And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him. | We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him. |
Go, eat your bread with joy, And drink your wine with a merry heart; For God has already accepted your works. | So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! |
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The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound. | The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. |
Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. | Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! |
For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake. | For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. |
And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing. | When you become aware of your guilt in any of these ways, you must confess your sin. |
Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. | But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. |
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed. | The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free. |
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. | Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. |
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. | But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. |
For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it? | But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? |
Who has performed and done it, Calling the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the Lord, am the first; And with the last I am He.’ | Who has done such mighty deeds, summoning each new generation from the beginning of time? It is I, the Lord, the First and the Last. I alone am he. |
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. | So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. |
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. | And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. |
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful 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 ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. | 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. |
But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. | But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ. |
And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. | We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. |
Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. | 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. |
Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. | And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. |
For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have. | Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. |
Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed. | Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed! |
For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. | If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. |
You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. | You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God—all the laws and decrees he has given you. |
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. | The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. |
For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ | For the Lord gave us this command when he said, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’ |