| We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. | Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. |
| “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” | We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life! |
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| The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. | The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. |
| Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. | Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. |
| We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. | Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. |
| Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil. | Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. |
| Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. | And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. |
| But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! | But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. |
| If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. | If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. |
| Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. | Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. |
| Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time. | Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow. |
| But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit. | Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. |
