| The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. | 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. |
| But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” | As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.” |
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| If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. | If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you the seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops, and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. |
| Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? | I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. |
| But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. | But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. |
| By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. | This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. |
| The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. | May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. |
| For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. | For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. |
| For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” | So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” |
| When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” | One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” |
| For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. | No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. |
| For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. | For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. |
| For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. | Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. |
| For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. | Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. |
| For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. | Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. |
| And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. | Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. |
| Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. | Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. |
| Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. | Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. |
| By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. | And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. |
| There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling. | For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. |
| Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? | Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? |
| And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last. | Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last. |
| But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” | But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” |
| A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit. | Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. |
| Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. | Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years. |
