So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul; If you have found it, there is a prospect, And your hope will not be cut off. | In much the same manner will wisdom be sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a future, and your hope will not be cut off. |
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. | The face of the Lord is turned against those who do evil, to erase all memory of them from the earth. |
|
For the Lord loves justice, And does not forsake His saints; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. | For the Lord loves the just, and he will not forsake his faithful ones. Those who follow evil paths will be destroyed, and the children of the wicked will be cut off. |
Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. | I will establish my covenant with you: never again will all living creatures be cut off by the waters of a flood, nor will the earth be laid waste by a flood again. |
Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. | Even though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, even though the olive crop will fail and the orchards will yield no food, even though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, I will continue to rejoice in the Lord, and exult in the God of my salvation. |
You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. | Those of you who seek to be justified by the Law have cut yourselves off from Christ and have fallen away from grace. |
For the customs of the peoples are futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple. They are upright, like a palm tree, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, For they cannot do evil, Nor can they do any good. | For the carved images of the nations are powerless; they are nothing more than wood cut from a forest, fashioned with a knife by craftsmen and embellished with silver and gold. Then they are fastened with hammers and nails to prevent them from toppling. Like scarecrows in a cucumber field they are unable to speak, and they must be carried from place to place since they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they can do no harm, nor do they have any power to do good. |
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. | Bless those who persecute you; bless them and do not curse them. |
Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. | Indeed, persecution will afflict all who want to lead a godly life in Christ Jesus. |
And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ | I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ |
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. | Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. |
My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, And from those who persecute me. | My life is in your hands; deliver me from the power of my enemies, from the clutches of those who pursue me. |
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. | 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. |
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? | Who then can separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword? |
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. | Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and utter all kinds of calumnies against you for my sake. |
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. | For this reason, I rejoice when I endure weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and distress for the sake of Christ. For it is when I am weak that I am strong. |
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. | Indeed, the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any two-edged sword, it pierces to the point where it divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. |
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. | But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. |
Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. | Because the sentence for committing an evil act is not carried out quickly, people’s hearts are prone to act wickedly. |
So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.” | Jesus answered, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive in this age a hundred times more houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and lands—as well as persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.” |
Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.’ | Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render fair judgments, and show kindness and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor. Do not plot evil in your heart against one another. |
For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. | However, if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you are upright in your dealings with your neighbor; if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow; if you do not shed innocent blood in this place; and if you do not follow other gods and thereby cause your own destruction, then I will allow you to live in this place, in the land that I gave as a permanent gift to your fathers long ago. |