So if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out there. If they say, ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For just as lightning comes from the east and is visible even in the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. | So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. |
The powerful suffer want and go hungry, but those who seek the Lord want for no good thing. | The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. |
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Oh, that they would have fear of me in their hearts and they would observe all of my commandments always. Then things would go well with them and their children forever. | Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever! |
You shall obey his statutes and the commandments that I give you today, so that all may go well with you and your children after you, and that you may live long in the land that the Lord, your God, has given you for all time. | Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time. |
Do not forsake your friend or the friend of your father, and do not run to your brother’s house when troubles befall you; far better is a friend nearby than a brother who is far away. | Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you— better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away. |
This rather is the type of fast that I wish: to loosen the fetters of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to set free those who are oppressed and to break every yoke. | Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? |
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? | My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? |
When you call out to me and come forth and pray to me, I will listen to you. | Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. |
Just as he came forth naked from his mother’s womb, so shall he depart, naked as he came, with nothing remaining from his labor that he can carry away in his hands. | Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. |
Jesus then said, “I will remain with you only for a short time longer, and then I shall return to him who sent me.” | Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me.” |
Plans miscarry when counsel is lacking, but they succeed when there are many counselors. | Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. |
A highway will be there that will be called the Way of Holiness. No one who is unclean may pass over it; it will serve as a path for pilgrims and no fool will be able to use it. | And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. |
I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and returning to the Father. | I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father. |
I am now about to go the way of all upon the earth. You know very well in your hearts and your souls that not one of the good things that the Lord, your God, promised you has failed to take place. Every promise has been fulfilled, not one of them has been broken. | Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. |
Beloved, I pray that everything is going well with you and that your bodily health is equal to that of your soul. | Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. |
The prudent man perceives danger and seeks shelter, while the simple continue forward and pay the penalty. | The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. |
When you pray do not go on babbling endlessly as the pagans do, for they believe that they are more likely to be heard because of their many words. | And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. |
At dawn let me experience your kindness, for in you I place my trust. Show me the path I must walk, for to you I lift up my soul. | Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. |
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free. | The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free. |
Observe the ordinances of the Lord, your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and what he witnessed in writing in the law of Moses. In this way you will prosper in whatever you do and wherever you go. | Observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go. |
While he was departing as they gazed upward toward the sky, suddenly two men dressed in white robes stood beside them, and they said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking up into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” | They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” |
My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When shall I come to behold the face of God? | My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? |
And yet he is aware of everywhere I go; if he were to test me, I would emerge like pure gold. My footsteps have not strayed from the path he established; I have followed his way and never turned aside. | But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. |
Or can a man walk on red-hot coals without scorching his feet? | Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? |
Therefore, let us leave behind the basic teaching about Christ and advance toward maturity. We must not be forever laying the foundation: repentance for actions that lead to death, faith in God, instruction about baptisms and the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. | Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. |