| Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. | Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. |
| 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 a spirit from on high is poured out on us, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. |
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| My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. | This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. |
| Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. | Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. |
| As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. | As for you, the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and so you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in him. |
| It is written: ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ | For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” |
| Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. | No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. |
| As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. | Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens the wits of another. |
| For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. | For as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. |
| I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. | I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. |
| For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. | For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. |
| After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” | In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” |
| But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. | But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. |
| Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. | Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field. |
| Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” | Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” |
| For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” | For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” |
| 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. | Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth. |
| Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. | Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. |
| Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. | Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior. |
| I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. | I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. |
| There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called. | There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling. |
| Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. | Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. |
| But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. | But Jesus has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted through better promises. |
| For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. | For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. |
| A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret. | A gossip goes about telling secrets, but one who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a confidence. |
