| I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. | And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do. |
| Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. | There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. |
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| I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. | I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth. |
| And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. | Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. |
| Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. | Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends. |
| The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. | The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. |
| To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. | All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech. |
| Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. | Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. |
| You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. | For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. |
| And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever. | And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. |
| Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. | “Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. |
| But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. | But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. |
| The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. | The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these. |
| As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart. | As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person. |
| Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. | Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! |
| In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. | In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. |
| Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. | Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes. |
| Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. | Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God. |
| As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. | As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. |
| You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. | I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. |
| The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree— all the trees of the field—are dried up. Surely the people’s joy is withered away. | The grapevines have dried up, and the fig trees have withered. The pomegranate trees, palm trees, and apple trees— all the fruit trees—have dried up. And the people’s joy has dried up with them. |
| He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. | He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. |
| On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” | On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!” |
| And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. | So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. |
| Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? | Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? |
