| The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. | The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. |
| The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. | Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing. |
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| Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. | Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. |
| That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. | I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death. |
| Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. | “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” |
| That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ. | I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. |
| Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. | You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. |
| Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. | 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.” |
| Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. | Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. |
| For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. | The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. |
| Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. | Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. |
| For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye. | I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live! |
| Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. | 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! |
| But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. | But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. |
| Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. | Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is made right in God’s sight—something the law of Moses could never do. |
| But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. | Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” |
| For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. | For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. |
| I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. | No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. |
| But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. | Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living. |
| Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. | For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. |
| But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. | But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! |
| Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. | For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. |
| Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. | Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. |
| Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. | Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise. |
| Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. | But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. |
