Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal. | But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval. |
This saying can be trusted: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him. | This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. |
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For the Lord loves the just, and he will not forsake his faithful ones. Those who follow evil paths will be destroyed, and the children of the wicked will be cut off. | For the Lord loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly. He will keep them safe forever, but the children of the wicked will die. |
I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. Now waiting for me is the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day—and not only to me, but to all those who have eagerly longed for his appearance. | I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. |
I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord God. Repent and live! | I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live! |
Now we know that if the earthly tent in which we live is destroyed, we have a dwelling prepared for us by God, a dwelling in the heavens, not made with human hands, that will be eternal. | For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. |
Nevertheless, do not rejoice in the knowledge that the spirits are subject to you. Rejoice rather that your names are inscribed in heaven. | But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven. |
Whoever observes the commandments will live, but the one who scorns them will die. | Keep the commandments and keep your life; despising them leads to death. |
I will extol you, my God and King; I will bless your name forever and ever. | I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever. |
We also know that the Son of God has come and given us understanding so that we can know the one who is true. And we are in the one who is true, since we are in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. | And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life. |
Everyone who seeks a prize submits himself to rigorous self-discipline in every respect. They do so to win a perishable crown, while we seek an imperishable one. | All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. |
However, now that you have been freed from sin and bound to the service of God, the benefit you receive is sanctification, and the end is eternal life. | But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. |
However, you, dear friends, must build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God as you await our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy, who will grant you eternal life. | But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love. |
And when he had been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. | In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. |
Jesus answered, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive in this age a hundred times more houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and lands—as well as persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.” | “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.” |
Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. | Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come. |
The Lord God said, “Behold, man has become like one of us, for he has knowledge of that which is good and that which is evil. Now, we must prevent him from reaching out and taking the fruit of the tree of life lest he eat it and live forever.” The Lord God cast him out of the Garden of Eden; henceforth he was to labor tilling the soil from which he had come. | Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. |