| Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. | 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. |
| Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! | Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. |
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| Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish. | Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish. |
| Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life, but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die. | Whoever keeps the commandment keeps his life; he who despises his ways will die. |
| I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. | 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. |
| I will strengthen Judah and save the tribes of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them. | I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them. |
| For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. | For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. |
| I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes. | And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. |
| So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. | Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. |
| “No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord. | No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord. |
| Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. | Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. |
| The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. | The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. |
| Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. | If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. |
| For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. | For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. |
| Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. | Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. |
| If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them. | If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him. |
| Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. | As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. |
| My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ. | That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ. |
| ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ | For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ |
| But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth. | The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. |
| A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. | Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart. |
| The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale. | A rich man's wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his imagination. |
| Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” | Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” |
| So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. | So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. |
| What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? | For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? |
