So then, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

Do not be led astray, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹ 

Therefore, be ¹  imitators of God as dearly loved children

So then, my brothers and sisters, ¹  dear friends whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand in the Lord in this way, my dear friends!

They consume their alcohol, then engage in cult prostitution; they dearly love their shameful behavior.

Dear friends, if God so loved us, then ¹  we also ought to love one another. ² 

with such affection for you ¹  we were happy ²  to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.

Our dear friend Luke the physician and Demas greet you.

Little children, guard yourselves from idols. ¹ 

From ¹  the elder, ²  to Gaius ³  my dear brother, whom I love in truth. ⁴ 

Dear friend, ¹  you demonstrate faithfulness ²  by whatever you do for the brothers (even though they are strangers).

But you, dear friends – recall the predictions ¹  foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ² 

Indeed, the people of Israel are my dear children. They are the children I take delight in. ¹  For even though I must often rebuke them, I still remember them with fondness. So I am deeply moved with pity for them ²  and will surely have compassion on them. I, the Lord, affirm it! ³ 

Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.

Greet Tryphena ¹  and Tryphosa, laborers in the Lord. Greet my dear friend ²  Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord.

So then, dear brothers and sisters, ¹  be firm. Do not be moved! Always be outstanding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves ¹  from everything that could defile the body ²  and the spirit, and thus accomplish ³  holiness out of reverence for God. ⁴ 

From Paul, ¹  a prisoner of Christ Jesus, ²  and Timothy our ³  brother, to Philemon, our dear friend ⁴  and colaborer,

Also greet the church in their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, ¹  who was the first convert ²  to Christ in the province of Asia. ³ 

no longer as a slave, ¹  but more than a slave, as a dear brother. He is especially so to me, and even more so to you now, both humanly speaking ²  and in the Lord.