| It is rash to pledge a sacred gift, or to make a vow and then have second thoughts. | Don’t trap yourself by making a rash promise to God and only later counting the cost. |
| After John had baptized all the people, and while Jesus was engaged in prayer after also having been baptized, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.” | One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” |
| I, the Lord, am your God. You must obey my laws and be careful to observe my ordinances. Keep holy my Sabbaths as a sign between me and you so that you will know that I am the Lord, your God. | ‘I am the Lord your God,’ I told them. ‘Follow my decrees, pay attention to my regulations, and keep my Sabbath days holy, for they are a sign to remind you that I am the Lord your God.’ |
| God saved us and called us to a life of holiness, not because of our works but according to his own purpose and the grace that has been bestowed upon us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. | For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. |
| Moses remained with the Lord for forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments, on the tablets. | Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the Lord wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets. |
| Then Peter asked, “Ananias, why has Satan so gained control of your heart that you lied to the Holy Spirit and retained part of the sale price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not belong to you? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds yours? What caused you to contrive this scheme? You have lied not to men but to God.” | Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” |
| God blessed the seventh day and he consecrated it, for on it he rested from all the work he had done when he created all things. | And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation. |
| Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath in honor of the Lord your God. You shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male slave, nor your female slave, nor your animals, nor the foreigner who dwells with you. The Lord made the heavens and the earth and the seas and that which is in them in six days, but he rested the seventh day. Thus, the Lord blessed the Sabbath and declared it to be sacred. | Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. |
| Seek peace with everyone, as well as the holiness without which no one will ever see the Lord. | Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. |
| You shall observe the Sabbath by keeping it holy, as the Lord, your God, has commanded you. You are to labor on six days, doing all of your work then. The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, your God. You shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your ox, nor your ass, nor your cattle, nor even the foreigner living in your town. Thus your manservant and maidservant can rest as well. | Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your oxen and donkeys and other livestock, and any foreigners living among you. All your male and female servants must rest as you do. |
| Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her in order to sanctify her by cleansing her with water and the word. | For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. |
| The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. | May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people. |
| Therefore, I tell you that every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. | So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. |
| This is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ | Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. |
| The Lord is righteous in all his ways and merciful in everything he does. | The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness. |
| I intend to prove the holiness of my great name which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. Thus, the nations will know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when through you I will display my holiness in their sight. | I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. |
| A highway will be there that will be called the Way of Holiness. No one who is unclean may pass over it; it will serve as a path for pilgrims and no fool will be able to use it. | And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there. |
| What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. | Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. |
| In the same way, even the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs that cannot be put into words. | And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. |
| I further pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know the hope to which he has called you, how rich and glorious is his inheritance in the saints. | I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. |
| Hence, I advise you to be guided by the Spirit, so that you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. | So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. |
| It is the will of God that you should lead a life of sanctity. You must refrain from sexual immorality. Each of you must learn to acquire a wife from pure and honorable motives, not to gratify passion like the Gentiles who do not know God. | God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. |
| I will make them and the region surrounding my hill a blessing, and I will send them rain in due season that will be showers of blessing. | I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing. |
| Indeed, fornication and impurity of any kind, as well as greed, should not even be mentioned among you. Such talk is not fitting for saints. | Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. |
| Those who live according to the flesh fix their attention on the things of the flesh, while those who live according to the Spirit set their thoughts on spiritual things. | Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. |
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