| The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” | The heart is more deceitful than any other thing, and it is also perverse. Who can uncover its secrets? I, the Lord, search the heart and probe the mind to reward all according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve. |
| For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. | For the wages of sin is death, but the gift freely given by God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
| If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. | If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you may ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. |
| Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. | Be on your guard that you do not lose what we have worked to accomplish so that you will receive your reward in full. |
| For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. | Our temporary light afflictions are preparing for us an incomparable weight of eternal glory. |
| Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. | Everyone who seeks a prize submits himself to rigorous self-discipline in every respect. They do so to win a perishable crown, while we seek an imperishable one. |
| For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. | Does it now appear to you that I am trying to gain the approval of human beings rather than the approval of God? Am I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. |
| As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. | As sorrowful, and yet we are always rejoicing; as poor, and yet we make many rich; as having nothing, and yet we possess everything. |
| I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. | I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you already have so that no one may rob you of your crown. |
| Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. | Therefore, brethren, be diligent in providing a firm foundation for your call and election. If you do this, you will never stumble, and you will receive a glorious welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. |
| I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. | I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. Now waiting for me is the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day—and not only to me, but to all those who have eagerly longed for his appearance. |
| The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor. | Authority will be granted to the diligent, but the lazy will be enslaved. |
| Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! | Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage. |
| I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. | I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing. |
| The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. | To anyone who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself overcame and sat with my Father on his throne. |
| And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. | Whenever you fast, do not assume a gloomy expression like the hypocrites who contort their faces so that others may realize that they are fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. |
| By which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. | By these he has given us his precious promises, great beyond all price, so that through them you may escape from the corruption with which evil desires have infected the world and thereby may come to share in the divine nature. |
| By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. | By faith Abraham also received the power of procreation, even though he was well past the age—and Sarah herself was barren—because he believed that the one who had made the promise would be faithful in fulfilling it. |
| But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. | But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Your almsgiving must be done in secret. And your Father who sees everything that is done in secret will reward you. |
| But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. | But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that the fact that you are fasting will not be obvious to others but only to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees everything that is done in secret will reward you. |
| And that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man according to his work. | And so does kindness, O Lord. You reward each person in accordance with his deeds. |
| For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever. | However, if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you are upright in your dealings with your neighbor; if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow; if you do not shed innocent blood in this place; and if you do not follow other gods and thereby cause your own destruction, then I will allow you to live in this place, in the land that I gave as a permanent gift to your fathers long ago. |
| They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. | They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my own special possession on the day when I act, and I will have compassion on them as a father has compassion on the son who serves him. |
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