| Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. | You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. |
| Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. | Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. |
| Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. | So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. |
| You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. | You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own. |
| Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. | Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. |
| For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. | You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. |
| And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) | “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.) |
| For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. | For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. |
| For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. | Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. |
| Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! | What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. |
| For the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good. | Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol. They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over. Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good. |
| Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. | So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you. |
| Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. | So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. |
| And I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts. | I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments. |
| Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. | Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. |
| You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. | You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. |
| For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. | For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. |
| Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. | We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. |
| No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. | No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. |
| Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! | Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. |
| Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. | So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. |
| Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. | Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. |
| Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. | So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom. |
| I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. | I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High. |
| Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of 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. |
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