Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. | Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God. |
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. | All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). |
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Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. | Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good. |
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). | All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” |
Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. | Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. |
My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. | My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. |
And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. | And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. |
My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. | My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart. |
But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” | As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.” |
My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. | My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying. |
My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching. | My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. |
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. | No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. |
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. | The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. |
Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. | If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. |
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. | God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. |
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. | There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. |
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. | For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. |
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. | But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. |
As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. | We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. |
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. | So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. |
They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. | “They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child.” |
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. | Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! |
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. | For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. |
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. | For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. |
For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; he will save us. | For the Lord is our judge, our lawgiver, and our king. He will care for us and save us. |