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Children and Parents

6 Children, obey your parents as believers in the Lord. Obey them because it’s the right thing to do. 2Scripture says, “Honor your father and mother.” That is the first commandment that has a promise. 3“Then things will go well with you. You will live a long time on the earth.” (Deuteronomy 5:16)

4Fathers, don’t make your children angry. Instead, train them and teach them the ways of the Lord as you raise them.

Slaves and Masters

5Slaves, obey your masters here on earth. Respect them and honor them with a heart that is true. Obey them just as you would obey Christ. 6Don’t obey them only to please them when they are watching. Do it because you are slaves of Christ. Be sure your heart does what God wants.

7Serve your masters with all your heart. Work as if you were not serving people but the Lord. 8You know that the Lord will give you a reward. He will give to each of you in keeping with the good you do. It doesn’t matter whether you are slaves or free.

9Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. When you warn them, don’t be too hard on them. You know that the One who is their Master and yours is in heaven. And he treats everyone the same.

God’s Armor

10Finally, let the Lord make you strong. Depend on his mighty power. 11Put on all of God’s armor. Then you can stand firm against the devil’s evil plans. 12Our fight is not against human beings. It is against the rulers, the authorities and the powers of this dark world. It is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly world.

13So put on all of God’s armor. Evil days will come. But you will be able to stand up to anything. And after you have done everything you can, you will still be standing.

14So stand firm. Put the belt of truth around your waist. Put the armor of godliness on your chest. 15Wear on your feet what will prepare you to tell the good news of peace. 16Also, pick up the shield of faith. With it you can put out all of the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Put on the helmet of salvation. And take the sword of the Holy Spirit. The sword is God’s word.

18At all times, pray by the power of the Spirit. Pray all kinds of prayers. Be watchful, so that you can pray. Always keep on praying for all of God’s people.

19Pray also for me. Pray that when I open my mouth, the right words will be given to me. Then I can be bold as I tell the mystery of the good news. 20Because of the good news, I am being held by chains as the Lord’s messenger. So pray that I will be bold as I preach the good news. That’s what I should do.

Final Greetings

21Tychicus is a dear brother. He is faithful in serving the Lord. He will tell you everything about me. Then you will know how I am and what I am doing. 22That’s why I am sending him to you. I want you to know how we are. And I want him to cheer you up.

23May God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give peace to the brothers and sisters. May they also give them love and faith.

24May grace be given to everyone who loves our Lord Jesus Christ with a love that will never die.

NIrV

About New International Reader’s Version (1998)

The New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) was developed to help early readers understand the Bible. Begun in 1992, the NIrV is a simplification of the New International Version (NIV). The NIrV uses shorter words and sentences so that those with a typical fourth grade reading level can comprehend what they are reading. The chapters have been separated into shorter sections and most have titles that clearly indicate what the section is all about. The NIrV will be a valuable translation to those for whom English is a second language. The NIrV still relies on the best and oldest copies of the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts for its translation, guaranteeing that those who read it are getting the actual Word of God.

Copyright

Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society.

All rights reserved.

The NIrV text may be quoted for non-commercial usage in any form (written, visual, electronic or audio) up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without the express written permission of the publisher, providing the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted.

Notice of copyright must appear on the title or copyright page of the work as follows:

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER’S VERSION™. Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

When quotations from the NIrV text are used in non-saleable media, such as church bulletins, orders of service, posters, transparencies or similar media, a complete copyright notice is not required, but the initials (NIrV) must appear at the end of each quotation.

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