Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You

^3 (A)I thank God ^(B)whom I serve, as did my ancestors, ^(C)with a clear conscience, as I remember you ^(D)constantly in my prayers night and day. ^4 (E)As I remember your tears, ^(F)I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ I am reminded of ^(G)your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and ^(H)your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

Paul Speaks to the Ephesian Elders

¹⁷ Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called ^(A)the elders of the church to come to him. ¹⁸ And when they came to him, he said to them:

^(B)“You yourselves know ^(C)how I lived among you the whole time ^(D)from the first day that I set foot in Asia, ^19 (E)serving the Lord ^(F)with all humility and with ^(G)tears and with trials that happened to me through ^(H)the plots of the Jews; ²⁰ how I ^(I)did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and ^(J)teaching you in public and from house to house, ^21 (K)testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of ^(L)repentance toward God and of ^(M)faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.^[a]

⁴ For ^(A)I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

¹⁸ For ^(A)many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you ^(B)even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. ^19 (C)Their end is destruction, ^(D)their god is their belly, and ^(E)they glory in their shame, with ^(F)minds set on earthly things.

²⁴ And ^(A)let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ^25 (B)not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and ^(C)all the more as you see ^(D)the Day drawing near.

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16 Paul^[a] came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named ^(A)Timothy, ^(B)the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.