consorted with Paul and Silas, and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
But the Jews, being moved with jealousy, took unto them certain vile fellows of the rabble, and gathering a crowd, set the city on an uproar; and assaulting the house of Jason, they sought to bring them forth to the people.
And when they found them not, they dragged Jason and certain brethren before the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned {Greek: the inhabited earth.}the world upside down are come hither also;
whom Jason hath received: and these all act contrary to the decrees of Cæsar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
And they troubled the multitude and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.
And when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Beroea: who when they were come thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so.
Many of them therefore believed; also of the Greek women of honorable estate, and of men, not a few.
But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was proclaimed of Paul at Beroea also, they came thither likewise, stirring up and troubling the multitudes.
And then immediately the brethren sent forth Paul to go as far as to the sea: and Silas and Timothy abode there still.
But they that conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timothy that they should come to him with all speed, they departed.
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he beheld the city full of idols.
So he reasoned in the synagogue with Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with them that met him.
And certain also of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, What would this babbler say? others, He seemeth to be a setter forth of {Or, foreign divinities}strange {Greek: demons.}gods: because he {See marginal note on chapter 5:42.}preached Jesus and the resurrection.
And they took hold of him, and brought him {Or, before}unto {Or, the hill of Mars}the Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new teaching is, which is spoken by thee?
For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.
(Now all the Athenians and the strangers sojourning there {Or, had leisure for nothing else}spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing.)
And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus, and said,Ye men of Athens, in all things, I perceive that ye are {Or, somewhat superstitious}very religious.
For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. What therefore ye worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you.
The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in {Or, sanctuaries}temples made with hands;
neither is he served by men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation;
that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us:
for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said,For we are also his offspring.
Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that {Or, that which is divine}the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man.
The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he {Some ancient authorities read declareth to men.}commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent:
inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge {Greek: the inhabited earth.}the world in righteousness {Greek: in.}by {Or, a man}the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, We will hear thee concerning this yet again.
Thus Paul went out from among them.
But certain men clave unto him, and believed: among whom also was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ.
Now I praise you that ye remember me in all things, and hold fast the traditions, even as I delivered them to you.
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoreth his head.
But every woman praying or prophesying with her head unveiled dishonoreth her head; for it is one and the same thing as if she were shaven.
For if a woman is not veiled, let her also be shorn: but if it is a shame to a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be veiled.
For a man indeed ought not to have his head veiled, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man:
for neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man:
for this cause ought the woman to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels.
Nevertheless, neither is the woman without the man, nor the man without the woman, in the Lord.
For as the woman is of the man, so is the man also by the woman; but all things are of God.
Judge ye {Or, among}in yourselves: is it seemly that a woman pray unto God unveiled?
Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a dishonor to him?
But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
But if any man seemeth to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.
But in giving you this charge, I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better but for the worse.
For first of all, when ye come together {Or, in congregation}in the church, I hear that {Greek: schisms.}divisions exist among you; and I partly believe it.
For there must be also {Greek: heresies.}factions among you, that they that are approved may be made manifest among you.
When therefore ye assemble yourselves together, it is not possible to eat the Lord's supper:
for in your eating each one taketh before other his own supper; and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
What, have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the {Or, congregation}church of God, and put them to shame that {Or, have nothing}have not? What shall I say to you? {Or, shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.}shall I praise you? In this I praise you not.
For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was {Or, delivered up}betrayed took bread;
and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, This is my body, which {Many ancient authorities read is broken up.}is for you: this do in remembrance of me.
In like manner also the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord's death till he come.
Wherefore whosoever shall eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup.
For he that eateth and drinketh, eateth and drinketh judgment unto himself, if he {Greek: discriminate.}discern not the body.
For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep.
But if we {Greek: discriminated.}discerned ourselves, we should not be judged.
But {Or, when we are judged of the Lord, we are chastened.}when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, wait one for another.
If any man is hungry, let him eat at home; that your coming together be not unto judgment. And the rest will I set in order whensoever I come.
For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done {Greek: though.}in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
For now we see in a mirror, {Greek: in a riddle.}darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known.
Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children;
and walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for {Some ancient authorities read you.}us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell.
But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as becometh saints;
nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, or jesting, which are not befitting: but rather giving of thanks.
For this ye know of a surety, that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Let no man deceive you with empty words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience.
Be not ye therefore partakers with them;
for ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord: walk as children of light
(for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth),
proving what is well-pleasing unto the Lord;
and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even {Or, convict}reprove them;
for the things which are done by them in secret it is a shame even to speak of.
But all things when they are {Or, convicted}reproved are made manifest by the light: for everything that is made manifest is light.
Wherefore he saith, {(?). Compare 1 Timothy 3:16.}Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee.
Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise;
{Greek: buying up the opportunity.}redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled {Or, in spirit}with the Spirit;
speaking {Or, to yourselves}one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;
giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to {Greek: the God and Father.}God, even the Father;
subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ.
Wives, be in subjection unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, being himself the saviour of the body.
But as the church is subject to Christ, {Or, so are the wives also}so let the wives also be to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it;
that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the {Greek: laver.}washing of water with the word,
that he might present the church to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Even so ought husbands also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his own wife loveth himself:
for no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as Christ also the church;
because we are members of his body.
{Genesis 2:24.}For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh.
This mystery is great: but I speak in regard of Christ and of the church.
Nevertheless do ye also severally love each one his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she fear her husband.
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their {Or, torches}lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
And five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
For the foolish, when they took their {Or, torches}lamps, took no oil with them:
but the wise took oil in their vessels with their {Or, torches}lamps.
Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
But at midnight there is a cry, Behold, the bridegroom! Come ye forth to meet him.
Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their {Or, torches}lamps.
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our {Or, torches}lamps are going out.
But the wise answered, saying, Peradventure there will not be enough for us and you: go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door was shut.
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour.
For it is as when a man, going into another country, called his own {Greek: bondservants.}servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey.
Straightway he that received the five talents went and traded with them, and made other five talents.
In like manner he also that received the two gained other two.
But he that received the one went away and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
Now after a long time the lord of those {Greek: bondservants.}servants cometh, and maketh a reckoning with them.
And he that received the five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: lo, I have gained other five talents.
His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful {Greek: bondservant.}servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
And he also that received the two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: lo, I have gained other two talents.
His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful {Greek: bondservant.}servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter;
and I was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, thou hast thine own.
But his lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful {Greek: bondservant.}servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not scatter;
thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back mine own with interest.
Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath the ten talents.
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away.
And cast ye out the unprofitable {Greek: bondservant.}servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory:
and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats;
and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in;
naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink?
And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, {Or, Depart from me under a curse}Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels:
for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink;
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me.
And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life.
And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit.
And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah.
And {Or, he shall be of quick understanding}his {Hebrew: scent.}delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears;
but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the {Or, land}earth; and he shall smite the {Or, land}earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
And righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.
And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place shall be {Hebrew: glory.}glorious.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord {Or, will again the second time recover with his hand}will set his hand again the second time to {Or, purchase See Exodus 15:16}recover the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the {Or, coast-lands}islands of the sea.
And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that vex {Or, in Judah}Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
And they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines on the west; together shall they despoil the children of the east: they shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
And Jehovah will {Hebrew: devote.}utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind will he wave his hand over the River, and will smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dryshod.
And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria; like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
Now we beseech you, brethren, {Greek: in behalf of.}touching the {Greek: presence.}coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him;
to the end that ye be not quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is just at hand;
let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of {Many ancient authorities read lawlessness.}sin be revealed, the son of perdition,
he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or {Greek: an object of worship. Acts 17:23.}that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the {Or, sanctuary}temple of God, setting himself forth as God.
Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
And now ye know that which restraineth, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season.
For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: {Or, only until he that now restraineth be taken &c.}only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way.
And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord {Some ancient authorities omit Jesus.}Jesus shall {Some ancient authorities read consume.}slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his {Greek: presence.}coming;
even he, whose {Greek: presence.}coming is according to the working of Satan with all {Greek: power and signs and wonders of falsehood.}power and signs and lying wonders,
and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that {Or, are perishing}perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie:
that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, for that God chose you {Many ancient authorities read as firstfruits.}from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and {Or, faith}belief of the truth:
whereunto he called you through our {Greek: good tidings: see chapter 1:8.}gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours.
Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.