| Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. | Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. |
| Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord. | Let us examine and test our ways and return to the Lord. |
| So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. | Therefore, let us leave behind the basic teaching about Christ and advance toward maturity. We must not be forever laying the foundation: repentance for actions that lead to death, faith in God, instruction about baptisms and the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. |
| But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ | The tax collector, however, stood some distance away and would not even raise his eyes to heaven. Rather, he kept beating his breast as he said, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ |
| When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened. | When God saw by their actions that they had turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not inflict upon them the punishment that he had threatened. |
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