New Testament Plan

¹But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

²For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

³unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,

⁴treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

⁵holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these.

⁶For among them are those who slip into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,

⁷always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, worthless in regard to the faith.

⁹But they will not make further progress; for their foolishness will be obvious to all, just as was that also of Jannes and Jambres.

¹⁰Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance,

¹¹persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!

¹²Indeed, all who want to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

¹³But evil people and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

¹⁴You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them,

¹⁵and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness;

¹⁷so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.

¹I solemnly exhort you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:

²preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction.

³For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires,

⁴and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

⁵But as for you, use self-restraint in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

⁶For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.

⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;

⁸in the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

⁹Make every effort to come to me soon;

¹⁰for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

¹¹Only Luke is with me. Take along Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.

¹²But I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

¹³When you come, bring the overcoat which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments.

¹⁴Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.

¹⁵Be on guard against him yourself too, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.

¹⁶At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them.

¹⁷But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth.

¹⁸The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁹Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.

²⁰Erastus remained at Corinth, but I left Trophimus sick at Miletus.

²¹Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, also Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters.

²²The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

¹Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness,

²in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,

³but at the proper time revealed His word in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior;

⁴To Titus, my true son in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

⁵For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,

⁶namely, if any man is beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of indecent behavior or rebellion.

⁷For the overseer must be beyond reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not overindulging in wine, not a bully, not greedy for money,

⁸but hospitable, loving what is good, self-controlled, righteous, holy, disciplined,

⁹holding firmly the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.

¹⁰For there are many rebellious people, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,

¹¹who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of dishonest gain.

¹²One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

¹³This testimony is true. For this reason reprimand them severely so that they may be sound in the faith,

¹⁴not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.

¹⁵To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.

¹⁶They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.