| For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. | For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. |
| My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? | There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? |
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| Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. | Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. |
| But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. | But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. |
| Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. | Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. |
| The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. | The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. |
| There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. | For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. |
| Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. | Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. |
| The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. | Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen. |
| Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. | Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. |
| For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. | For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. |
| After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. | After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. |
| For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. | 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. |
| Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” | But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” |
| Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. | Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth. |
| Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. | O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you! |
| When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. | Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. |
| He builds his lofty palace in the heavens and sets its foundation on the earth; he calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land— the Lord is his name. | The Lord’s home reaches up to the heavens, while its foundation is on the earth. He draws up water from the oceans and pours it down as rain on the land. The Lord is his name! |
| Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. | Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. |
| Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. | Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. |
| For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. | After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. |
| As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. | For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. |
| “Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord. | “Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord. |
| In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ | And he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side. The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’ |
| Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. | We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. |
