| 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 he chose for his inheritance. |
| Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! | Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. |
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| 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 to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might 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. | Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for 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? | Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? |
| For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. | For this is the message you heard from the beginning: 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. | For if the willingness is there, the gift is 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. | But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result 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 about three thousand were added to their number that day. |
| 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 we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. |
| For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God. | For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. |
| I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house. | You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and 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. | But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but 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. | Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. |
| 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. | My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, 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. | For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. |
| 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. | I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. |
| 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 these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! 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. | For 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 of 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. | They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. |
| 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 was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are 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. | That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. |
| Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards. | For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. |
| 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! | Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good. |
