Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹ I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I, too, may be consoled by news of you. ²⁰ I have no one so like myself who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. ²¹ All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.^{(A) 22} But Timothy’s^[a] worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.^{(B) 23} I hope therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me, ²⁴ and I trust in the Lord that I will also come soon.

²⁵ Still, I think it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus—my brother and coworker and fellow soldier, your messenger^[b] and minister to my need,^{(C) 26} for he has been longing for^[c] all of you and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. ²⁷ He was indeed so ill that he nearly died. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, so that I would not have one sorrow after another. ²⁸ I am the more eager to send him, therefore, in order that you may rejoice at seeing him again and that I may be less anxious. ²⁹ Welcome him, then, in the Lord with all joy, and honor such people,^{(D) 30} because he came close to death for the work of Christ,^[d] risking his life to make up for those services that you could not give me.

The Request of James and John

³⁵ James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” ³⁶ And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” ³⁷ And they said to him, “Appoint us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”^{(A) 38} But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”^{(B) 39} They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized you will be baptized,^{(C) 40} but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to appoint, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

⁴¹ When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. ⁴² So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. ⁴³ But it is not so among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant,^{(D) 44} and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.”^(E)

Friendship with the World

4 Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? ² You want something and do not have it, so you commit murder. And you covet^[a] something and cannot obtain it, so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have because you do not ask.

Warning against Judging Another

¹¹ Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another speaks evil against the law and judges the law, but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.^(A)

³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.^{(A) 4} Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others.^{(B) 5} Let the same mind be in you that was^[a] in Christ Jesus,^(C)

⁵ Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time.^{[a](A) 6} Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.^(B)

⁵ Let the same mind be in you that was^[a] in Christ Jesus,^(A)