Philemon

In this brief letter, Paul urged Philemon, owner of runaway slave Onesimus, to forgive his slave and accept him as a brother in Christ.

1 Paul, a prisonera of Christ Jesus, and Timothyb our brother,c

To Philemon our dear friend and fellow workerd—2 also to Apphia our sister and Archippuse our fellow soldierf—and to the church that meets in your home:g

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

Thanksgiving and Prayer

4 I always thank my Godi as I remember you in my prayers,j 5 because I hear about your love for all his holy peoplek and your faith in the Lord Jesus.l 6 I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. 7 Your love has given me great joy and encouragement,m because you, brother, have refreshedn the hearts of the Lord’s people.

Paul’s Plea for Onesimus

8 Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9 yet I prefer to appeal to youo on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisonerp of Christ Jesus—10 that I appeal to you for my sonq Onesimus,b r who became my son while I was in chains.s 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

12 I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13 I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chainst for the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forcedu but would be voluntary. 15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever—16 no longer as a slave,v but better than a slave, as a dear brother.w He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.

17 So if you consider me a partner,x welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me.y 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand.z I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20 I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresha my heart in Christ. 21 Confidentb of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

22 And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to bec restored to you in answer to your prayers.d

23 Epaphras,e my fellow prisonerf in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. 24 And so do Mark,g Aristarchus,h Demasi and Luke, my fellow workers.j

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

Hebrews

This letter to the Hebrews went to Christians in danger of slipping back into Judaism because of persecution. It interprets the Old Testament, explaining many Jewish practices as symbols that prepared the way for Christ. It stresses that Christ was from God and is higher than angels, Moses, Joshua, and any priest or sacrifice. Chapter 11 recounts the stories of the Old Testament heroes of faith.

God’s Final Word: His Son

1 In the past God spokea to our ancestors through the prophetsb at many times and in various ways,c 2 but in these last daysd he has spoken to us by his Son,e whom he appointed heirf of all things, and through whomg also he made the universe.h 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s gloryi and the exact representation of his being,j sustaining all thingsk by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins,l he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.m 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.n

The Son Superior to Angels

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son;

today I have become your Father”a?o

Or again,

“I will be his Father,

and he will be my Son”b?p

6 And again, when God brings his firstbornq into the world,r he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.”c s

7 In speaking of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels spirits,

and his servants flames of fire.”d t

8 But about the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;u

a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.

9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;

therefore God, your God, has set you above your companionsv

by anointing you with the oilw of joy.”e x

10 He also says,

“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.y

11 They will perish, but you remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.z

12 You will roll them up like a robe;

like a garment they will be changed.

But you remain the same,a

and your years will never end.”f b

13 To which of the angels did God ever say,

“Sit at my right handc

until I make your enemies

a footstoold for your feet”g?e

14 Are not all angels ministering spiritsf sent to serve those who will inheritg salvation?h

Warning to Pay Attention

2 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.i 2 For since the message spokenj through angelsk was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment,l 3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?m This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord,n was confirmed to us by those who heard him.o 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles,p and by gifts of the Holy Spiritq distributed according to his will.r

Jesus Made Fully Human

5 It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6 But there is a place where someones has testified:

“What is mankind that you are mindful of them,

a son of man that you care for him?t

7 You made them a littlea lower than the angels;

you crowned them with glory and honor

8 and put everything under their feet.”b,c u

In putting everything under them,d God left nothing that is not subject to them.e Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them.f 9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honorv because he suffered death,w so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.x

10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists,y should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.z 11 Both the one who makes people holya and those who are made holyb are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.g c 12 He says,

“I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;

in the assembly I will sing your praises.”h d

13 And again,

“I will put my trust in him.”i e

And again he says,

“Here am I, and the children God has given me.”j f

14 Since the children have flesh and blood,g he too shared in their humanityh so that by his death he might break the poweri of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devilj—15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their feark of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants.l 17 For this reason he had to be made like them,k m fully human in every way, in order that he might become a mercifuln and faithful high priesto in service to God,p and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.q 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.r

Jesus Greater Than Moses

3 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters,s who share in the heavenly calling,t fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledgeu as our apostle and high priest.v 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.w 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses,x just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.y 5 “Moses was faithful as a servantz in all God’s house,”a a bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as the Sonb over God’s house. And we are his house,c if indeed we hold firmlyd to our confidence and the hopee in which we glory.

Warning Against Unbelief

7 So, as the Holy Spirit says:f

“Today, if you hear his voice,

8 do not harden your heartsg

as you did in the rebellion,

during the time of testing in the wilderness,

9 where your ancestors tested and tried me,

though for forty years they saw what I did.h

10 That is why I was angry with that generation;

I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,

and they have not known my ways.’

11 So I declared on oath in my anger,i

‘They shall never enter my rest.’ j”b k

12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.l 13 But encourage one another daily,m as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.n 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we holdo our original conviction firmly to the very end.p 15 As has just been said:

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts

as you did in the rebellion.”c q

16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?r 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness?s 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his restt if not to those who disobeyed?u 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.v