| Listen, my son, and take my words to heart, and the years of your life will be multiplied. | Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. |
| And the good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the entire world as a testimony offered to all the nations. And then the end will come. | And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. |
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| And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a sacrificial offering whose fragrance is pleasing to God. | And walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. |
| All this took place in order to fulfill what the Lord had announced through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” a name that means “God is with us.” | All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). |
| The wealth of a rich man is his stronghold; he regards it as a high wall that cannot be scaled. | The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale. |
| Therefore, brethren, I implore you by the mercies of God to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and acceptable to God—a spiritual act of worship. | Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. |
| He answered, “Because you have such little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith as tiny as a mustard seed, you will be able to say to this mountain: ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” | He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” |
| For to you a thousand years are like a yesterday that has passed or one of the watches of the night. | A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. |
| Bear with one another, and forgive one another if anyone has reason to be offended with another. You must forgive just as the Lord has forgiven you. | Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. |
| If he refuses to listen to them, report it to the Church. And if he refuses to listen to the Church, treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. | If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. |
| But do not ignore this one fact, beloved: with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. | But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. |
| You shall not oppress the widow or the orphan. If you mistreat them and they cry out to me for help, I will surely hear their cry, and my fury will burn and I will put you to death by the sword. Your wives will be widows and your children will be orphans. | Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless. |
| My son, concentrate attentively on my words; pay heed to the instructions I pass on to you. Do not let them slip from your mind; keep them forever in your heart. | My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart. |
| Hear my prayer, O Lord; do not be deaf to my cry or ignore my weeping. For I am a wayfarer before you, a nomad like all my ancestors. | Hear my prayer, Lord, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were. |
| Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. | Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. |
| Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. | Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! |
| My son, do not forget my teaching, but cherish my commandments in your heart, for they will bring you length of days, more years of life, and an abundance of prosperity. | My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. |
| With his feathers he will shelter you, and you will take refuge under his wings; his faithfulness serves as a protective shield. | He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. |
| I rejoice in the Lord with all my heart; my soul exults in my God. For he has clothed me in garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of saving justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a garland or a bride bedecked with her jewels. | I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. |
| Observe your father’s command, my son, and do not reject your mother’s teaching. | My son, keep your father’s command and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. |
| For everyone born of God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. | For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. |
| Everyone who sins comes from the devil, for the devil has been a sinner from the very beginning. The Son of God appeared for this very purpose: to destroy the work of the devil. | The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. |
| A highway will be there that will be called the Way of Holiness. No one who is unclean may pass over it; it will serve as a path for pilgrims and no fool will be able to use it. | And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. |
| Your statutes are my everlasting heritage; they are the very joy of my heart. | Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. |
| Just as water reflects one’s face, so does one human heart reflect another. | As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart. |
