Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. | Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. |
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. | For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. |
|
The Lord will battle for you. Be calm! | The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm. |
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. | If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. |
Make sure that no one pays back evil for evil. Rather, always aim to achieve what is best for each other and for everyone. | See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. |
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. | Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light. |
For it has been granted you not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him. | For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. |
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the sake of the gospel will save it. | If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. |
But as for me, I will look to the Lord. I place my hope in God my savior; my God will hear me. | As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me. |
May the Lord cause your love to increase and overflow for one another and for everyone else, just as our love does for you. | And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. |
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God. | God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. |
Our temporary light afflictions are preparing for us an incomparable weight of eternal glory. | For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! |
He gave himself for us in order to deliver us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people as his own who are eager to do good. | 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. |
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. | God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. |
This is how we know what love is: he laid down his life for us, and we in turn must be prepared to lay down our lives for our brethren. | We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. |
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. | O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. |
I do not set aside the grace of God, for if justification comes through the Law, then Christ died for nothing. | I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die. |
Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. | God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. |
You are truly my rock and my fortress; for the sake of your name, lead and guide me. | You are my rock and my fortress. For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger. |
So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own. | So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. |
Jesus looked at them and said, “For men it is impossible, but not for God. For God all things are possible.” | Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” |
We know that God makes all things work together for good for those who love him and who are called according to his purpose. | And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. |
For the Son of Man has come to seek out and to save what was lost. | For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. |
That is why you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, and they devote themselves to this service. | Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. |
At dawn let me experience your kindness, for in you I place my trust. Show me the path I must walk, for to you I lift up my soul. | Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. |