¹¹ My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household^(A) have informed me that there are quarrels among you. ¹² What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”;^(B) another, “I follow Apollos”;^(C) another, “I follow Cephas^[a]”;^(D) still another, “I follow Christ.”

¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?^(E)

The Sin and Doom of Ungodly People

³ Dear friends,^(A) although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share,^(B) I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend^(C) for the faith^(D) that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.^(E)

⁴ For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about^[a] long ago have secretly slipped in among you.^(A) They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.^(B)

¹⁶ These people are grumblers^(A) and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires;^(B) they boast^(C) about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

A Call to Persevere

¹⁷ But, dear friends, remember what the apostles^(D) of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.^{(E) 18} They said to you, “In the last times^(F) there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.”^{(G) 19} These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.^(H)