| But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. | But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. |
| Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. | Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. |
|
| You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own. | You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own. |
| Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! | Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. |
| But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. | But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. |
| And forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. | And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. |
| Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” | When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” |
| Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. | Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. |
| 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 make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great. You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way. |
| Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began! | Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. |
| There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? | My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? |
| Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. | Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. |
| Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. | Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. |
| And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. | And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. |
| Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” | Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” |
| I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them. | I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them. |
| And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. | Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. |
| I have tried hard to find you— don’t let me wander from your commands. | I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. |
| Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” | Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” |
| I will never forget your commandments, for by them you give me life. | I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life. |
| How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! | How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. |
| Better to have little, with fear for the Lord, than to have great treasure and inner turmoil. | Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil. |
| But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. | You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. |
| Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” | What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” |
| Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. | You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. |
