Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. | Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. |
For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst. | For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them. |
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And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” | I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” |
Do all things without complaining or arguments; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding firmly the word of life. | Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life. |
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus. | And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. |
Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker— A piece of pottery among the other earthenware pottery pieces! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’? | What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’ |
And you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst. | You must serve only the Lord your God. If you do, I will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness. |
But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing His garments among themselves. | Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. |
For who among people knows the thoughts of a person except the spirit of the person that is in him? So also the thoughts of God no one knows, except the Spirit of God. | No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. |
In the exercise of His will He gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. | He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. |
By this the love of God was revealed in us, that God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him. | God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. |
If anyone thinks himself to be religious, yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless. | If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. |
Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of mankind among them are fully given to do evil. | When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong. |
Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. | Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. |
For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. | 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. |
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus. | You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. |
The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will rejoice over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. | For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. |
In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. | In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents. |
So you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have singled you out from the peoples to be Mine. | You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own. |
The Lord watches over strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, But He thwarts the way of the wicked. | The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. |
See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek what is good for one another and for all people. | See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. |
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. | If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. |
The vine has dried up And the fig tree has withered; The pomegranate, the palm also, and the apple tree, All the trees of the field have dried up. Indeed, joy has dried up From the sons of mankind. | The grapevines have dried up, and the fig trees have withered. The pomegranate trees, palm trees, and apple trees— all the fruit trees—have dried up. And the people’s joy has dried up with them. |
He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. | Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. |
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? | Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. |