The Death of Nadab and Abihu

10 Now ^(A)Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, ^(B)each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered ^(C)unauthorized^[a] fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. ² And fire ^(D)came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. ³ Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among ^(E)those who are near me ^(F)I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” ^(G)And Aaron held his peace.

⁴ And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of ^(H)Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near; carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp.” ⁵ So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said. ⁶ And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, ^(I)“Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and ^(J)wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled. ^7 (K)And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, ^(L)for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.

⁸ And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, ^9 (M)“Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. ¹⁰ You are to ^(N)distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, ¹¹ and ^(O)you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.”

¹² Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his surviving sons: “Take the ^(P)grain offering that is left of the Lord's food offerings, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for ^(Q)it is most holy. ¹³ You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons' due, from the Lord's food offerings, for ^(R)so I am commanded. ¹⁴ But the ^(S)breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed you shall eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, for they are given as your due and your sons' due from the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the people of Israel. ^15 (T)The thigh that is contributed and the breast that is waved they shall bring with the food offerings of the fat pieces to wave for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be yours and your sons' with you as a due forever, as the Lord has commanded.”

¹⁶ Now Moses diligently inquired about ^(U)the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it was burned up! And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the surviving sons of Aaron, saying, ^17 (V)“Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, since ^(W)it is a thing most holy and has been given to you that you may bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? ¹⁸ Behold, ^(X)its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You certainly ought to have eaten it in the sanctuary, ^(Y)as I commanded.” ¹⁹ And Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, ^(Z)today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and yet such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, ^(AA)would the Lord have approved?” ²⁰ And when Moses heard that, he approved.

Pe

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of Christ Jesus ^(B)by the will of God according to ^(C)the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

² To Timothy, ^(D)my beloved child:

^(E)Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You

^3 (F)I thank God ^(G)whom I serve, as did my ancestors, ^(H)with a clear conscience, as I remember you ^(I)constantly in my prayers night and day. ^4 (J)As I remember your tears, ^(K)I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ I am reminded of ^(L)your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and ^(M)your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. ⁶ For this reason I remind you ^(N)to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, ⁷ for God gave us ^(O)a spirit not of fear but ^(P)of power and love and self-control.

⁸ Therefore ^(Q)do not be ashamed of ^(R)the testimony about our Lord, nor of ^(S)me his prisoner, but ^(T)share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, ^9 (U)who saved us and ^(V)called us to^[a] a holy calling, ^(W)not because of our works but because of ^(X)his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus ^(Y)before the ages began,^{[b] 10} and which now has ^(Z)been manifested through ^(AA)the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, ^(AB)who abolished death and ^(AC)brought life and ^(AD)immortality to light through the gospel, ^11 (AE)for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, ^12 (AF)which is why I suffer as I do. But ^(AG)I am not ashamed, for ^(AH)I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until ^(AI)that day ^(AJ)what has been entrusted to me.^{[c] 13 (AK)}Follow ^(AL)the pattern of ^(AM)the sound^[d] words ^(AN)that you have heard from me, in ^(AO)the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ By the Holy Spirit ^(AP)who dwells within us, guard ^(AQ)the good deposit entrusted to you.

¹⁵ You are aware that ^(AR)all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶ May the Lord grant mercy to ^(AS)the household of Onesiphorus, for he often ^(AT)refreshed me and was not ashamed of ^(AU)my chains, ¹⁷ but when he arrived in Rome ^(AV)he searched for me earnestly and found me— ¹⁸ may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on ^(AW)that day!—and you well know all the service he ^(AX)rendered at Ephesus.

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

2 You then, ^(AY)my child, ^(AZ)be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ² and ^(BA)what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses ^(BB)entrust to faithful men,^{[e] (BC)}who will be able to teach others also. ^3 (BD)Share in suffering as ^(BE)a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No soldier ^(BF)gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. ^5 (BG)An athlete is not ^(BH)crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶ It is ^(BI)the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. ⁷ Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, ^(BJ)risen from the dead, the ^(BK)offspring of David, ^(BL)as preached in my gospel, ^9 (BM)for which I am suffering, ^(BN)bound with chains as a criminal. But ^(BO)the word of God is not bound! ¹⁰ Therefore ^(BP)I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain ^(BQ)the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with ^(BR)eternal glory. ¹¹ The saying is ^(BS)trustworthy, for:

for ^(BZ)he cannot deny himself.

A Worker Approved by God

¹⁴ Remind them of these things, and ^(CA)charge them before God^{[f] (CB)}not to quarrel about words, ^(CC)which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. ¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,^[g] a worker ^(CD)who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. ¹⁶ But ^(CE)avoid ^(CF)irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, ¹⁷ and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are ^(CG)Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸ who have swerved from the truth, ^(CH)saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. ¹⁹ But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ^(CI)“The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone ^(CJ)who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

²⁰ Now in ^(CK)a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, ^(CL)some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. ²¹ Therefore, ^(CM)if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,^[h] he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ^(CN)ready for every good work.

²² So ^(CO)flee ^(CP)youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with ^(CQ)those who call on the Lord ^(CR)from a pure heart. ²³ Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant ^(CS)controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. ²⁴ And ^(CT)the Lord's servant^[i] must not be quarrelsome but ^(CU)kind to everyone, ^(CV)able to teach, patiently enduring evil, ²⁵ correcting his opponents ^(CW)with gentleness. God ^(CX)may perhaps grant them repentance ^(CY)leading to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and they may come to their senses and escape from ^(CZ)the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.