| Those who live according to the flesh can never be pleasing to God. | That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. |
| Great is the Lord and worthy of the highest praise; no one can even begin to comprehend his greatness. | Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness. |
| It is honorable to avoid strife, but every fool is quarrelsome. | Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling. |
| No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. | There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. |
| You can eat any water creature that has fins and scales; those you can eat. Whatever does not have fins or scales, you are not to eat. It is unclean for you. | Of all the marine animals, you may eat whatever has both fins and scales. You may not, however, eat marine animals that do not have both fins and scales. They are ceremonially unclean for you. |
| In peace I lie down and sleep, for only with your help, O Lord, can I rest secure. | In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe. |
| Some friends can lead us to ruin, but a true friend is closer than a brother. | There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother. |
| You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, what can be done to make it salty once again? It is no longer good for anything, and thus it is cast out and trampled underfoot. | You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. |
| This saying can be trusted: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him. | This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. |
| For the entire Law can be summed up in a single commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” | For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” |
| In that way, I can come to you in joy, if God so wills, and be refreshed together with you. | Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other. |
| If anyone is rich in worldly possessions and sees a brother in need but refuses to open his heart, how can the love of God abide in him? | If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? |
| Do not associate with unbelievers. For what basis can there be for a partnership between righteousness and lawlessness? What do light and darkness have in common? | Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? |
| What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his very life? Or what can he give in exchange for his life? | And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? |
| I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will ever snatch them from my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one. | I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one. |
| When things are going well, be grateful for your blessings, and in times of adversity consider this: God has made both of them, so that we cannot predict with confidence what the future holds. | Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life. |
| For no one can be regarded as justified in the sight of God by keeping the Law. The Law brings only the consciousness 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 our eyes are fixed not on what is seen but rather on that which cannot be seen. What is visible is transitory; what is invisible is eternal. | So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. |
| For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith. This has not come from you but from the gift of God. It does not come from works, so that no one can boast. | God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. |
| And thus we can have confidence in him that if we ask anything that is in accordance with his will, he hears us. | And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. |
| For much wisdom can result in much sorrow, and those who increase their knowledge also increase their grief. | The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow. |
| This is how we can be certain that we abide in him and that he abides in us: he has given us a share in his Spirit. | And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. |
| There is no salvation in anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to men by which we can be saved. | There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. |
| Every good act of giving and every perfect gift are from above, coming down from the Father of all light. With him there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. | Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. |
| No trial has confronted you except what a person can stand. God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tried beyond your strength. But together with the trial he will also provide a way out and the strength to bear it. | The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. |
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