| Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.’ | This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ |
| But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? | If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? |
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| Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. | Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. |
| For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. | If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. |
| And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ | And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ |
| But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. | For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. |
| By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. | This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. |
| Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. | Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. |
| Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend, Nor go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away. | Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you— better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away. |
| Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. | Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. |
| If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. | If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. |
| Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” | Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” |
| No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. | No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. |
| Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? | Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? |
| Arise, O Lord! O God, lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble. | Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. |
| Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy. | Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. |
| If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. | Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. |
| Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. | See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. |
| He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” | John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” |
| There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another? | There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? |
| Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave. | Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave. |
| You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s. | You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. |
| Honor widows who are really widows. | Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. |
| Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. | And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. |
| Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. | So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. |
