Final Instructions and Benediction

¹² We ask you, brothers, ^(A)to respect those who labor among you and ^(B)are over you in the Lord and admonish you, ¹³ and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. ^(C)Be at peace among yourselves. ¹⁴ And we urge you, brothers, admonish ^(D)the idle,^{[a] (E)}encourage the fainthearted, ^(F)help the weak, ^(G)be patient with them all. ¹⁵ See that ^(H)no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always ^(I)seek to do good to one another and to everyone. ^16 (J)Rejoice always, ^17 (K)pray without ceasing, ^18 (L)give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ^19 (M)Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not despise ^(N)prophecies, ²¹ but ^(O)test everything; hold fast what is good. ²² Abstain from every form of evil.

²³ Now may ^(P)the God of peace himself ^(Q)sanctify you completely, and may your ^(R)whole ^(S)spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at ^(T)the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^24 (U)He who calls you is faithful; ^(V)he will surely do it.

⁷ But ^(A)whatever gain I had, ^(B)I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of ^(C)the surpassing worth of ^(D)knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I ^(E)have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having ^(F)a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but ^(G)that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— ^10 (H)that I may know him and ^(I)the power of his resurrection, and ^(J)may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may ^(K)attain the resurrection from the dead.

Straining Toward the Goal

¹² Not that I have already ^(L)obtained this or ^(M)am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: ^(N)forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for ^(O)the prize of the upward ^(P)call of God in Christ Jesus.

⁹ Now concerning ^(A)brotherly love ^(B)you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been ^(C)taught by God ^(D)to love one another, ¹⁰ for that indeed is what ^(E)you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to ^(F)do this more and more, ¹¹ and to aspire ^(G)to live quietly, and ^(H)to mind your own affairs, and ^(I)to work with your hands, as we instructed you, ¹² so that you may ^(J)walk properly before ^(K)outsiders and be dependent on no one.

^58 (A)Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in ^(B)the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord ^(C)your labor is not in vain.