| I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. | 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 ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. | 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. |
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| Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient 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 for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. | “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 that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. | 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. |
| Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. | 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 both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer 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. |
| In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto 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.” |
| Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; 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. |
| He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him 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: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? | 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 saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? | 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 hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by 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. |
| And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat 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 is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. | 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. |
| According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me. | When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud of heart and quickly forgot me. |
