Greetings and Love Expressed

16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a ^[a]servant of the church which is at Cenchrea; ² that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the ^[b]saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, ^[c]and of myself as well.

³ Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, ⁴ who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles; ⁵ also greet the church that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first convert to Christ from ^[d]Asia. ⁶ Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. ⁷ Greet Andronicus and ^[e]Junias, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also ^[f]were in Christ before me. ⁸ Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. ⁹ Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys my beloved. ¹⁰ Greet Apelles, the approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. ¹¹ Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet those of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. ¹² Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Greet Persis the beloved, who has worked hard in the Lord. ¹³ Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine. ¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brethren with them. ¹⁵ Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the ^[g]saints who are with them. ¹⁶ Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

¹⁷ Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and ^[h]hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. ¹⁸ For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own ^[i]appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. ¹⁹ For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. ²⁰ The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

²¹ Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

²² I, Tertius, who write this letter, greet you in the Lord.

²³ Gaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother. ²⁴ [^[j]The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.]

²⁵ Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, ²⁶ but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; ²⁷ to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.

Persons Excluded from the Assembly

23 “No one who is ^[a]emasculated or has his male organ cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord. ² No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of the Lord; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall enter the assembly of the Lord. ³ No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the Lord; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall ever enter the assembly of the Lord, ⁴ because they did not meet you with ^[b]food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of ^[c]Mesopotamia, to curse you. ⁵ Nevertheless, the Lord your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you. ⁶ You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days.

⁷ “You shall not detest an Edomite, for he is your brother; you shall not detest an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land. ⁸ The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.

⁹ “When you go out as ^[d]an army against your enemies, you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.

¹⁰ “If there is among you any man who is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he must go outside the camp; he may not ^[e]reenter the camp. ¹¹ But it shall be when evening approaches, he shall bathe himself with water, and at sundown he may ^[f]reenter the camp.

¹² “You shall also have a place outside the camp and go out there, ¹³ and you shall have a ^[g]spade among your tools, and it shall be when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and shall turn ^[h]to cover up your excrement. ¹⁴ Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to ^[i]defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see ^[j]anything indecent among you ^[k]or He will turn away from you.

¹⁵ “You shall not hand over to his master a slave who has ^[l]escaped from his master to you. ¹⁶ He shall live with you in your midst, in the place which he shall choose in one of your ^[m]towns where it pleases him; you shall not mistreat him.

¹⁷ “None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, nor shall any of the sons of Israel be a cult prostitute. ¹⁸ You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the wages of a ^[n]dog into the house of the Lord your God for any votive offering, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.

¹⁹ “You shall not charge interest to your ^[o]countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned at interest. ²⁰ You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your ^[p]countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all ^[q]that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to ^[r]possess.

²¹ “When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you, ^[s]and the Lord your God will surely require it of you. ²² However, if you refrain from vowing, it would not be sin in you. ²³ You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God, what you have ^[t]promised.

²⁴ “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, then you may eat grapes ^[u]until you are fully satisfied, but you shall not put any in your ^[v]basket.

²⁵ “When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, then you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not wield a sickle in your neighbor’s standing grain.