| His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. Since you have been faithful in small matters, I will give you much greater responsibilities. Come and share your master’s joy.’ | The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ |
| Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace when we are in need of help. | So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. |
| It was for this purpose that he called you through our gospel so that you might come to share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. | He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
| All I want is to come to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and to share in his sufferings by becoming conformed to his death. | I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death. |
| You intended to do evil to me, but God decided to make it serve a good, to fulfill that which today has come true: to keep alive a numerous people. | You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. |
| When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. | But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. |
| But for that very reason I was treated mercifully, so that in me Jesus Christ might exhibit his inexhaustible patience, making me an example for those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. | But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. |
| From that day forward Jesus began to proclaim the message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” | From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” |
| I am now about to go the way of all upon the earth. You know very well in your hearts and your souls that not one of the good things that the Lord, your God, promised you has failed to take place. Every promise has been fulfilled, not one of them has been broken. | Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed! |
| The hope of the righteous brings them joy, but the expectations of the wicked are frustrated. | The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing. |
| You might say to yourself, “How can we know that the Lord did not speak the message?” If what the prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord is not true and it does not happen, then the message was not proclaimed by the Lord. The prophet has spoken presumptuously, you should not fear him. | But you may wonder, ‘How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord?’ If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared. |
| He who guards his mouth makes his life secure, but one who talks excessively ensures his own downfall. | Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything. |
| For we will become partners with Christ only if we maintain firmly until the end the confidence we originally had. | For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. |
| I will make them and the region surrounding my hill a blessing, and I will send them rain in due season that will be showers of blessing. | I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing. |
| When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all assembled together in one place. Suddenly, there came from heaven a sound similar to that of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were sitting. | On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. |
| Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and undefiled is this: to come to the aid of orphans and widows in their hardships and to keep oneself untarnished by the world. | Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. |
| Let no foul word ever pass your lips. Say only what is useful for edification, so that your words may benefit your listeners. | Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. |
| Consequently, anyone united to Christ is a new creation. The old order has passed away. Behold, all has become new. | This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! |
| I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love so that they may grow rich in their complete understanding as they come to the knowledge of the mystery of God, that is, Christ. | I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. |
| However, whoever lives by the truth comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been done in God. | But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants. |
| When things are going well, be grateful for your blessings, and in times of adversity consider this: God has made both of them, so that we cannot predict with confidence what the future holds. | Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life. |
| Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. | Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge. |
| By these he has given us his precious promises, great beyond all price, so that through them you may escape from the corruption with which evil desires have infected the world and thereby may come to share in the divine nature. | And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. |
| Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be accomplished for him. | I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. |
| Then I came to realize that all toil and skill in work derive from one person’s envy of another. This also is vanity and a chase after the wind. | Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind. |
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Bible verse of the day
A fool spurns his father’s correction,but whoever heeds admonition is prudent.