For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well. | For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. |
May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance. | May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love. |
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So we fasted and petitioned our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty. | So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer. |
His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. | By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. |
The hand of the diligent will rule, while the lazy will be put to forced labor. | Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave. |
Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature. | And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. |
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. | But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! |
But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God. | But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. |
Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. | So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. |
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. | Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. |