13:1 | NEVER let your brotherly love fail, |
13:2 | nor refuse to extend your hospitality to strangerssometimes men have entertained angels unawares. |
13:3 | Think constantly of those in prison as if you were prisoners at their side. Think too of all who suffer, for you still live in this world. |
13:4 | Marriage is honourable and faithfulness should be respected by you all. God himself will judge those who traffic in the bodies of others or defile the relationship of marriage. |
13:5 | Keep your lives free from the lust for money: be content with what you have. God has said: I will in no wise fail thee, Neither will I in any wise forsake thee. |
13:6 | We, therefore, can confidently say: The Lord is my helper; I will not fear: What shall man do unto me? |
13:7 | Never forget your leaders, who first spoke to you the Word of God. Remember the result of their lives, and imitate their faith. |
13:8 | Jesus Christ is always the same, yesterday, today and for ever. |
13:9 | Do not be carried away by various peculiar teachings. It is good to depend on the grace of God for inward strength, and not on rules of dietwhich have not spiritually benefited those who followed them. |
13:10 | We have an Altar from which those who still serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. |
13:11 | When the blood of animals was presented as a sinoffering by the High Priest in the sanctuary, their bodies were burned outside the precincts of the camp. |
13:12 | That is why Jesus, when he sanctified men by the shedding of his own blood, suffered and died outside the city gates. |
13:13 | Let us go out to him, then, beyond the boundaries of the camp, proudly bearing his "disgrace". |
13:14 | For we have no permanent city here on earth, we are looking for one in the world to come. |
13:15 | Through him, therefore, let us offer a constant sacrifice of praise to Godthe tribute of lips which openly acknowledge his name. |
13:16 | Yet we should not forget to do good and to share our good things with others, for these too are the sort of sacrifices God will accept. |
13:17 | Obey your rulers and recognise their authority. They keep constant watch over your welfare, and they have great responsibility. Try to make their work a pleasure and not a painful burdenthat would be no advantage to you. |
13:18 | Pray for us. Our conscience is clear before God, and our great desire is to lead a life that is good in every way. |
13:19 | Please pray earnestly that I may be restored to you the sooner. |
13:20 | Now the God of peace, who brought back from the dead that great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, by the blood of the everlasting agreement, |
13:21 | equip you thoroughly for the doing of his will! May he effect in us everything that pleases him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. |
13:22 | My brothers, I ask you to bear with this message of encouragement, for I have indeed compressed it into this short letter. |
13:23 | You will be glad to know that brother Timothy is now at liberty. If be comes here in time, he and I will see you together. |
13:24 | Greetings to all your leaders and all your church members. The Christians of Italy send their greetings. |
13:25 | Grace be with you all. |