| Honor your father and your mother so that your days may be lengthened in the land that the Lord your God, will give you. | Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. |
| When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud of heart and quickly forgot me. | But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me. |
| No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is made complete in us. | No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. |
| Yet even so, because of your great compassion, you did not completely destroy them, nor did you forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. | But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are! |
| For it is in him that the entire fullness of deity dwells in bodily form, and you share this fullness in him who is the head of every ruler and power. | For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. |
| Like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may advance on the path to salvation. | Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment. |
| And now, dear children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him at his coming. | And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. |
| May the Lord guide your hearts to the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ. | May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ. |
| And now, brethren, farewell. Mend your ways. Encourage one another. Be of one mind and live in peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. | Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. |
| The entire community of believers was united in heart and soul. No one claimed any of his possessions as his own, for everything was held in common. | All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. |
| You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am wonderfully made; awesome are your works, as I know very well. | You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. |
| A good man produces good from the store of goodness in his heart, whereas an evil man produces evil from the store of evil within him. For the mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart. | A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. |
| Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of your opportunity. Let your speech always be gracious and seasoned with wisdom, so that you will know how to respond properly to all. | Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. |
| His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. Since you have been faithful in small matters, I will give you much greater responsibilities. Come and share your master’s joy.’ | The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ |
| Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. The measure that you use for others will be used to measure you. | Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. |
| Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may show yourselves blameless and beyond reproach, children of God without spot in the midst of an evil and depraved generation, among which you shine like lights in the world as you hold fast tenaciously to the word of life. | Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life. |
| Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke them and gave them to the disciples to distribute among the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Then they gathered up what was left over—twelve baskets of fragments. | Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers! |
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