| This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. | Hence, I advise you to be guided by the Spirit, so that you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. |
| Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. | And so you should put to death everything in your nature that is earthly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires, and greed (which is idolatry). |
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| Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. | You want something that you cannot have, so you commit murder. And you covet something but cannot obtain it, so you engage in quarrels and fights. You do not have because you do not ask. |
| And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. | And the world with all its enticements is passing away, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. |
| Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? | Or can a man walk on red-hot coals without scorching his feet? |
| Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. | However, to avoid the temptation to immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. |
| All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. | “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not allow myself to be dominated by anything. |
| For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. | For where your treasure is, there will your heart also be. |
| I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? | I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look with desire upon a virgin. |
| Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. | Remain sober and alert, for your enemy the devil is on the prowl like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. |
| For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. | For everything that is in the world— the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life— comes not from the Father but from the world. |
| Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. | Let marriage be held in honor by all, and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for those who are immoral and adulterers will have to face God’s judgment. |
| For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. | Brethren, you were called to freedom. However, make sure that you do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Instead, serve one another in love. |
| As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. | As a deer longs for running streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. |
| Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. | Stay awake and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak. |
| There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. | No trial has confronted you except what a person can stand. God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tried beyond your strength. But together with the trial he will also provide a way out and the strength to bear it. |
| Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. | While experiencing temptation, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. |
| Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. | As we proceed in the path of your judgments, we wait for you, O Lord; your name and your renown are all that our heart desires. |
| Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. | By these he has given us his precious promises, great beyond all price, so that through them you may escape from the corruption with which evil desires have infected the world and thereby may come to share in the divine nature. |
| For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. | The love of money is the root of all evils, and in their desire for it some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many serious wounds. |
| Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. | When you fix your gaze upon it, it is gone before you realize it. For it suddenly sprouts wings and flies up to the sky like an eagle. |
| He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not. | All day long the godless man continues to covet, whereas the righteous man gives unsparingly. |
| What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. | What then should we say? That the Law is sinful? Absolutely not! Yet if it had not been for the Law, I would not have known what sin was. I would not have known what covet is if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.” |
| Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. | Brethren, if anyone is detected committing a transgression, you who are spiritual must set him right in a spirit of gentleness. Meanwhile, you should take care so that you yourselves are not tempted. |
| So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. | Those who live according to the flesh can never be pleasing to God. |
