For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing. | For I will provide the weary with all they need, and I will restore the strength of all those who have grown faint with hunger. |
I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. | I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. |
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Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. | Whom do I have in heaven except you? And besides you there is nothing else I desire on earth. |
If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. | If I have the gift of prophecy and the ability to understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and have all the faith necessary to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. |
I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent. | I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. |
I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments. | I will walk in complete freedom because I have sought your commands. |
I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth. | Nothing gives me greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. |
I will shout for joy and sing your praises, for you have ransomed me. | When I sing to you, my lips will rejoice, and so will my soul, which you have redeemed. |
I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. | I treasure your word in my heart for fear that I may sin against you. |
Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. | As long as the goodwill is present, the gift will be acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. |
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. |
I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! | I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. |
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 away everything to feed the poor and hand over my body to be burned, but do not have love, I achieve nothing. |
And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. | So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. |
I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. | I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you already have so that no one may rob you of your crown. |
You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy. | Until now, in my name, you have not asked for anything. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. |
For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. | For God would not be so unjust as to ignore your work and the love that you have shown for his name by the services you have rendered to the saints and still continue to render. |
When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it. | All those who have sinned outside the Law will perish outside the Law, and all who sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law. |
For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. | Through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves in Christ. |
I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. | I rejoice in following your statutes more than I would rejoice in endless riches. |
Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. | For just as in one body we have many parts, and the parts do not all have the same function, so we, though many, make up one body in Christ, and individually we are all parts of one another. |
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. | I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you should also love one another. |
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. | Let your attitude be identical to that of Christ Jesus. |
Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. | Do not lie to one another, since you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self that is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. |
So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. | If we claim that we have fellowship with him while we continue to live in darkness, we are lying and do not live in the truth. |