| Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. | Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your gracious Spirit lead me along a level path. |
| 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. |
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| Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. | 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. |
| For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. | For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for a life of good works that God had prepared for us to do. |
| And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. | We know that God makes all things work together for good for those who love him and who are called according to his purpose. |
| Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. | Who among you is wise and understanding? Prove by your good life that your works are done with the humility that comes from wisdom. |
| Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. | 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. |
| Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. | I am confident of this: that the one who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. |
| You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. | You intended to do evil to me, but God decided to make it serve a good, to fulfill that which today has come true: to keep alive a numerous people. |
| 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. | 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. |
| Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. | Make sure that no one pays back evil for evil. Rather, always aim to achieve what is best for each other and for everyone. |
| Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. | He gave himself for us in order to deliver us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people as his own who are eager to do good. |
| Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. | 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. |
| You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. | You believe that there is one God. You do well to assert that. But even the demons believe and tremble. |
| But to you who are listening 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 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. |
| He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. | 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. |
| Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. | Let us never grow weary in doing what is right, for if we do not give up, we will reap our harvest in due time. |
| But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. | 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. |
| If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! | 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! |
| Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. | The future bodes well for him who is generous in helping those in need and who conducts his affairs with justice. |
| And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. | 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. |
| The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. | The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; those who are guided by it will grow in understanding. His praise will last forever. |
| Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. | 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. |
| “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” | The time of fulfillment has arrived, and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel. |
| His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ | 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.’ |
