Wives and Husbands

¹Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives

²when they see your pure and reverent demeanor.

³Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes,

⁴but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.

⁵For this is how the holy women of the past adorned themselves. They put their hope in God and were submissive to their husbands,

⁶just as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. And you are her children if you do what is right and refuse to give way to fear.

⁷Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel, and with honor as fellow heirs of the gracious gift of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

Turning from Evil

⁸Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tenderhearted and humble.

⁹Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

¹⁰For,“Whoever would love lifeand see good daysmust keep his tongue from eviland his lips from deceitful speech.

¹¹He must turn from evil and do good;he must seek peace and pursue it.

¹²For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,and His ears are inclined to their prayer.But the face of the Lord is againstthose who do evil.”

¹³Who can harm you if you are zealous for what is good?

Suffering for Righteousness

¹⁴But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be shaken.”

¹⁵But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord.Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect,

¹⁶keeping a clear conscience, so that those who slander you may be put to shame by your good behavior in Christ.

¹⁷For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

¹⁸For Christ also sufferedfor sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,

¹⁹in whomHe also went and preached to the spirits in prison

²⁰who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.

²¹And this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge ofa clear conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.

Greetings from Paul and Timothy

¹Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,To Philemon our beloved fellow worker,

²to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets at yourhouse:

³Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philemon’s Faith and Love

⁴I always thank my God, remembering you in my prayers,

⁵because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.

⁶I pray that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every good thing that is ours in Christ.

⁷I take great joy and encouragement in your love, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

Paul’s Appeal for Onesimus

⁸So although in Christ I am bold enough to order you to do what is proper,

⁹I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. For I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Christ Jesus as well.

¹⁰I appeal to you for my child Onesimus,whose father I became while I was in chains.

¹¹Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

¹²I am sending back to you him who is my very heart.

¹³I would have liked to keep him with me, so that on your behalf he could minister to me in my chains for the gospel.

¹⁴But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness will not be out of compulsion, but by your own free will.

¹⁵For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for good—

¹⁶no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a beloved brother. He is especially beloved to me, but even more so to you, both in person and in the Lord.

¹⁷So if you consider me a partner, receive him as you would receive me.

¹⁸But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account.

¹⁹I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.

²⁰Yes, brother, let me have some benefitfrom you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

²¹Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

²²In the meantime, prepare a guest room for me, because I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.

Additional Greetings

²³Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings,

²⁴as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

²⁵The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

The River of Life

¹Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb

²down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

³No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be within the city, and His servants will worship Him.

⁴They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.

⁵There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.

Jesus Is Coming

⁶Then the angel said to me, “These words are faithful and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel to show His servants what must soontake place.”

⁷“Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of prophecy in this book.”

⁸And I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown me these things.

⁹But he said to me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”

¹⁰Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of prophecy in this book, because the time is near.

¹¹Let the unrighteous continue to be unrighteous, and the vile continue to be vile; let the righteous continue to practice righteousness, and the holy continue to be holy.”

¹²“Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done.

¹³I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

¹⁴Blessed are those who wash their robes,so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates.

¹⁵But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

¹⁶“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”

¹⁷The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.

Nothing May Be Added or Removed

¹⁸I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.

¹⁹And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and the holy city, which are described in this book.

²⁰He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

²¹The grace of the Lord Jesusbe with all the saints.Amen.

Taste and See That the LORD Is Good

¹I will bless the LORD at all times;His praise will always be on my lips.

²My soul boasts in the LORD;let the oppressed hear and rejoice.

³Magnify the LORD with me;let us exalt His name together.

⁴I sought the LORD, and He answered me;He delivered me from all my fears.

⁵Those who look to Him are radiant with joy;their faces shall never be ashamed.

⁶This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him;He saved him from all his troubles.

⁷The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,and he delivers them.

⁸Taste and see that the LORD is good;blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

⁹Fear the LORD, you His saints,for those who fear Him lack nothing.

¹⁰Young lions go lacking and hungry,but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

¹¹Come, children, listen to me;I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

¹²Who is the man who delights in life,who desires to see good days?

¹³Keep your tongue from eviland your lips from deceitful speech.

¹⁴Turn away from evil and do good;seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,and His ears are inclined to their cry.

¹⁶But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,to wipe out all memory of them from the earth.

¹⁷The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears;He delivers them from all their troubles.

¹⁸The LORD is near to the brokenhearted;He saves the contrite in spirit.

¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous,but the LORD delivers him from them all.

²⁰He protects all his bones;not one of them will be broken.

²¹Evil will slay the wicked,and the haters of the righteous will be condemned.

²²The LORD redeems His servants,and none who take refuge in Him will be condemned.