| But godliness with contentment is great gain. | Godliness produces great gain, but only to those who are content. |
| Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold. | Do not make gods from silver or from gold instead of me. You will not make them for yourselves. |
|
| For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. | For we are God’s coworkers; you are God’s field, God’s building. |
| But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. | But as for you, man of God, you must shun all this. Rather, pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, fortitude, and gentleness. |
| Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool— how much worse lying lips to a ruler! | Fine words are not becoming to a fool, and much less are false words to a noble. |
| For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. | In view of all this, you should make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with piety, and piety with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. |
| With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape. | With his mouth the godless man seeks to ruin his neighbor, but knowledge enables the righteous to be delivered. |
| For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. | While physical training has some value, the benefits of godliness are unlimited, since it holds out promise not only for this life but also for the life to come. |
| In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. | Indeed, persecution will afflict all who want to lead a godly life in Christ Jesus. |
| Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? | Do you not realize that you are God’s temple, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? |
| Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. | Such godly sorrow results in repentance that leads to salvation and causes no regret, whereas worldly sorrow produces death. |
| If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple. | If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For the temple of God is holy, and you are that temple. |
| Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. | Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He was made visible in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed to the Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory. |
| Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children. | Hence, be imitators of God, as beloved children. |
| The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen. | The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. |
| If this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. | Therefore, the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials and to hold the wicked for punishment until the Day of Judgment. |
| His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. | His divine power has bestowed on us everything that is necessary for life and for devotion through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and virtue. |
| “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” | He continued, “Then put away the foreign gods from among you. Bend your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” |
| How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! | How wonderful and delightful it is for brothers to live together in unity. |
| The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. | The Spirit himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God. |
| But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. | If it seems wrong to you to serve the Lord, then today you must choose whom you will serve, whether it be the gods that your fathers served on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites who dwell in the land. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. |
| May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. | May the Lord guide your hearts to the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ. |
| So that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed. | In that way, I can come to you in joy, if God so wills, and be refreshed together with you. |
| Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. | Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he may exalt you. |
| For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. | For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to the entire human race. It teaches us to reject godless ways and worldly desires, and in the present age to lead lives that are temperate, just, and godly. |
