| I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? | I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? |
| “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. | You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. |
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| This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. | And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. |
| All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. | Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one. |
| And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. | But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. |
| “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. | You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. |
| You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. | You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor. |
| 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. | I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. |
| Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. | You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy. |
| For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. | For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. |
| Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. | Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. |
| When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future. | Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life. |
| You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. | You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. |
| Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. | And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. |
| Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. | Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. |
| Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. | Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. |
| Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned. | But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned. |
| For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. | And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
| For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. | For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. |
| Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. | Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. |
| Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and scales. But anything that does not have fins and scales you may not eat; for you it is unclean. | Of all the marine animals, you may eat whatever has both fins and scales. You may not, however, eat marine animals that do not have both fins and scales. They are ceremonially unclean for you. |
| He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. | For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. |
| May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. | As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. |
| For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. | After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. |
| Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you. | Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you. |
