| And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. | So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way. |
| But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. | But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. |
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| Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. | Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. |
| Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. | So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. |
| The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? | The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? |
| And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. | One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God! But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.” But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?” This shamed his enemies, but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did. |
| Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. | You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. |
| Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine. | Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. |
| And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. | And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. |
| And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. | But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. |
| My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? | I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him? |
| Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. | All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. |
| Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. | Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. |
| How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. | And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath. |
| And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. | What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord. |
| He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. | But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. |
| And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. | Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. |
| A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished. | A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. |
| There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. | Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. |
| Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. | Until at last the Spirit is poured out on us from heaven. Then the wilderness will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops. |
| But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. | Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. |
| For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God? | For who is God except the Lord? Who but our God is a solid rock? |
| But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. | But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. |
| The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. | The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth. |
| When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. | As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. |
