| Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully 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. |
| But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. | Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. |
| By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. | This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. |
| Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. | This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. |
| Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? | Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? |
| Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! | How joyful are those who fear the Lord— all who follow his ways! |
| Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. | Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us. |
| For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! | If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. |
| But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. | But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. |
| To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles. | But God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen— that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike. |
| Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! | Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. |
| For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. | 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. |
| Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious 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. |
| And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” | Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” |
| Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. | So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help. |
| Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! | Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands. |
| Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. | Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. |
| And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” | Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” |
| But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” | But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” |
| For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. | I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. |
| He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. | Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! |
| Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. | You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. |
| For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. | For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. |
| And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.” | In that wonderful day you will sing: “Thank the Lord! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is!” |
| For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. | For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. |
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