Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards. | We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. |
Because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. | Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. |
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What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? | What are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? |
For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God's except the Spirit of God. | No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. |
God is not a human being, that he should lie, or a mortal, that he should change his mind. Has he promised, and will he not do it? Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? | God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? |
Anxiety weighs down the human heart, but a good word cheers it up. | Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up. |
Just as water reflects the face, so one human heart reflects another. | As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person. |
Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. | Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. |
I, I am he who comforts you; why then are you afraid of a mere mortal who must die, a human being who fades like grass? | I, yes I, am the one who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear? |
For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being. | So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. |
The human mind may devise many plans, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established. | You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail. |
While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent. | God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. |
But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” | That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” |
The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps. | We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. |
Am I now seeking human approval, or God's approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ. | Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. |
For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the 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. |
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. | For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. |
How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath. | And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath. |
For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human. | For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. |
Because sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the human heart is fully set to do evil. | When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong. |
He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. | Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. |
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. |
And he said, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” | And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” |
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. | The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. |
So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. | So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. |