| 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. | I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep an eye on those who cause dissensions and offenses, in opposition to the teaching that you have learned; avoid them. |
| Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. | Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. |
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| 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. | Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I put my trust. Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. |
| Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. | Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. |
| Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved. | Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved. |
| Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. | Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. |
| And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. | I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. |
| But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” | But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” |
| Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. | Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. |
| 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. | I will make them and the region around my hill a blessing; and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. |
| 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. | Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday. |
| 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. | For they said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, indulging their own ungodly lusts.” It is these worldly people, devoid of the Spirit, who are causing divisions. |
| For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. | For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. |
| 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. | Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another. |
| The lips of fools bring them strife, and their mouths invite a beating. | A fool's lips bring strife, and a fool's mouth invites a flogging. |
| ‘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.’ | Return, faithless Israel, says the Lord. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, says the Lord; I will not be angry forever. |
| “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. | If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. |
| 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. | But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. |
| 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. | For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever. |
| Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. | It is well with those who deal generously and lend, who conduct their affairs with justice. |
| The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. | The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who begets a wise son will be glad in him. |
| Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. | Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. |
| This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. | For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, busy with this very thing. |
| Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. | So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. |
| See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. | Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. |
