Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? | Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? |
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. | Rather, seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. |
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So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. | Let us never grow weary in doing what is right, for if we do not give up, we will reap our harvest in due time. |
So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. | If we claim that we have fellowship with him while we continue to live in darkness, we are lying and do not live in the truth. |
I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. | Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so whoever feeds upon me will live because of me. |
Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. | That is why you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, and they devote themselves to this service. |
Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” | I then heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me!” |
And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. | You shall keep these things that I command you today in your heart. Teach them to your children. You shall talk of them when you are sitting in your home, and when you are walking along the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up. |
So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. | So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own. |
This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. | This is the Lord’s message to Zerubbabel: Not by force, nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. |
You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God—all the laws and decrees he has given you. | You shall take heed to observe the commandments of the Lord, your God, and the decrees and statutes that he has given to you. |
Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. | For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall also be united with him in his resurrection. We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be destroyed and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. |
For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us. | If we are diligent in observing all of these commandments before the Lord, our God, as he commanded of us, then this will be our righteousness. |
Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. | Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. |
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. | Only goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever. |
Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. | Therefore, while we have the opportunity, let us labor for the good of all, but especially for those members of the household of the faith. |
Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have 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. |
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. | Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. |
But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. | But as for you, man of God, you must shun all this. Rather, pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, fortitude, and gentleness. |
Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” | Jesus answered them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” |
Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. | Remember this: if you sow sparingly, you will reap sparingly, and if you sow generously, you will reap generously as well. |
What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. | Blessed are you when people hate you and ostracize you, when they insult you and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. |
When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. | When you pray do not go on babbling endlessly as the pagans do, for they believe that they are more likely to be heard because of their many words. |
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. | I am confident of this: that the one who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. |
But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me. | As for me, I trust in your kindness; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because he has been good to me. |