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. |
I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like a mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. | I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free. |
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For all have sinned and thereby are deprived of the glory of God, and all are justified by the gift of his grace that is given freely through the redemption in Christ Jesus. | For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. |
I, the Lord, am your God. You must obey my laws and be careful to observe my ordinances. Keep holy my Sabbaths as a sign between me and you so that you will know that I am the Lord, your God. | ‘I am the Lord your God,’ I told them. ‘Follow my decrees, pay attention to my regulations, and keep my Sabbath days holy, for they are a sign to remind you that I am the Lord your God.’ |
This water prefigured Baptism, which now saves you. It does so not by the washing away of dirt from the body but by the pledge of a good conscience given to God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. | And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. |
The Lord God is my strength; he makes my feet as swift as those of a deer and enables me to tread on the heights. | The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. |
Until a spirit from on high is poured out upon us, and the wilderness becomes an orchard and the fruitful field becomes a forest. | Until at last the Spirit is poured out on us from heaven. Then the wilderness will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops. |
As a result, you are no longer strangers and foreigners. Rather, you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. | So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. |
Rather, let justice flow like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. | Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living. |
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. | He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. |
One who gossips reveals secrets, but a trustworthy man keeps things hidden. | A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence. |
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit descended upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. | “As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning.” |
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have life. | I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath! |
I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah | I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain. |
As much as possible, and to the extent of your ability, live in peace with everyone. | Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. |
Therefore, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God, since those who enter into God’s rest also cease from their own labors as God did from his. | So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. |
Come now and let us discuss this, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow. Though they are as red as crimson, they shall become as white as wool. | “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.” |
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. | You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. |
Make every effort to present yourself before God as one who is worthy of his approval, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, but who imparts the word of truth without any alteration. | Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. |
As sorrowful, and yet we are always rejoicing; as poor, and yet we make many rich; as having nothing, and yet we possess everything. | Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. |
But for that very reason I was treated mercifully, so that in me Jesus Christ might exhibit his inexhaustible patience, making me an example for those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. | But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. |
I rejoice in following your statutes more than I would rejoice in endless riches. | I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. |
As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the wits of his neighbor. | As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. |
Truly, you bless the righteous, O Lord; you surround them with your goodwill as with a shield. | For you bless the godly, O Lord; you surround them with your shield of love. |
The body is one, although it has many parts; and all the parts, though many, form one body. So it is with Christ. | The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. |