| And learn to do good. Pursue justice and rescue the oppressed; listen to the plea of the orphan and defend the widow. | Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. |
| 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. | In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. |
| One who finds a wife finds happiness and receives favor from the Lord. | The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord. |
| Is anyone among you sick? He should send for the presbyters of the Church so that they may pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. | Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. |
| Good and upright is the Lord; therefore, he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them the path to follow. | The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. |
| Produce good fruit as proof of your repentance. | Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. |
| Two are better than one: they earn a far greater reward for their toil. | Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. |
| But to those of you who are listening to me, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. | But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. |
| The Lord has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? Only this: to do what is right, to show mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. | No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. |
| Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth fastened around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness clothing you, and with your feet shod in zeal to proclaim the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold in your hand the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. | Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. |
| O Lord, you are kind and forgiving, filled with kindness for all who cry to you. | O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. |
| Do not withhold kindness from anyone to whom it is due when it is in your power to grant it. | Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. |
| 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. | So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. |
| A man is joyful when he utters apt answers, and even more satisfying is a word in season. | Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time! |
| If you, then, despite your evil nature, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! | So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. |
| However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, and considerate, full of mercy and good fruits, without any trace of partiality or hypocrisy. | But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. |
| An honorable name is more to be desired than great riches, and high esteem is preferable to silver and gold. | Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold. |
| And God is able to enrich you with an abundance of every grace, so that, with all of your needs provided for, you may be able to produce a surplus of good works. | And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. |
| Every good act of giving and every perfect gift are from above, coming down from the Father of all light. With him there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. | Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. |
| Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your gracious Spirit lead me along a level path. | Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing. |
| Jesus answered, “If it is possible! All things are possible for one who has faith.” | “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” |
| His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. Since you have been faithful in small matters, I will give you much greater responsibilities. Come and share your master’s joy.’ | The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ |
| Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds, so that you will be able to discern the will of God and to know what is good and acceptable and perfect. | Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. |
| You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, what can be done to make it salty once again? It is no longer good for anything, and thus it is cast out and trampled underfoot. | You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. |
| Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you have faith you will see the glory of God?” | Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” |
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