| Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage. | Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage. |
| Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! | Place your hope in the Lord: be strong and courageous in your heart, and place your hope in the Lord. |
| 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. | For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that by perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we may continue to have hope. |
| I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. | I have given you a command. Be strong and brave, do not be afraid nor dismayed. I, the Lord, your God, will be with you wherever you go. |
| Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? | Now who is going to harm you if you are eager to do what is right? |
| For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. | For from the beginning you have heard the message that we should love one another. |
| For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have. | As long as the goodwill is present, the gift will be acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. |
| But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. | However, now that you have been freed from sin and bound to the service of God, the benefit you receive is sanctification, and the end is eternal life. |
| So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. | Those who accepted his message were baptized, and on that day about three thousand people were added to their number. |
| 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. | This is the message that we have heard from him and that we declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness at all in him. |
| For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God. | Indeed, creation itself eagerly awaits the revelation of the children of God. |
| I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house. | I did not hesitate to tell you what was for your benefit as I proclaimed the word to you and taught you publicly as well as from house to house. |
| Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. | Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth: it is better for you that I depart. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, whereas if I go, I will send him to you. |
| O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name; for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. | O Lord, you are my God. I will exalt you and praise your name, for you have accomplished wonderful things, formulated in ages past, faithful and sure. |
| 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. | I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love so that they may grow rich in their complete understanding as they come to the knowledge of the mystery of God, that is, Christ. |
| For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. | The love of money is the root of all evils, and in their desire for it some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many serious wounds. |
| 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 I am longing to see you so that I may bestow on 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. |
| I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world! | I have told you this so that in me you may be in peace. In the world you will endure suffering. But take courage! I have overcome the world. |
| For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. | Indeed, the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. |
| For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. | For the wages of sin is death, but the gift freely given by God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
| Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. | Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which separated and came to rest on each one of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit enabled them to do so. |
| So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. | So Christ, having been offered once to take away the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to bring salvation to those who are eagerly waiting for him. |
| That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. | In other words, God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, and not holding people’s transgressions against them, and he committed to us the message of reconciliation. |
| Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards. | Although we are human beings, we do not engage in battle according to human standards. |
| Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness' sake, O Lord! | Be mindful, O Lord, that mercy and kindness have been yours from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my many transgressions, but remember me in your kindness, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord. |
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