| The whispers of a gossiper are tasty morsels that corrode one’s inner being. | The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts. |
| Keep alert; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. | Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. |
| The father of a good man will rejoice; he who begets a wise son will delight in him. | The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. |
| Like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may advance on the path to salvation. | Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. |
| The wealth of a rich man is his stronghold; he regards it as a high wall that cannot be scaled. | The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale. |
| I, I alone, am the one who comforts you. Why then do you fear mortal men who must die, human beings who must perish like grass? | I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass. |
| What god can compare with you, the God who takes away guilt and forgives the transgressions of the remnant of your people? You will not allow your anger to fester forever, for your delight is in bestowing mercy. | Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. |
| A cheerful heart is excellent medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. | A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. |
| The tongue of the just man is like pure silver; the heart of the wicked is without worth. | The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value. |
| Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts in accordance with them will be like a wise man who constructed his house on a rock foundation. | Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. |
| The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. | The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. |
| After John had baptized all the people, and while Jesus was engaged in prayer after also having been baptized, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.” | When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” |
| The brother who is in modest circumstances should take pride in being raised up. Likewise, the one who is rich should glory in being brought low, for he will disappear like a flower of the field. | Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. |
| Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the prophets of that time proclaimed. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Forsake your evil ways and your evil deeds. But they refused to listen or to pay attention to me, says the Lord. | Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. |
| Those who place their hope in the Lord will regain their strength. They will soar as with eagles’ wings, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not become faint. | But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. |
| However, the gift is not like the transgression. For if the transgression of one man led to the death of the many, how much greater was the overflowing effect of the grace of God and the gift of the one man Jesus Christ that has abounded for the many. | But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! |
| Whenever you fast, do not assume a gloomy expression like the hypocrites who contort their faces so that others may realize that they are fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. | When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. |
| Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you previously, that no one who does such things will inherit the kingdom of God. | The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. |
| For you are aware that you were ransomed from your futile way of life inherited from your ancestors not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. | For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. |
| Hear my prayer, O Lord; do not be deaf to my cry or ignore my weeping. For I am a wayfarer before you, a nomad like all my ancestors. | Hear my prayer, Lord, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were. |
| For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall also be united with him in his resurrection. We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be destroyed and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. | For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. |
| It is the will of God that you should lead a life of sanctity. You must refrain from sexual immorality. Each of you must learn to acquire a wife from pure and honorable motives, not to gratify passion like the Gentiles who do not know God. | It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God. |
| I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch that does not bear fruit, and every branch that does he prunes to make it bear even more. | I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. |
| The Lord God said, “Behold, man has become like one of us, for he has knowledge of that which is good and that which is evil. Now, we must prevent him from reaching out and taking the fruit of the tree of life lest he eat it and live forever.” The Lord God cast him out of the Garden of Eden; henceforth he was to labor tilling the soil from which he had come. | And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. |
| In everything, deal with others as you would like them to deal with you. This is the Law and the Prophets. | So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. |
Bible verse of the day
An honorable name is more to be desired than great riches,and high esteem is preferable to silver and gold.