| Because the sentence for committing an evil act is not carried out quickly, people’s hearts are prone to act wickedly. | When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong. |
| 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. | “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.” |
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| God is not human, that he should lie, or the son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act, does he promise and then not fulfill it? | God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? |
| Commit your way to the Lord; place your trust in him, and he will act. He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, and the justice of your cause, like the noonday. | Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. |
| Every good act of giving and every perfect gift are from above, coming down from the Father of all light. With him there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. | Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. |
| Therefore, brethren, I implore you by the mercies of God to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and acceptable to God—a spiritual act of worship. | Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. |
| For everything there is a season, and a time for every activity under heaven. | There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. |
| The Lord abhors lying lips, but he delights in those who are truthful. | The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy. |
| The Lord has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? Only this: to do what is right, to show mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. | He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. |
| Keep alert; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. | Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. |
| 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. | When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. |
| Many shall be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked will persist in their evil ways. | Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand. |
| Do not withhold kindness from anyone to whom it is due when it is in your power to grant it. | Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. |
| We have sinned and done what is wrong, we have acted wickedly and rebelled, we have rejected your commandments and your laws. | We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. |
| Therefore, prepare your minds for action. Be calm and fix your hopes completely on the grace that you will be granted at the revelation of Jesus Christ. | Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. |
| Indeed, the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any two-edged sword, it pierces to the point where it divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. | For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. |
| Repent, therefore, and be converted so that your sins may be wiped away. | Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. |
| While Peter was thus imprisoned, the Church prayed fervently to God for him. | So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. |
| 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. | Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. |
| Wait quietly for the Lord and be patient until he comes. Do not fret over the man who prospers because of his evil schemes. | Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. |
| This is ‘the stone rejected by you, the builders, that has become the cornerstone.’ | Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ |
| After he had decided to follow this course of action, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to receive Mary into your home as your wife. For this child has been conceived in her womb through the Holy Spirit.” | But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” |
| I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ | I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ |
| However, the one who looks intently at the perfect law of freedom and perseveres—not forgetting what he has heard but putting it into practice—will be blessed in everything he does. | But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. |
| Then it will come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. | And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. |
