| I will walk in liberty, for I have sought your precepts. | I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments. |
| Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober, and set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. | So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. |
| No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us. | No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. |
| Hear my prayer, Yahweh, and give ear to my cry. Don’t be silent at my tears. For I am a stranger with you, a foreigner, as all my fathers were. | Hear my prayer, O Lord! Listen to my cries for help! Don’t ignore my tears. For I am your guest— a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me. |
| When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out in the army, neither shall he be assigned any business. He shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer his wife whom he has taken. | A newly married man must not be drafted into the army or be given any other official responsibilities. He must be free to spend one year at home, bringing happiness to the wife he has married. |
| Looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. | We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. |
| Every day, in the temple and at home, they never stopped teaching and preaching Jesus, the Christ. | And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.” |
| But I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. | But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. |
| Joy comes to a man with the reply of his mouth. How good is a word at the right time! | Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time! |
| Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth. | Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. |
| You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery;’ but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. | You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. |
| A fool shows his annoyance the same day, but one who overlooks an insult is prudent. | A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted. |
| With all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints. | Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. |
| Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come. | You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. |
| You shall not take advantage of any widow or fatherless child. If you take advantage of them at all, and they cry at all to me, I will surely hear their cry; and my wrath will grow hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. | You must not exploit a widow or an orphan. If you exploit them in any way and they cry out to me, then I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will blaze against you, and I will kill you with the sword. Then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless. |
| You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forever more. | You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. |
| But the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer. | The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. |
| Or do you think that I couldn’t ask my Father, and he would even now send me more than twelve legions of angels? | Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? |
| See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they? | Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? |
| But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. | Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. |
| Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. | So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. |
| Yahweh will command his loving kindness in the daytime. In the night his song shall be with me: a prayer to the God of my life. | But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life. |
| His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, who, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. | The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. |
| Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? | And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? |
| In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom. He cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue! For I am in anguish in this flame.’ | And he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side. The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’ |
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