He has not held fast ¹  to the head from whom the whole body, supported ²  and knit together through its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. ³ 

Even though they have the appearance of wisdom ¹  with their self-imposed worship and false humility ²  achieved by an ³  unsparing treatment of the body – a wisdom with no true value – they in reality result in fleshly indulgence. ⁴ 

Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave ¹  of Christ, ²  greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured ³  in all the will of God.

But although we suffered earlier and were mistreated in Philippi, ¹  as you know, we had the courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God ²  in spite of much opposition.

So ¹  when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter somehow tempted you and our toil had proven useless.

I put this charge ¹  before you, Timothy my child, in keeping with the prophecies once spoken about you, ²  in order that with such encouragement ³  you may fight the good fight.

However, God’s solid foundation remains standing, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” ¹  and “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord ²  must turn away from evil.”

He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught, ¹  so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching ²  and correct those who speak against it.

For though you should in fact be teachers by this time, ¹  you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances. ²  You have gone back to needing ³  milk, not ⁴  solid food.

Do not be carried away by all sorts of strange teachings. ¹  For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not ritual meals, ²  which have never benefited those who participated in them.

Elijah was a human being ¹  like us, and he prayed earnestly ²  that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months!

And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ ¹  will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. ² 

They ¹  cried out with a loud voice, ²  “How long, ³  Sovereign Master, ⁴  holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?”

with these words: ¹  “We give you thanks, Lord God, the All-Powerful, ²  the one who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun to reign. ³ 

They ¹  sang the song of Moses the servant ²  of God and the song of the Lamb: ³  “Great and astounding are your deeds, Lord God, the All-Powerful! ⁴  Just ⁵  and true are your ways, King over the nations! ⁶ 

For they are the spirits of the demons performing signs who go out to the kings of the earth ¹  to bring them together for the battle that will take place on the great day of God, the All-Powerful. ² 

He ¹  shouted with a powerful voice: “Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great! She ²  has become a lair for demons, a haunt ³  for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detested beast. ⁴ 

and will go out to deceive ¹  the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, ²  to bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea. ³ 

And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma ¹  and said ²  to himself, ³  “I will never again curse ⁴  the ground because of humankind, even though ⁵  the inclination of their minds ⁶  is evil from childhood on. ⁷  I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.

Every living creature of the earth and every bird of the sky will be terrified of you. ¹  Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority. ²