Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! | Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! |
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” | Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” |
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I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth. | Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth. |
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. | So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. |
You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. | Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! |
For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. | For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. |
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” | Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” |
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” | Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” |
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. | For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. |
Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. | Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. |
He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ | He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day. |
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” | So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” |
I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father. | Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father. |
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. | 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. |
‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ | They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun. For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes. |
So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? | I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. |
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. | You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. |
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. | Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God! |
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. | Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. |
Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. | Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. |
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. | Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord. |
Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved. | Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved. |
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. | All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation. |
Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. | We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. |
But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. | But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life. |