Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? | Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet? |
I can do all this through him who gives me strength. | For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. |
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The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? | The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? |
A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. | Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies. |
So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” | So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” |
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? | What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? |
In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? | I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? |
How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. | How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word. |
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” | “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” |
Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have. | Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did? |
“Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord. | “Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord. |
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. | Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. |
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. | I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. |
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. | No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. |
Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. | Those who love your instructions have great peace and do not stumble. |
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” | The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve. |
Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. | Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins. |
For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. | After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. |
Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. | If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? |
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. | Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. |
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? | Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? |
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. | A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. |
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. | Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. |
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” | Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” |
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” | Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.” |