| I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man. | I understand that man’s greatest happiness is to be glad and do well throughout his life. And when we eat and drink and find satisfaction in all our labors, this is a gift of God. |
| Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. | Bring the tithes in full into the treasury so that there may be food in my house. Put me thus to the test, says the Lord of hosts, and see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down blessings upon you without measure. |
| Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me. | Keep falsehood and lying far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but simply provide me with the food that I need. |
| “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. | “All things are lawful,” you may say—but not all things are beneficial. All things may be lawful—but not all things are constructive. |
| Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. | This is the conclusion I have reached: it is fitting for a man to eat and drink and find satisfaction in the results of his labors under the sun during the brief span of life that God has allotted him. |
| Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. | Do not be concerned about your life and what you will have to eat, or about your body and what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. |
| I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. | I know how to live with little, and I know how to live with plenty. In any and all circumstances, I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. |
| On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” | On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” |
| Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. | Moreover, the one to whom God grants wealth and possessions and the ability to enjoy them and to find contentment in his toil receives a gift from God. |
| And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” | He said to them in reply, “Anyone who has two coats must share with the person who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.” |
| Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! | Consider the ravens. They do not sow or reap, they have no storehouse or barn, and yet God feeds them. You are of far greater importance than birds. |
| And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) | He said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not realize that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not into the heart but into the stomach and is discharged into the sewer?” Thus, he pronounced all foods clean. |
| As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. | Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so whoever feeds upon me will live because of me. |
| Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. | John’s clothing was made of camel’s hair, with a leather loincloth around his waist, and his food consisted of locusts and wild honey. |
| The vine dries up; the fig tree languishes. Pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up, and gladness dries up from the children of man. | The vine has withered; the fig tree droops. The pomegranate, the palm, and the apple tree— all the trees of the field have dried up. And the joy of the people has also withered away. |
| But when they had grazed, they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me. | When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud of heart and quickly forgot me. |
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