| Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render fair judgments, and show kindness and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor. Do not plot evil in your heart against one another. | This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other. |
| Brethren, we must always give thanks to God for you, and it is only right that we do so. For your faith grows ever more, and the love that all of you have for one another continues to increase. | Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. |
| Above all, maintain the fervor of 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. |
| Let the word of Christ with all its richness dwell in you. Teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God with gratitude in your hearts. | Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. |
| For just as in one body we have many parts, and the parts do not all have the same function, so we, though many, make up one body in Christ, and individually we are all parts of one another. | Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. |
| There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save or to destroy. Who then are you to pass judgment on a neighbor? | God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor? |
| As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the wits of his neighbor. | As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. |
| Do not lie to one another, since you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self that is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. | Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. |
| Therefore, you have no excuse, whoever you may be, when you pass judgment on others. For in judging others you condemn yourself, since you are doing the same things. | You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. |
| Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. | Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. |
| Just as water reflects one’s face, so does one human heart reflect another. | As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person. |
| And now, brethren, farewell. Mend your ways. Encourage one another. Be of one mind and live in peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. | Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. |
| And if one should fall, his companion will help him up. How pathetic is the man who is alone and falls and has no one to assist him to his feet. | If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. |
| Then I came to realize that all toil and skill in work derive from one person’s envy of another. This also is vanity and a chase after the wind. | Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind. |
| Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by mutual consent for a specified time so as to devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan may not tempt you by taking advantage of your lack of self-control. | Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. |
| For the desires of the flesh are opposed to the Spirit, and those of the Spirit are opposed to the flesh. They are in conflict with one another, so that you cannot do what you want. | The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. |
| Lying lips conceal hatred, and anyone who slanders another is a fool. | Hiding hatred makes you a liar; slandering others makes you a fool. |
| So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. | And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. |
| And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and the scrolls were opened. Then another scroll was opened, the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their deeds, as were recorded in the scrolls. The sea gave up all the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them. The dead were judged according to their deeds. | I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. |
| How great you are, Lord God! There is no one like you, and there is no God except you alone, as everything that we have heard confirms. | How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! |
| Make sure that no one pays back evil for evil. Rather, always aim to achieve what is best for each other and for everyone. | See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. |
| If your brother wrongs you, go and take up the matter with him when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. | If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. |
| For since death came into the world through a man, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a man. | So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. |
| No one should seek his own advantage in preference to that of his neighbor. | Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. |
| And the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I wish to make another creature who will be like him.” | Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” |
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