In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short. | Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off. |
But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth. | The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. |
|
For the Lord loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly. He will keep them safe forever, but the children of the wicked will die. | For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. |
For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. | You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. |
Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth. | I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. |
Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! | Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. |
Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol. They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over. Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good. | For the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good. |
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. | For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. |
I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. | 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 does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. |
But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! | But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. |
I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ | And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ |
Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. | Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. |
Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. | Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. |
God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. | Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. |
That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. | For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. |
God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. | Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. |
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? | Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? |
“Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.” | Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will 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.” |