18 ^sYou shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but ^tyou shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

44 But I say to you, ⁱLove your enemies and ^jpray for those who persecute you, 45 ^kso that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and ^lsends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 ^mFor if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,¹ what more are you doing than others? Do not even ⁿthe Gentiles do the same? 48 ^oYou therefore must be ^pperfect, ^qas your heavenly Father is perfect.

31 And ^yas you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

34 ^tA new commandment ^uI give to you, ^vthat you love one another: ^wjust as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 ^xBy this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Marks of the True Christian

9 ^tLet love be genuine. ^uAbhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 ^vLove one another with brotherly affection. ^wOutdo one another in showing honor.

Personal Greetings

1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant¹ of the church at ^pCenchreae, 2 that you ^qmay welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

3 Greet ^rPrisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. 5 Greet also ^sthe church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was ^tthe first convert² to Christ in Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia,³ my kinsmen and my ^ufellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles,⁴ and they were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those ^vwho belong to the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 12 Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers⁵ who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 ^wGreet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

Final Instructions and Greetings

17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles ^xcontrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; ^yavoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but ^ztheir own appetites,⁶ and ^aby smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19 For ^byour obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you ^cto be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20 ^dThe God of peace ^ewill soon crush Satan under your feet. ^fThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

21 ^gTimothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

22 I Tertius, ^hwho wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

23 ⁱGaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.⁷

Doxology

25 ^jNow to him who is able to strengthen you ^kaccording to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, ^laccording to the revelation of the mystery ^mthat was kept secret for ⁿlong ages 26 but ^ohas now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, ^pto bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to ^qthe only wise God ^rbe glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

8 ^wOwe no one anything, except to love each other, for ^xthe one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, ^y“You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ^z“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore ^alove is the fulfilling of the law.

2 ⁱcomplete my joy by being ^jof the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from ^kselfish ambition or ^lconceit, but in ^mhumility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you ⁿlook not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

24 And ^rthe Lord’s servant¹ must not be quarrelsome but ^skind to everyone, ^table to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents ^uwith gentleness. God ^vmay perhaps grant them repentance ^wleading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from ^xthe snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

2 ^zto speak evil of no one, ^ato avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and ^bto show perfect courtesy toward all people.

Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake

8 Finally, all of you, ^uhave unity of mind, sympathy, ^vbrotherly love, ^wa tender heart, and ^xa humble mind. 9 ^yDo not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, ^zbless, for ^ato this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

17 But ^fif anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet ^gcloses his heart against him, ^hhow does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not ⁱlove in word or talk but in deed and ^jin truth.