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. | Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. |
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. | No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. |
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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 and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. |
Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord! | Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! |
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 is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. |
The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! | To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. |
Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ | And let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ |
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, and so 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. | But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I shall come out like gold. My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not 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 no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another 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 given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. |
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 commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works 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 withers, the fig tree droops. Pomegranate, palm, and apple— all the trees of the field are dried up; surely, joy withers away among the people. |
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 will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself 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, and your right hand has supported me; your help has made me great. You gave me a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip. |
The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise. | The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who begets a wise son will be glad 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 the 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 fulfilling it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill what you vow. |
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. | You must follow exactly the path that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you are to possess. |
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 through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being. |
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. | Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only 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 transferred 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 he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well. |
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 all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power 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. | For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you. |