Reproof and Respect

¹Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as to a father.Treat younger men as brothers,

²older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.

Honoring True Widows

³Honor the widows who are truly widows.

⁴But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to show godliness to their own family and repay their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.

⁵The widow who is truly in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers.

⁶But she who lives for pleasure is dead even while she is still alive.

⁷Give these instructions to the believers, so that they will be above reproach.

⁸If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹A widow should be enrolled if she is at least sixty years old, faithful to her husband,

¹⁰and well known for good deeds such as bringing up children, entertaining strangers, washing the feet of the saints, imparting relief to the afflicted, and devoting herself to every good work.

¹¹But refuse to enroll younger widows. For when their passions draw them away from Christ, they will want to marry,

¹²and thus will incur judgment because they are setting aside their first faith.

¹³At the same time they will also learn to be idle, going from house to house and being not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, discussing things they should not mention.

¹⁴So I advise the younger widows to marry, have children, and manage their households, denying the adversary occasion for slander.

¹⁵For some have already turned aside to follow Satan.

¹⁶If any believing woman has dependent widows, she must assist them and not allow the church to be burdened, so that it can help the widows who are truly in need.

Honoring Elders

¹⁷Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

¹⁸For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,”and, “The worker is worthy of his wages.”

¹⁹Do not entertain an accusation against an elder, except on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

²⁰But those who persist in sin should be rebuked in front of everyone, so that the others will stand in fear of sin.

A Charge to Timothy

²¹I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to maintain these principles without bias, and to do nothing out of partiality.

²²Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.

²³Stop drinking only water and use a little wine instead, because of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

²⁴The sins of some men are obvious, going ahead of them to judgment; but the sins of others do not surface until later.

²⁵In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even the ones that are inconspicuous cannot remain hidden.

Paul’s Concern for the Jews

¹I speak the truth in Christ; I am not lying, as confirmed by my conscience in the Holy Spirit.

²I have deep sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

³For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my own flesh and blood,

⁴the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.

⁵Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them proceeds the human descent of Christ, who is God over all, forever worthy of praise!Amen.

God’s Sovereign Choice

⁶It is not as though God’s word has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

⁷Nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all his children. On the contrary, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”

⁸So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring.

⁹For this is what the promise stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”

¹⁰Not only that, but Rebecca’s children were conceived by one man, our father Isaac.

¹¹Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand,

¹²not by works but by Him who calls, she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”

¹³So it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

¹⁴What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Certainly not!

¹⁵For He says to Moses:“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

¹⁶So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

¹⁷For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

¹⁸Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.

¹⁹One of you will say to me, “Then why does God still find fault? For who can resist His will?”

²⁰But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”

²¹Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use?

²²What if God, intending to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction?

²³What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the vessels of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory—

²⁴including us, whom He has called not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles?

²⁵As He says in Hosea:“I will call them ‘My People’ who are not My people,and I will call her ‘My Beloved’ who is not My beloved,”

²⁶and,“It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them,‘You are not My people,’they will be called‘sons of the living God.’”

²⁷Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:“Though the number of the Israelites is like the sand of the sea,only the remnant will be saved.

²⁸For the Lord will carry out His sentence on the earththoroughly and decisively.”

²⁹It is just as Isaiah foretold:“Unless the Lord of Hosts had left us descendants,we would have become like Sodom,we would have resembled Gomorrah.”

Israel’s Unbelief

³⁰What then will we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;

³¹but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.

³²Why not? Because their pursuit was not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,

³³as it is written:“See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumblingand a rock of offense;and the one who believes in Himwill never be put to shame.”

The Song of Moses and the Lamb

¹Then I saw another great and marvelous sign in heaven: seven angels with the seven final plagues, with which the wrath of God is completed.

²And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, beside which stood those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name. They were holding harps from God,

³and they sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:“Great and wonderful are Your works,O Lord God Almighty!Just and true are Your ways,O King of the nations!

⁴Who will not fear You, O Lord,and glorify Your name?For You alone are holy.All nations will come and worship before You,for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Preparation for Judgment

⁵After this I looked, and the temple—the tabernacle of the Testimony—was opened in heaven.

⁶And out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, dressed in clean and bright linen and girded with golden sashes around their chests.

⁷Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.

⁸And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

Tried but Trusting

¹Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me,for I am poor and needy.

²Preserve my soul, for I am godly.You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You.

³Be merciful to me, O Lord,for I call to You all day long.

⁴Bring joy to Your servant,for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

⁵For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving,rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.

⁶Hear my prayer, O LORD,and attend to my plea for mercy.

⁷In the day of my distress I call on You,because You answer me.

⁸O Lord, there is none like You among the gods,nor any works like Yours.

⁹All the nations You have madewill come and bow before You, O Lord,and they will glorify Your name.

¹⁰For You are great and perform wonders;You alone are God.

¹¹Teach me Your way, O LORD,that I may walk in Your truth.Give me an undivided heart,that I may fear Your name.

¹²I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart;I will glorify Your name forever.

¹³For great is Your loving devotion to me;You have delivered me from the depths of Sheol.

¹⁴The arrogant rise against me, O God;a band of ruthless men seeks my life;they have no regard for You.

¹⁵But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.

¹⁶Turn to me and have mercy;grant Your strength to Your servant;save the son of Your maidservant.

¹⁷Show me a sign of Your goodness,that my enemies may see and be ashamed;for You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.