| I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; moreover, that every person who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—this is the gift of God. | So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. |
| “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and put Me to the test now in this,” says the Lord of armies, “if I do not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.” | “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!” |
| Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion. | First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. |
| All things are permitted, but not all things are of benefit. All things are permitted, but not all things build people up. | You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. |
| Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink, and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he labors under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. | Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life. |
| Do not worry about your life, as to what you are to eat; nor for your body, as to what you are to wear. For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. | That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. |
| Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.” | On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!” |
| I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. | I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. |
| Furthermore, as for every person to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also given him the opportunity to enjoy them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. | And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. |
| And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding as well? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the person from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thereby He declared all foods clean.) | “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.) |
| And he would answer and say to them, “The one who has two tunics is to share with the one who has none; and the one who has food is to do likewise.” | John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” |
| Consider the ravens, that they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! | Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! |
| Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. | John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. |
| Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, the one who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. | I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. |
| The vine has dried up And the fig tree has withered; The pomegranate, the palm also, and the apple tree, All the trees of the field have dried up. Indeed, joy has dried up From the sons of mankind. | The grapevines have dried up, and the fig trees have withered. The pomegranate trees, palm trees, and apple trees— all the fruit trees—have dried up. And the people’s joy has dried up with them. |
| As they had their pasture, they became satisfied, And as they became satisfied, their heart became proud; Therefore they forgot Me. | But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me. |
| Therefore, concerning the eating of food sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one. | So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. |
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Bible verse of the day
A prudent person sees evil and hides himself;But the naive proceed, and pay the penalty.