He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. | But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. |
He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. | Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. |
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But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. | Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes. |
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil. | Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. |
A faithful witness does not lie, But a false witness will utter lies. | An honest witness does not lie; a false witness breathes lies. |
Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. | The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife. |
He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend. | Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. |
Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. | Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. |
Surely the Lord God does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. | Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets. |
And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. | If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. |
And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. | And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. |
Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? | I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. |
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. | Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. |
Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. | So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. |
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. | Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. |
Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. | Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. |
He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? | No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. |
Does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. | It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. |
For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have. | Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. |
Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’? | What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’ |
But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? | If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? |
And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” | Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” |
He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He. | He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is! |
But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. | But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers. |
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. | And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. |