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II. THESSALONIANS

1 1 PAUL and Silvanus and Timotheus

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to the Community of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing greatly, and the love of each one of 4 you all to one another is increasing, so that we ourselves exult about you among the Communities of God for your patience and faith amid all your 5 persecutions and the distresses that you endure; these clearly prove the just judgment of God, namely, that you are to be held worthy of the 6 reign of God, on behalf of which you also suffer-seeing that God con7 siders it but just to render distress to those who distress you, and to you who are distressed relief with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from 8 heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, when he inflicts punishment on those who know not God, and on those who obey not the 9 gospel of our Lord Jesus, men who shall pay the penalty of eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the majesty of his 10 might, when he comes to be exalted in his saints, and to be wondered at among all believers (because our witness did find belief with you) in that 11 day. Wherefore we also pray for you always, that our God may hold you worthy of your calling, and powerfully accomplish every desire of 12 goodness and work of faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be exalted in you and you in him, through the grace of our God and of the

Lord Jesus Christ.

21 Now, brothers, with regard to the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ 2 and our gathering together to him, we pray you not to be hastily disturbed from your sober mind, nor to be disquieted by a spirit, or by a word, or by a letter (as if from us) to this effect, that the day of the Lord 3 is imminent. Let no one beguile you at all. For the apostasy must come first, with the revelation of the man of lawlessness, the son of perdition,

the adversary who uplifts himself over all that is called divine or that is an object of worship,

and finally sits down in the sanctuary of God, giving himself out to be God.

5 Do you not remember that I used to tell you this when I was still with 6 you? Well, you know now what restrains him from being revealed before his proper season.

7 For the secret of lawlessness is at work already;

Only, it cannot be revealed until he who at present restrains it is removed.

8 Then shall the lawless one be revealed,

Whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth.
And put down by his appearing and arrival—

9 The lawless one, whose arrival is due to Satan's force,

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With all the power and signs and wonders of falsehood,
And with all the deceit of iniquity for the perishing,

Because they did not accept the love of the truth for their salvation.

11 Therefore God sends them a force of error,

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So that they believe the falsehood,

That all might be judged who believed not the truth

But delighted in iniquity.

But we are bound always to give God thanks for you, brothers, beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth: 14 for this he has called you through our gospel, even to possess the majesty 15 of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm, and hold to the 16 traditions that you have been taught by word or by letter from us. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who has loved us 17 and given us eternal comfort and good hope through his grace, encourage your hearts and establish them in every good work and word!

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Pray, then, for us, brothers,

that the Lord's word may speed on and be exalted,

even as it has been with you,

and that we may be rescued from those who are perverse and evil— for the faith is not possessed by everyone.

3 But the Lord is faithful: he shall establish you and preserve you 4 from the evil one. We rely upon you in the Lord, confident 5 that you are doing and will do as we charge. May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ!

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Now, brothers, we charge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to avoid every brother whose walk is irregular and not after the 7 tradition received from us. You know yourselves how you ought to 8 imitate us. We did not lead an irregular life among you, nor did we eat bread at any man's hand for nothing, but with labour and toil we 9 worked night and day, so as to be no burden to any of you. It was not that we lacked the right; it was simply to set ourselves as a pattern for 10 you to imitate. We gave you this charge even when we were with you: 11"If any man will not work, neither let him eat." Whereas we hear of

some who are leading an irregular life among you, not busy, but busy12 bodies. Such people we charge and beseech in the Lord Jesus to work 13 quietly and eat their own bread. As for yourselves, brothers, never lose 14 heart in well-doing. But if anyone obeys not the word we send by this letter, note him, keep no company 2 with him, that he may be shamed. 15 Yet do not consider him as if he were an enemy: admonish him as a 16 brother. And may the Lord of peace himself ever give you peace

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in every way!

The Lord be with you all.

The salutation is by the hand of me, Paul-it is a token in every letter; such is my way of writing.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

1 Omitting [[xi]]. ar T.

* Reading συναναμίγνυσθε.

This epistle places us in the midst of the great excitement of the critical struggle which had begun between Judaism and Christianity, in the decision of the momentous question whether there should be a Christianity free from Judaism and essentially different from it, or whether Christianity should only exist as a form of Judaism, that is to say, as nothing else than a modified and extended Judaism. . . . There can scarcely be any doubt with regard to these Judaising opponents, that from the way in which the apostle opposed them, the conflict was now being carried on for the first time. We see that this is the first time this subject has been handled; the apostle perceives that he is absolutely obliged to give an account of how he was summoned to his apostolic office, and he speaks of it in such a manner as he could not have done, if he had ever before come in contact with these opponents in the same way. He puts himself thoroughly in opposition to them; as thoroughly as can only be done when for the first time the full importance of a principle dawns upon a man, and when the maintenance of this principle against a vexatious opposition constitutes the task of his whole life.-Baur.

11-10 Introduction.

111-221 Personal: the independence of his gospelfrom God not man:

his early relations with the apostles, and especially Peter.

3-4 Dogmatic: the Law and the Spirit

the Law provisional: the problem of Abraham and his
faith-

the Law superseded: the allegory of Hagar-
Christianity, final and free.

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GALATIANS

1 1 PAUL, an apostle not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and 2 God the Father who raised him from the dead, with all the brothers who are beside me,

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to the Communities of Galatia :

grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus 4 Christ, who gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from the 5 present evil world according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the honour for ever and ever, Amen.

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I wonder that you are going over so hastily from him who called you 7 through the grace of Christ, going over to a different gospel.--It is not another gospel: only, there are certain persons who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.

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But even though we or an angel from heaven were to preach 1 a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you,

let him be accursed.

9 As we have said before, so now I say again :

If anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.

10 Now is that "speaking to conciliate men," or God?

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Trying "to please men"!

If I were still pleasing men, I should not be Christ's slave.

I tell you, brothers, about the gospel preached by me,
It is not after the manner of man :

I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it;
Nay, I had it by a revelation of Jesus Christ.

13 You have heard of my conduct at one time in Judaism, that I persecuted 14 the Community of God and made havoc of it beyond measure, and that I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries, zealot as I was 15 more and more for the traditions of my fathers. But when it was the good pleasure of him who set me apart from my mother's womb and 16 called me through his grace, to reveal his Son for me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately communicate with flesh and 17 blood, or go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me. No, I 18 went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. Then, after

three years, I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Kephas, 19 and with him I stayed for fifteen days. I saw no one else of the apostles, 20 except James the brother of the Lord. (Lo, before God, I swear I am 21 not lying in what I write to you!) Then I came to the regions of Syria 22 and Cilicia. And still I was personally unknown to the Communities of 23 Judaea which were in Christ. They only heard reports that "he who 24 once persecuted us, is preaching now the faith of which he once made 2 1 havoc"; and they magnified God on my account. Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem once more, along with Barnabas ; 2 Omitting [[ó Oεòs]].

1 Omitting [[]].

2 I also took Titus with me. Now I went up owing to a revelation. And I laid before them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles-it was in private, however, before those of repute--lest haply I might be running or might 3 have run, in vain. (But, Greek as he was, even Titus my companion 4 was not compelled to have himself circumcised. On account of the false brothers stealthily introduced, men who crept in by stealth to spy out that freedom which we possess in Christ, for the purpose of enslaving us, 5 we did not yield in the way of submission for a single hour; in order that 6 the truth of the gospel might remain with you.) But from those of some repute whatever they were at one time makes no difference to me, God regards no man's person to me certainly they communicated nothing. 7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been intrusted with the 8 gospel for the Uncircumcision just as Peter had been for the Circumcision

-for he who worked by Peter for a mission to the Circumcision, worked 9 also by me for the Gentiles---and when they recognised the grace given to me, then James and Kephas and John, those who were of repute as pillars, gave the right hand of fellowship to myself and to Barnabas, on condition that we should be for the Gentiles, and they for the Circum10 cision. Only, we were to "be mindful of the poor"-the very thing I 11 endeavoured to do. But when Kephas came to Antioch I opposed 12 him to his face. The man stood self-condemned. For, before certain persons came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to draw back and separate himself, as he feared those who belonged 13 to the Circumcision. And along with him the rest of the Jews also dissembled, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their dissembling. 14 But when I saw that their course was not straightforward, in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Kephas before them all, "If, Jew as thou art, thou livest like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it thou art 15 trying to compel the Gentiles to Judaise?" We are by nature 16 Jews, and not "sinners of Gentiles"! Yet as we know that a man is not justified by deeds of law, but only through faith in Christ Jesus, we ourselves believed on Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by deeds of law; for by deeds of law no flesh shall be justified. 17 Now if we ourselves, as we sought to be justified in Christ, "were found 18 also to be sinners," is Christ then a minister of sin? God forbid! Rather

I prove myself to be a transgressor, if I build up again that which I 19 destroyed. For I through the law died to the law, that I might live 20 for God. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, Christ lives in me; the life I now live in the flesh I live in faith, 21 faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave up himself for me. do not frustrate the grace of God; for if uprightness is through the law, then Christ died without a cause.

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O foolish Galatians, who bewitched you-you before whose eyes 2 Jesus Christ was depicted on the cross? I would learn merely this from you was it by deeds of law that you received the Spirit, or by the 3 message of faith? Are you such fools? Did you begin in the Spirit 4 only to stop now with the flesh? Had you all that experience in vain 5 (if indeed it is really in vain)? Does he who supplies you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do that by deeds of law (pray) or by 6 the message of faith? It is just as with Abraham, who believed God, and 7 it was counted to him as uprightness. Understand then

8 that those who depend on faith are the sons of Abraham. Moreover the scripture, foreseeing that it is by faith God justifies the Gentiles, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham: In thee shall all the

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