| Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. | The one who eats everything must not look contemptuously on the one who does not, and the one who abstains must not pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed both. |
| There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. | No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. |
| But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required. | But the one who did not know those wishes, and who acted in such a manner as to deserve a beating, will be beaten less severely. Much will be demanded of a person to whom much has been given, and even more will be asked of a person to whom more has been entrusted. |
| Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord! | Let everything that breathes offer praise to the Lord. Alleluia. |
| And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. | All this has been done by God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and entrusted us with the ministry of reconciliation. |
| The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! | For this day in the city of David there has been born to you a Savior who is Christ, the Lord. |
| Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ | Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, ‘Streams of living water shall flow from within him.’ |
| We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him. | And we are witnesses to these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him. |
| But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside. | And yet he is aware of everywhere I go; if he were to test me, I would emerge like pure gold. My footsteps have not strayed from the path he established; I have followed his way and never turned aside. |
| Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. | Owe nothing to anyone except the debt of love you owe one another. The one who loves others has fulfilled the Law. |
| 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. | 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. |
| But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. | Everyone who sins comes from the devil, for the devil has been a sinner from the very beginning. The Son of God appeared for this very purpose: to destroy the work of the devil. |
| The grapevines have dried up, and the fig trees have withered. The pomegranate trees, palm trees, and apple trees— all the fruit trees—have dried up. And the people’s joy has dried up with them. | The vine has withered; the fig tree droops. The pomegranate, the palm, and the apple tree— all the trees of the field have dried up. And the joy of the people has also withered away. |
| I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels. | I rejoice in the Lord with all my heart; my soul exults in my God. For he has clothed me in garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of saving justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a garland or a bride bedecked with her jewels. |
| You have given me your shield of victory. Your right hand supports me; your help has made me great. You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping. | You have given me the shield of your salvation; your right hand sustains me, and your goodness makes me great. You broadened the path beneath me so that my feet have never stumbled. |
| The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise. | The father of a good man will rejoice; he who begets a wise son will delight in him. |
| But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval. | Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal. |
| When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. | When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, for God has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill the vow you have made. |
| Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives in the land you are about to enter and occupy. | Continue in all of the ways that the Lord, your God, has commanded you. Continue in them so that you may live and prosper and that you may long dwell on the land of your inheritance. |
| So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. | For since death came into the world through a man, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a man. |
| There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. | Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe in him already stands condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. |
| For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. | He has rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. |
| For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. | For it has been granted you not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him. |
| So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. | Therefore, rid yourselves of everything sordid and of every wicked excess, and welcome in all humility the word that is implanted in you and is able to save your souls. |
| “For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,” says the Lord, who has mercy on you. | Although the mountains may be shaken and the hills may totter, my steadfast love will not depart from you, and my covenant of peace will never be shaken, says the Lord who has compassion on you. |
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