4 I take no pleasure in the food
of corruption, nor in the pleasures
of this life.
5 I desire the bread of God
which is the flesh of Jesus Christ,
of the seed of David; and the
drink that I long for is his blood,
which is incorruptible love.
6 I have no desire to live any
longer after the manner of men;
neither shall I, if you consent.
Be ye therefore willing, that ye
yourselves also maybe pleasing to
God. I exhort you in a few words;
I pray you believe me.
7 Jesus Christ will shew you
that I speak truly. My mouth is
without deceit, and the Father
hath truly spoken by it. Pray
therefore for me, that I may
accomplish what I desire.
8 I have not written to you after
the flesh, but according to the will
of God. If I shall suffer, ye have
loved me: but if I shall be rejected,
ye have hated me.
9 Remember in your prayers
the church of Syria, which now
enjoys God for its shepherd instead
of me. Let Jesus Christ only oversee
it, and your charity.
10 But I am even ashamed to
be reckoned as one of them; for
neither am I worthy, being the
least among them, and as one
born out of due season. But
through mercy I have risen to
be somebody, if I shall get unto
God.
11 My spirit salutes you; and
the charity of the churches that
have received me in the name of
Jesus Christ; not as a passenger,
for even they that were not near
to me in the way, have gone before
me to the next city to meet me.
12 These things I write to you
from Smyrna, by the most worthy
of the church of Ephesus.
13 There is now with me, together
with many others, Crocus, most
beloved of me. As for those which
are come from Syria, and are gone
before me to Rome, to the glory
of God, I suppose you are not
ignorant of them.