Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. | As long as the goodwill is present, the gift will be acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. |
Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. | Grant justice to the weak and the orphan; defend the rights of the lowly and the poor. |
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Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority. | Pay to each person what is rightfully his—taxes to the one to whom taxes are due, tolls to the one to whom tolls are due, respect to the one to whom respect is due, honor to the one to whom honor is due. |
Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my plea! Answer me because you are faithful and righteous. | O Lord, hear my prayer, incline your ear to my supplications. In your faithfulness respond to me with your righteousness. |
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. | The heart is more deceitful than any other thing, and it is also perverse. Who can uncover its secrets? I, the Lord, search the heart and probe the mind to reward all according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve. |
Hear my prayer, O Lord! Listen to my cries for help! Don’t ignore my tears. For I am your guest— a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me. | Hear my prayer, O Lord; do not be deaf to my cry or ignore my weeping. For I am a wayfarer before you, a nomad like all my ancestors. |
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. | I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of the heavens and I will give them all these lands. All the nations on the earth will be blessed through your descendants, for Abraham listened to my voice and observed that which I ordered: my commandments, my ordinances and my laws. |
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. | Follow my statutes and keep my commandments and obey them. Then I will give you rain in its proper season and the yield of the land shall increase and the trees of the field shall bear their fruit. |
Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. | Rather, revere Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be prepared to offer an explanation to anyone who asks you to justify the hope that is in you. However, do so with gentleness and respect. |
John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” | He said to them in reply, “Anyone who has two coats must share with the person who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.” |
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. | Therefore, whenever you give alms, do not trumpet your generosity, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets in order to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have already received their reward. |
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. | For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but rather a spirit of power and of love and of wisdom. |
“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.” | Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.” |
May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love. | May mercy, peace, and love be granted you in abundance. |
“Listen to me and make up your minds to honor my name,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “or I will bring a terrible curse against you. I will curse even the blessings you receive. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you have not taken my warning to heart.” | If you refuse to listen to me and do not sincerely resolve to give glory to my name, says the Lord of hosts, I will send a curse on you, and I will turn your blessings into a curse. Indeed, I have already done so because you have not heeded my warning. |
Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. | To anyone who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself overcame and sat with my Father on his throne. |
Fathers can give their sons an inheritance of houses and wealth, but only the Lord can give an understanding wife. | A house and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is a gift from the Lord. |
Take care of any widow who has no one else to care for her. | Give proper consideration to those widows who are truly in need. |
Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. | Behold, I am coming soon, and I will bring with me my reward to repay everyone as his deeds deserve. |
All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” | All this took place in order to fulfill what the Lord had announced through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” a name that means “God is with us.” |
But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! | But who am I, and what are your people, that we should be able to do this? All things belong to you, and everything that we have given you is from your hand. |
The wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers. | The wicked man borrows but neglects to repay, whereas the righteous man is generous in giving. |
Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. | Brethren, we must always give thanks to God for you, and it is only right that we do so. For your faith grows ever more, and the love that all of you have for one another continues to increase. |
For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’” | For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow before me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” |
May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed. | May he give you your heart’s desire and grant you success in all your plans. |