Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. | Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. |
It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. | Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling. |
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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. |
I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. | And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. |
But test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. | But test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil. |
Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. | Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. |
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. | A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. |
Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. | Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. |
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. | Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. |
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. | Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! |
Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. | Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil. |
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. | Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. |
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. | And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. |
Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. | See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. |
Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy. | Deceit fills hearts that are plotting evil; joy fills hearts that are planning peace! |
All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. | Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one. |
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. | But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. |
For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it.” | For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.” |
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. | I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. |
Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. | Don’t be like your ancestors who would not listen or pay attention when the earlier prophets said to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Turn from your evil ways, and stop all your evil practices.’ |
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth. | But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth. |
Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. | Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live! Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed. |
But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. | But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. |
Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. | You who love the Lord, hate evil! He protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked. |
When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong. | When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong. |