A Warning against Favoritism

¹My brothers, as you hold out your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, do not show favoritism.

²Suppose a man comes into your meetingwearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.

³If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, “Here is a seat of honor,” but say to the poor man, “You must stand” or “Sit at my feet,”

⁴have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?

⁶But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?

⁷Are they not the ones who blaspheme the noble name by which you have been called?

⁸If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”you are doing well.

⁹But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

¹⁰Whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

¹¹For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,”also said, “Do not murder.”If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

¹²Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom.

¹³For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Works

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.

¹⁶If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that?

¹⁷So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action,is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

¹⁹You believe that God is one.Good for you! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless?

²¹Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?

²²You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did.

²³And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”and he was called a friend of God.

²⁴As you can see, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone.

²⁵In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spiesand sent them off on another route?

²⁶As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Prayer for the Son

¹When Jesus had spoken these things, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You.

²For You granted Him authority over all people,so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.

³Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.

⁴I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do.

⁵And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.

Prayer for the Disciples

⁶I have revealed Your name to those You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.

⁷Now they know that everything You have given Me comes from You.

⁸For I have given them the words You gave Me, and they have received them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me.

⁹I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those You have given Me; for they are Yours.

¹⁰All I have is Yours, and all You have is Mine; and in them I have been glorified.

¹¹I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You.Holy Father, protect them by Your name, the name You gave Me,so that they may be one as We are one.

¹²While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

¹³But now I am coming to You; and I am saying these things while I am in the world, so that they may have My joy fulfilled within them.

¹⁴I have given them Your word and the world has hated them. For they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

¹⁵I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.

¹⁶They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

¹⁷Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.

¹⁸As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world.

¹⁹For them I sanctify Myself, so that they too may be sanctified by the truth.

Prayer for All Believers

²⁰I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message,

²¹that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

²²I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one—

²³I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.

²⁴Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

²⁵Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me.

²⁶And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Serving with Honor

¹All who are under the yoke of slavery should regard their masters as fully worthy of honor, so that God’s name and our teaching will not be discredited.

²Those who have believing masters should not show disrespect because they are brothers, but should serve them all the more, since those receiving their good service are beloved believers. Teach and encourage these principles.

Reject False Doctrines

³If anyone teaches another doctrine and disagrees with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching,

⁴he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and disputes about words, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions,

⁵and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.

Godliness with Contentment

⁶Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.

⁷For we brought nothing into the world, sowe cannot carry anything out of it.

⁸But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.

⁹Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

¹⁰For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Fight the Good Fight

¹¹But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

¹²Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession before many witnesses.

¹³I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who made the good confession in His testimony before Pontius Pilate:

¹⁴Keep this commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁵which the blessed and only Sovereign One—the King of kings and Lord of lords—will bring about in His own time.

¹⁶He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

A Charge to the Rich

¹⁷Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.

¹⁸Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share,

¹⁹treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Guard the Faith

²⁰O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid irreverent, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of so-called “knowledge,”

²¹which some have professed and thus swerved away from the faith.Grace be with you all.

Dishonest Scales

¹Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD,but an accurate weight is His delight.

²When pride comes, disgrace follows,but with humility comes wisdom.

³The integrity of the upright guides them,but the perversity of the faithless destroys them.

⁴Riches are worthless in the day of wrath,but righteousness brings deliverance from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless directs their path,but the wicked fall by their own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright delivers them,but the faithless are trapped by their own desires.

⁷When the wicked man dies, his hope perishes,and the hope of his strength vanishes.

⁸The righteous man is delivered from trouble;in his place the wicked man goes in.

⁹With his mouth the ungodly man destroys his neighbor,but through knowledge the righteous are rescued.

¹⁰When the righteous thrive, the city rejoices,and when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.

¹¹By the blessing of the upright a city is built up,but by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down.

¹²Whoever shows contempt for his neighbor lacks judgment,but a man of understanding remains silent.

¹³A gossip reveals a secret,but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.

¹⁴For lack of guidance, a nation falls,but with many counselors comes deliverance.

¹⁵He who puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer,but the one who hates indebtedness is secure.

¹⁶A gracious woman attains honor,but ruthless men gain only wealth.

¹⁷A kind man benefits himself,but a cruel man brings trouble on himself.

¹⁸The wicked man earns an empty wage,but he who sows righteousness reaps a true reward.

¹⁹Genuine righteousness leads to life,but the pursuit of evil brings death.

²⁰The perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD,but the blameless in their walk are His delight.

²¹Be assured that the wicked will not go unpunished,but the offspring of the righteous will escape.

²²Like a gold ring in a pig’s snoutis a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.

²³The desire of the righteous leads only to good,but the hope of the wicked brings wrath.

²⁴One gives freely, yet gains even more;another withholds what is right, only to become poor.

²⁵A generous soul will prosper,and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

²⁶The people will curse the hoarder of grain,but blessing will crown the one who sells it.

²⁷He who searches out good finds favor,but evil will come to him who seeks it.

²⁸He who trusts in his riches will fall,but the righteous will thrive like foliage.

²⁹He who brings trouble on his house will inherit the wind,and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,and he who wins souls is wise.

³¹If the righteous receive their due on earth,how much more the ungodly and the sinner!