| My child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days and years of life and abundant welfare they will give you. | 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. |
| Just as you do not know how the breath comes to the bones in the mother's womb, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything. | As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. |
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| They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my special possession on the day when I act, and I will spare them as parents spare their children who serve them. | “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.” |
| Just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. | Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. |
| Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. | Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. |
| If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and 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. |
| All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which 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”). |
| For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. | For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. |
| I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual 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. |
| I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself 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. |
| For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night. | A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. |
| But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that 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. |
| And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. | 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. |
| You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry; my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children 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. |
| And live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice 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. |
| 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.” | 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.” |
| 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. |
| Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears. For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears. | 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. |
| Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. | 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. |
| He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and 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 whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. | For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. |
| The wealth of the rich is their strong city; in their imagination it is like a high wall. | The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale. |
| Your decrees are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. | Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. |
| Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of 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! |
| Just as water reflects the face, so one human heart reflects another. | As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart. |
