| But godliness with contentment is great gain. | Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. |
| 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. |
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| For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? | And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? |
| Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. | Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! |
| So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. | Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. |
| For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? | And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? |
| And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. | If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. |
| Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. | Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding. |
| A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. | Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor. |
| He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. | Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! |
| Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. | If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. |
| Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right. | Better to have little, with godliness, than to be rich and dishonest. |
| Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase. | Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time. |
| Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. | Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them. |
| The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward. | Evil people get rich for the moment, but the reward of the godly will last. |
| When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? | The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers! |
| Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death. | Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life. |
| Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. | Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. |
| For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them. | They did not conquer the land with their swords; it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory. It was your right hand and strong arm and the blinding light from your face that helped them, for you loved them. |
| For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. | Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. |
| And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. | I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions. |
| He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good. | To acquire wisdom is to love yourself; people who cherish understanding will prosper. |
| I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. | 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. |
| That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ. | I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. |
| But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. | Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” |
