| Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. | Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. |
| Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. | Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. |
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| A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends. | A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends. |
| Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. | Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. |
| Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce. | Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops. |
| Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends. | Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. |
| I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. | I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. |
| Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. | Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. |
| Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. | Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. |
| See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. | See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. |
| See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. | Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. |
| Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. | But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. |
| But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. | But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. |
| If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. | If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. |
| Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind! | How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you. |
| Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. | Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. |
| For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. | For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. |
| His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. | His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. |
| Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways, for the devious person is an abomination to the Lord, but the upright are in his confidence. | Do not envy the violent or choose any of their ways. For the Lord detests the perverse but takes the upright into his confidence. |
| Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. | Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. |
| Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. | Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. |
| Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. | He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. |
| For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. | For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. |
| For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. | I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. |
