Children and Parents

¹sChildren, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ²t“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), ³“that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” ⁴Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, ubut bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Bondservants and Masters

⁵vBondservants,1 obey your earthly masters2 with fear and trembling, wwith a sincere heart, xas you would Christ, ⁶not by the way of eye-service, as ypeople-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, ⁷rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, ⁸zknowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, awhether he is a bondservant or is free. ⁹Masters, do the same to them, band stop your threatening, knowing that che who is both their Master3 and yours is in heaven, and that dthere is no partiality with him.

The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰Finally, ebe strong in the Lord and in fthe strength of his might. ¹¹gPut on hthe whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against ithe schemes of the devil. ¹²For jwe do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against kthe rulers, against the authorities, against lthe cosmic powers over mthis present darkness, against nthe spiritual forces of evil oin the heavenly places. ¹³Therefore ptake up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in qthe evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand therefore, rhaving fastened on the belt of truth, and shaving put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵and, tas shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In all circumstances take up uthe shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all vthe flaming darts of wthe evil one; ¹⁷and take sthe helmet of salvation, and xthe sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸praying yat all times zin the Spirit, awith all prayer and supplication. To that end, bkeep alert with all perseverance, making csupplication for all the saints, ¹⁹and dalso for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth eboldly to proclaim fthe mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I gam an ambassador hin chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Final Greetings

²¹iSo that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, jTychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. ²²I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may kencourage your hearts.

²³lPeace be to the brothers,4 and mlove with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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