And the good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the entire world as a testimony offered to all the nations. And then the end will come. | And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come. |
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. | Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you. |
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O Lord, you have examined me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I stand; you perceive my thoughts from a distance. | O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. |
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, since it is the power of God that offers salvation to everyone who has faith—to Jews first, and then to Gentiles as well. | For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. |
Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and utter all kinds of calumnies against you for my sake. | Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. |
God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, but now he commands people everywhere to repent. | While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent. |
If I give away everything to feed the poor and hand over my body to be burned, but do not have love, I achieve nothing. | If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. |
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 unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly. |
Continue in all of the ways that the Lord, your God, has commanded you. Continue in them so that you may live and prosper and that you may long dwell on the land of your inheritance. | You must follow exactly the path that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you are to possess. |
As for me, I do not regard my life as of any value, only that I finish the race and complete the mission that I received from the Lord Jesus—to bear witness to the gospel of God’s grace. | But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God's grace. |
Does God give you the Spirit and work mighty deeds among you because you have kept the Law or because you believed what you have heard? | Well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? |
Love does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. | It does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. |
If anyone would boast, let him boast in the Lord. For it is not the one who commends himself who is really approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. | “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” For it is not those who commend themselves that are approved, but those whom the Lord commends. |
Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal. | Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal. |
You who abide in the shelter of the Most High, who rest in the shadow of the Almighty, say to the Lord, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I place my trust.” | You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.” |
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem, but throughout Judea and Samaria, and indeed to the farthest ends of the earth. | But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. |
The brother who is in modest circumstances should take pride in being raised up. Likewise, the one who is rich should glory in being brought low, for he will disappear like a flower of the field. | Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field. |
Let the word of Christ with all its richness dwell in you. Teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God with gratitude in your hearts. | Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. |
For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith. This has not come from you but from the gift of God. It does not come from works, so that no one can boast. | For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. |
May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world is crucified to me and I to the world. | May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. |
After Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of King Herod, wise men traveled from the east and arrived in Jerusalem, inquiring, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw the rising of his star, and we have come to pay him homage.” | In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” |
If you obey the command that I give you today, to love the Lord, your God, and to walk in his ways, and to observe his commandments, statutes, and decrees, then you will live and multiply, and the Lord, your God, will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. | If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. |
Do not seek to adorn yourself externally—by the braiding of your hair and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothing. Rather, let your adornment be of your inner self, the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. | Do not adorn yourselves outwardly by braiding your hair, and by wearing gold ornaments or fine clothing; rather, let your adornment be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in God's sight. |
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. | For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. |