Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. | Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil. |
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 deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” |
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The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness. | The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. |
In that wonderful day you will sing: “Thank the Lord! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is!” | And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.” |
Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. | Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! |
But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice; only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols. Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever. | For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever. |
Don’t be like your ancestors who would not listen or pay attention when the earlier prophets said to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Turn from your evil ways, and stop all your evil practices.’ | Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. |
Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. | Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. |
Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. | Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. |
I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart. | I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. |
So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. | Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. |
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. |
But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants. | But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. |
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. | But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. |
For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. | For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. |
But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. | But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. |
So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. | And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. |
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. | And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. |
If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. | Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. |
He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. | Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. |
The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. | Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. |
Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. | What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. |
But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. | But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. |
But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. | But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. |
Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. | Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. |