I wish I could be with you now and change my tone of voice, because I am perplexed about you.

Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all!

if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you,

I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called,

You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires,

Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ,

I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel:

so that what you can be proud of may increase because of me in Christ Jesus, when I come back to you.

Indeed, he greatly missed all of you and was distressed because you heard that he had been ill.

giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.

And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds,

but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him –

Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days –

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.

As a result you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

For you yourselves know, brothers and sisters, about our coming to you – it has not proven to be purposeless.

As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his own children,

For we wanted to come to you (I, Paul, in fact tried again and again) but Satan thwarted us.

For in fact when we were with you, we were telling you in advance that we would suffer affliction, and so it has happened, as you well know.