| Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. | There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. |
| Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. | Don’t long for “the good old days.” This is not wise. |
| You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. | You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. |
| Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. | Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. |
| “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. | You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. |
| And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. | 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. |
| Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. | Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” |
| Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed 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. |
| Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring 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. |
| When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. | When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. |
| Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. | And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil. |
| Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. | Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. |
| I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by my name. | The Lord says, “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help. I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’ to a nation that did not call on my name.” |
| You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. | 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. |
| I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments. | I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands. |
| I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. | I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent. |
| “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. | You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. |
| A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies. | An honest witness does not lie; a false witness breathes lies. |
| Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. | Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. |
| So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.” | So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me.” |
| For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, 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. |
| He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? | Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? |
| For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. | Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. |
| Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. | 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. |
| What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! | Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! |
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