Dear children, keep away from idols. | Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. |
Do not make gods from silver or from gold instead of me. You will not make them for yourselves. | Remember, you must not make any idols of silver or gold to rival me. |
|
Are you not aware that wrongdoers will never inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, extortioners, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. | Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. |
It is the Lord, your God, whom you are to follow. You must fear him and observe his commandments and obey what he tells you and serve him and hold fast to him. | Serve only the Lord your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him. |
For the carved images of the nations are powerless; they are nothing more than wood cut from a forest, fashioned with a knife by craftsmen and embellished with silver and gold. Then they are fastened with hammers and nails to prevent them from toppling. Like scarecrows in a cucumber field they are unable to speak, and they must be carried from place to place since they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they can do no harm, nor do they have any power to do good. | Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol. They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over. Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good. |
So today acknowledge it and take it to heart that the Lord is God in the heavens above and on the earth below. There is no other. | So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The Lord is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other. |
Take no part in the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather seek to expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of what deeds people do in secret. | Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. |
And so you should put to death everything in your nature that is earthly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires, and greed (which is idolatry). | So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. |
I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. You know no God but me, nor any savior other than me. | I have been the Lord your God ever since I brought you out of Egypt. You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no other savior. |
If it seems wrong to you to serve the Lord, then today you must choose whom you will serve, whether it be the gods that your fathers served on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites who dwell in the land. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. | But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. |
No weapon used against you will prevail, and you will refute every accusation that is raised in court against you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, their vindication from me, says the Lord. | But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me. I, the Lord, have spoken! |
Put on the armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the deceit of the devil. | Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. |
The love of money is the root of all evils, and in their desire for it some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many serious wounds. | For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. |
Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good. | Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. |
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law. | For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. |
Shun evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. | Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. |
I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I do ask you to protect them from the evil one. | I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. |
He continued, “Then put away the foreign gods from among you. Bend your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” | “All right then,” Joshua said, “destroy the idols among you, and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” |
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord, our God. | Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God. |
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and offered worship and service to the creature rather than to the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural practices. Likewise, men gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameful acts with men and received in their own persons the fitting penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since these people did not see fit to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their depraved way of thinking and to all types of vile behavior. | They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. |
Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you previously, that no one who does such things will inherit the kingdom of God. | When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. |
Now in regard to the eating of meat sacrificed to idols, we know that idols are nothing in the world and that there is only one God. | 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. |
Let no one deceive you in any way. That Day cannot come before the final rebellion occurs and the lawless one is revealed, the son of destruction. He is the adversary who sets himself in opposition to, and exalts himself above, every so-called god or object of worship, and who even seats himself in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. | Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. |