| After he had decided to follow this course of action, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to receive Mary into your home as your wife. For this child has been conceived in her womb through the Holy Spirit.” | But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” |
| Before the mountains were brought forth or the earth and the world came into existence, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. | Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. |
| Thus you could understand that the Lord, your God, was disciplining you, just like a father disciplines his son. | Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. |
| All this took place in order to fulfill what the Lord had announced through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” a name that means “God is with us.” | All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). |
| Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. | Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! |
| My son, do not ignore the Lord’s discipline or refuse to accept his rebuke. For the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, just as a father chastises a beloved son. | My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. |
| You shall not oppress the widow or the orphan. If you mistreat them and they cry out to me for help, I will surely hear their cry, and my fury will burn and I will put you to death by the sword. Your wives will be widows and your children will be orphans. | Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless. |
| My son, concentrate attentively on my words; pay heed to the instructions I pass on to you. Do not let them slip from your mind; keep them forever in your heart. | My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart. |
| Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy he has given us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. | Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. |
| My son, do not forget my teaching, but cherish my commandments in your heart, for they will bring you length of days, more years of life, and an abundance of prosperity. | My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. |
| Observe your father’s command, my son, and do not reject your mother’s teaching. | My son, keep your father’s command and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. |
| No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, who has made him known. | No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. |
| The heavens were made by the word of the Lord, and all their host by the breath of his mouth. | By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. |
| Who among you is wise and understanding? Prove by your good life that your works are done with the humility that comes from wisdom. | Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. |
| God’s love was revealed to us in this way: God sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might have life through him. | This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. |
| For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may attain eternal life. | For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. |
| Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe in him already stands condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. | Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. |
| Everyone who sins comes from the devil, for the devil has been a sinner from the very beginning. The Son of God appeared for this very purpose: to destroy the work of the devil. | The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. |
| Just as he came forth naked from his mother’s womb, so shall he depart, naked as he came, with nothing remaining from his labor that he can carry away in his hands. | Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. |
| And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. | The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. |
| They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my own special possession on the day when I act, and I will have compassion on them as a father has compassion on the son who serves him. | “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.” |
| Blessed is the one whose offense is forgiven, whose sin is erased. | Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. |
| For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver. The Lord is our king; he is the one who will save us. | For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us. |
| Now this Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. | Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. |
| For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. | For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. |
Bible verse of the day
Preferable is the little that the righteous possessthan the great wealth of the wicked.
For the power of the wicked will be overcome,
but the Lord protects the righteous.