1 Corinthians 16

₁I am getting money to give to the believers in Jerusalem. I have asked the congregations in Galatia to give them money and now I am also asking you. ₂Each Sunday you must save some money that you have not used. And when I come, I will not ask you for more money because you will already have saved money to give them. ₃You can choose the people who can take the money to Jerusalem. When I come, I will write letters to say that these people are believers who bring your gift to Jerusalem. ₄If you think it is all right that I also go, then they can go with me.

₅I first want to go through Macedonia, then I will come to you. ₆Maybe I will visit you, and maybe I will stay there with you all winter. Then you can help me when I go further. ₇I will not come immediately, because if I come now, I can stay only for a short time. If the Lord will let me, I want to stay with you for a long time. ₈I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost ₉because the Lord has helped me to do important work for Him here. But there are many people who are enemies of the Good_News.

₁₀When Timothy comes to you, make him feel welcome with you. He must not be afraid of anyone. Remember, he is working for the Lord, just as I am. ₁₁No one must think that Timothy is not important. You must all accept him and help him when he must go further, so that he can come back to me. I want to see him and the other believers again. ₁₂I wanted Apollos to come to you with the other believers but he said it is not the right time to come now. He will come later, when he can.

₁₃You must be careful that the devil does not deceive you. You must keep on believing in the Lord. You must be brave and strong. ₁₄And you must do everything with love.

₁₅You know that Stephanas and his family were the first people in the province of Achaia to become believers, and they did a lot to help other believers. Friends, I beg you ₁₆to help leaders like Stephanas and his family. Yes, you must help everyone who works hard for the Lord. ₁₇I am very glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus were here visiting me. That helped me so that I did not long for you too much. ₁₈They made me feel good again, and I am sure that they also made you happy when they told you the news about me. You must listen to them very carefully.

₁₉The congregations in Asia send greetings to you. Aquila and Priscilla also send greetings. The believers who always worship in their house also send greetings. They send lots of friendly greetings to you because they also belong to the Lord.

₂₀All the believers send you greetings. You must greet each other with a special kiss to show that you all belong to Christ.

₂₁I now write these last few words with my own hand so that you can see that this letter really comes from me. ₂₂If anyone does not love the Lord, then the Lord will punish him.

‘Our Lord, we pray that You will come.’

₂₃The grace of the Lord Jesus be with to you. ₂₄I love you all because we belong to Christ Jesus.