| Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. | Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. |
| Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt. | Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. |
| Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. | Stand firm therefore, having belted your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. |
| So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. | Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. |
| Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. | Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. |
| Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. | Just as you do not know the path of the wind, and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes everything. |
| Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. | Your adornment must not be merely the external—braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or putting on apparel; but it should be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. |
| The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces. | The wise of heart will receive commands, But a babbling fool will come to ruin. |
| 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. | As he came naked from his mother’s womb, so he will return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand. |
| But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. | But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, free of hypocrisy. |
| For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. | For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. |
| The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow. | Because in much wisdom there is much grief; and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain. |
| But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! | But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given to You. |
| I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. | As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. |
| Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time! | A person has joy in an apt answer, And how delightful is a timely word! |
| Deceit fills hearts that are plotting evil; joy fills hearts that are planning peace! | Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy. |
| And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! | From the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. |
| So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. | For since by a man death came, by a Man also came the resurrection of the dead. |
| The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing. | The hope of the righteous is gladness, But the expectation of the wicked perishes. |
| Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. | Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not get upset because of one who is successful in his way, Because of the person who carries out wicked schemes. |
| And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord—his name alone will be worshiped. | And the Lord will be King over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one. |
| For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders. The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God. | Realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and worldly, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, homosexuals, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. |
| Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. | Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. |
| 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. | The one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. |
| If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive. | If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him. |
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