| So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. | Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing. |
| 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! | Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God. |
| For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. | For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. |
| For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. | Who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. |
| So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me.” | Then Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine but his who sent me.” |
| You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. | You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. |
| May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. | May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus. |
| So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. | So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. |
| This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. | For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. |
| Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. | For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. |
| Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you. | It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. |
| Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? | Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? |
| This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. | Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. |
| Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. | Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. |
| The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers. | Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. |
| We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. | Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards. |
| If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. | If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. |
| For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. | For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God. |
| Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. | Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. |
| And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. | Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. |
| This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. | This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. |
| So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you. | Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. |
| And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.” | And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah. |
| Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. | For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have. |
| I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. | I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ himself. |
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