| Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. | Your laws are my treasure; they are my heart’s delight. |
| I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning 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 fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by 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. |
| For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. | That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant. |
| 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. |
| And this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by 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. |
| As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on 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.” |
| A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret. | A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence. |
| I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. | I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath! |
| Till the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like 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. |
| If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. | Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. |
| But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! | Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living. |
| Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield. | For you bless the godly, O Lord; you surround them with your shield of love. |
| There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just 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. |
| Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. | 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. |
| I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. | I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. |
| Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. | You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. |
| A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. | So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. |
| “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like 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.” |
| I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land. | I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain. |
| But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive 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. |
| And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ | A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ |
| Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. | In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered. |
| After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. | When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! |
| Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children. | Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. |
