| My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart. | My son, concentrate attentively on my words; pay heed to the instructions I pass on to you. Do not let them slip from your mind; keep them forever in your heart. |
| The words of the godly are like sterling silver; the heart of a fool is worthless. | The tongue of the just man is like pure silver; the heart of the wicked is without worth. |
| And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law. | And ‘to love him with all your heart, and with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself,’ is worth more than any burnt offerings and sacrifices. |
| Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. | Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a resolute spirit within me. |
| As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person. | Just as water reflects one’s face, so does one human heart reflect another. |
| Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began! | Father, allow those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they may behold my glory, which you have bestowed on me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. |
| Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. | Teach me your ways, O Lord, so that I may walk in your truth; let me worship your name with an undivided heart. |
| O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. | O Lord, you have examined me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I stand; you perceive my thoughts from a distance. |
| The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living. | The precepts of the Lord are right, causing the heart to rejoice. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving light to the eyes. |
| A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. | A cheerful heart is excellent medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. |
| So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! | Go forth, then. Eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God long ago approved what you do. |
| God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. | Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God. |
| My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying. | My son, do not forget my teaching, but cherish my commandments in your heart, for they will bring you length of days, more years of life, and an abundance of prosperity. |
| Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! | Dispose my heart to follow your statutes and to flee selfish gain. |
| Your laws are my treasure; they are my heart’s delight. | Your statutes are my everlasting heritage; they are the very joy of my heart. |
| Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment. | Like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may advance on the path to salvation. |
| You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. | You want something that you cannot have, so you commit murder. And you covet something but cannot obtain it, so you engage in quarrels and fights. You do not have because you do not ask. |
| Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light. | Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. |
| “Listen to me and make up your minds to honor my name,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “or I will bring a terrible curse against you. I will curse even the blessings you receive. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you have not taken my warning to heart.” | If you refuse to listen to me and do not sincerely resolve to give glory to my name, says the Lord of hosts, I will send a curse on you, and I will turn your blessings into a curse. Indeed, I have already done so because you have not heeded my warning. |
| I have tried hard to find you— don’t let me wander from your commands. | I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your precepts. |
| The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve. | The heart is more deceitful than any other thing, and it is also perverse. Who can uncover its secrets? I, the Lord, search the heart and probe the mind to reward all according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve. |
| But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! | If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you may ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. |
| Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. | Wash yourselves and become clean; remove your evil deeds far from my sight. Cease to do evil. |
| Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. | Bless the Lord, O my soul; my entire being, bless his holy name. |
| Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. | Take delight in the Lord, and he will grant you what your heart desires. |
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