| For the word of God will never fail. | For no word from God will ever fail. |
| Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. | If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. |
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| When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! | After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. |
| This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. | This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. |
| What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? | What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? |
| And forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. | And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. |
| But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. | But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. |
| For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. | For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus. |
| And the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as he has done to this day. | The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. |
| God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. | Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. |
| A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ | And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ |
| Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. | Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. |
| God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. | God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. |
| This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” | For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” |
| But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. | Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. |
| I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? | In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? |
| For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. | God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. |
| The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” | He answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ |
| For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours. | A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. |
| Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge. | Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. |
| Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. | As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. |
| For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. | Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. |
| I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! | I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. |
| No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. | No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. |
| No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. | No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. |
