| Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. | Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He was made visible in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed to the Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory. |
| This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. | This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, about whose coming you have been told, and that it is already in the world. |
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| You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. | O God, you are my God, for whom I have been searching earnestly. My soul yearns for you and my body thirsts for you, like the earth when it is parched, arid and without water. |
| Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. | Whatever moves and has life will be used for your food. I give you all these things, just as I have already given you every green plant. Only do not eat flesh along with its life, that is, with its blood. |
| The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. | Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you previously, that no one who does such things will inherit the kingdom of God. |
| Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. | Do not pride yourself on your own wisdom; fear the Lord and turn your back on evil. This will provide healing for your flesh and restore strength to your body. |
| I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. | And now it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. The life I live now in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. |
| I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth. | I will establish my covenant with you: never again will all living creatures be cut off by the waters of a flood, nor will the earth be laid waste by a flood again. |
| I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. | I am pulled in opposite directions. My desire is to depart and to be with Christ, for that is far better, but, it is a more urgent need for you that I remain in the body. |
| Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. | Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from anything that can defile flesh or spirit, and thereby make our holiness perfect in the fear of God. |
| Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. | For no one can be regarded as justified in the sight of God by keeping the Law. The Law brings only the consciousness of sin. |
| So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless. | Banish grief from your heart and ignore the sufferings of your body, for youth and the prime of life are fleeting. |
| And this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. | This water prefigured Baptism, which now saves you. It does so not by the washing away of dirt from the body but by the pledge of a good conscience given to God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. |
| God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. | God chose those in the world who were lowly and despised, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who were regarded as worthy, so that no one could boast in the presence of God. |
| Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. | Hence, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. |
| We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. | We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet we know that a man is justified not by the works of the Law but through faith in Jesus Christ. So we too came to believe in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by faith in him and not by the works of the Law, for no one will be justified by the works of the Law. |
| I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over. | I refrained from eating any choice food, abstaining from consuming meat or wine, and I did not anoint myself until those three weeks had passed. |
