| And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. | And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. |
| I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. | I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. |
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| Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. | Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. |
| Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. | Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. |
| Restore us, O Lord God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved! | Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved. |
| Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. | Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. |
| They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. | They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. |
| Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. | Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. |
| And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. | I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. |
| Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. | Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. |
| Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. | For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. |
| Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. | Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. |
| A fool's lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating. | The lips of fools bring them strife, and their mouths invite a beating. |
| Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the Lord; I will not be angry forever. | ‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am faithful,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will not be angry forever.’ |
| Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. | Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. |
| But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. | But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. |
| For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever. | If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. |
| It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice. | Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. |
| The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. | The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. |
| Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. | Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. |
| And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” | But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” |
| For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. | This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. |
| So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. | Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. |
| Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. | See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. |
| Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. | Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions. |
