| For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. | For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ |
| Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. | Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. |
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| I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. | I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath! |
| For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. | The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. |
| For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. | That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. |
| That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love. | I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. |
| Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. | So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. |
| Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. | And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. |
| And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. | Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry. |
| Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. | Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. |
| And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. | In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. |
| Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. | Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. |
| Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. | Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. |
| Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving. | Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. |
| Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. | Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. |
| For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. | The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. |
| But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. | But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. |
| Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged 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. |
| For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. | For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. |
| Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? | Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did? |
| If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? | So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. |
| I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. | I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. |
| Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. | Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. |
| But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. | But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. |
| And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. | They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. |
