| I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. | Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. |
| But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. | But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. |
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| And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. | And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.” |
| Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. | For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. |
| And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. | The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. |
| Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets. | Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers! |
| And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. | They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. |
| Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. | Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. |
| For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. | This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. |
| And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house. | I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. |
| Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. | Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. |
| Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles. | But God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen— that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike. |
| Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. | Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. |
| Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? | Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did? |
| I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. | Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. |
| He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. | He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. |
| Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. | So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall. |
| For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. | For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. |
| Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. | After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.” |
| I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments. | I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands. |
| But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. | But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. |
| Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. | Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham. |
| Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. | He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. |
| But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. | Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” |
| O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! | Oh, that they would always have hearts like this, that they might fear me and obey all my commands! If they did, they and their descendants would prosper forever. |
