I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. | I rejoice in following your statutes more than I would rejoice in endless riches. |
Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as enduring as the grave. Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame. | Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is as strong as death, and ardor is as relentless as the netherworld. Its flames are flashes of fire, an unending blaze. |
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He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. | As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. |
For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. | As servants of God, behave as free people, but do not use your freedom as a means to cover up wrongdoing. |
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath! | I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have life. |
“As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning.” | As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit descended upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. |
“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.” | 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. |
You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. | Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. |
When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! | Thereupon the Lord restored the prosperity of Job after he had prayed for his friends, and he enriched him with twice as much as he had possessed before. |
Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. | As much as possible, and to the extent of your ability, live in peace with everyone. |
And forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. | And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. |
For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours. | For to you a thousand years are like a yesterday that has passed or one of the watches of the night. |
A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ | The second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ |
But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. | Therefore, strive to be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. |
As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. | As a deer longs for running streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. |
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. | As sorrowful, and yet we are always rejoicing; as poor, and yet we make many rich; as having nothing, and yet we possess everything. |
I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! | I love the Lord because he has heard my voice and listened to my cry for mercy, because he has inclined his ear to me on the day when I called out to him. |
We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. | Just as he came forth naked from his mother’s womb, so shall he depart, naked as he came, with nothing remaining from his labor that he can carry away in his hands. |
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. | In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. |
For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’” | For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow before me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” |
As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person. | Just as water reflects one’s face, so does one human heart reflect another. |
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. | Hence, be imitators of God, as beloved children. |
Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. | Just as in Adam all die, so all will be brought to life in Christ. |
Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. | Nor should you present any part of your body as an instrument for wickedness leading to sin. Rather, present yourselves to God as having been raised from death to life and the parts of your body to God as instruments for righteousness. |
Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” | “Peace be with you,” Jesus said to them again. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” |