| And whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. | If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. |
| Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” | Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” |
| Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” | Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.” |
| Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. | For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. |
| For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. | In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. |
| Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. | Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. |
| He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account. | He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. |
| For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. | For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. |
| And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. | If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. |
| And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” | Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” |
| He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” | He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” |
| Likewise all to whom God gives wealth and possessions and whom he enables to enjoy them, and to accept their lot and find enjoyment in their toil—this is the gift of God. | And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. |
| And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name. | What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord. |
| Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. | Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. |
| They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” | They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” |
| For “Those who desire life and desire to see good days, let them keep their tongues from evil and their lips from speaking deceit; let them turn away from evil and do good; let them seek peace and pursue it.” | For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.” |
| My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. | My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. |
| This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble. | In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles. |
| And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. | And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. |
| While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” | As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” |
| Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. | Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. |
| O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! | Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! |
| The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. | The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. |
| The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. | The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. |
| And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. | Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. |
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