We are glad when we are weak but you are strong. And so we also pray that you will become perfect.

But Jabez prayed to the God of Israel, "Bless me, God, and give me much land. Be with me and keep me from anything evil that might cause me pain." And God gave him what he prayed for.

Do not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.'

I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but I do ask you to keep them safe from the Evil One.

I pray that your love will keep on growing more and more, together with true knowledge and perfect judgment,

Your lives will be filled with the truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce, for the glory and praise of God.

May the God who gives us peace make you holy in every way and keep your whole being---spirit, soul, and body---free from every fault at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And the Lord will rescue me from all evil and take me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.

Instead, in everything we do we show that we are God's servants by patiently enduring troubles, hardships, and difficulties.

For it is when the Lord thinks well of us that we are really approved, and not when we think well of ourselves.

Greetings to Apelles, whose loyalty to Christ has been proved. Greetings to those who belong to the family of Aristobulus.

(No doubt there must be divisions among you so that the ones who are in the right may be clearly seen.)

Do your best to win full approval in God's sight, as a worker who is not ashamed of his work, one who correctly teaches the message of God's truth.

Happy are those who remain faithful under trials, because when they succeed in passing such a test, they will receive as their reward the life which God has promised to those who love him.

Our purpose is to do what is right, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of others.

If someone has done you wrong, do not repay him with a wrong. Try to do what everyone considers to be good.

Let us conduct ourselves properly, as people who live in the light of day---no orgies or drunkenness, no immorality or indecency, no fighting or jealousy.

In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable.

for kings and all others who are in authority, that we may live a quiet and peaceful life with all reverence toward God and with proper conduct.

Your conduct among the heathen should be so good that when they accuse you of being evildoers, they will have to recognize your good deeds and so praise God on the Day of his coming.

We are honored and disgraced; we are insulted and praised. We are treated as liars, yet we speak the truth;

as unknown, yet we are known by all; as though we were dead, but, as you see, we live on. Although punished, we are not killed;

Someone will say, "Paul's letters are severe and strong, but when he is with us in person, he is weak, and his words are nothing!"

For it seems to me that God has given the very last place to us apostles, like people condemned to die in public as a spectacle for the whole world of angels and of human beings.

To this very moment we go hungry and thirsty; we are clothed in rags; we are beaten; we wander from place to place;

when we are insulted, we answer back with kind words. We are no more than this world's garbage; we are the scum of the earth to this very moment!