| “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!” | Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. |
| And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. | And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. |
| When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. | Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. |
| Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. | For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. |
| The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. | The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. |
| But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me. | But when they had grazed, they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me. |
| Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. | Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. |
| But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are! | Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. |
| 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. | For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. |
| “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” | For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. |
| 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. | Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. |
| 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. | Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. |
| 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. | For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. |
| 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. | The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. |
| 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. | Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. |
| I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. | I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. |
| 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! | And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces. |
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