He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. | He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress, so that I stand unshaken. |
But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. | But what I tell you is this: Do not swear at all, either by heaven, since it is God’s throne, or by earth, since that is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great King. |
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The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? | The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom should I be afraid? |
For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. | Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the Church, the body of which he is the Savior. |
Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling. | It is honorable to avoid strife, but every fool is quarrelsome. |
This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” | In it the righteousness of God is revealed, beginning in faith and established in faith. As it is written: “The one who is righteous will live through faith.” |
When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong. | Because the sentence for committing an evil act is not carried out quickly, people’s hearts are prone to act wickedly. |
Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? | Now who is going to harm you if you are eager to do what is right? |
But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. | Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. |
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. | Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light to my path. |
So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The Lord is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other. | So today acknowledge it and take it to heart that the Lord is God in the heavens above and on the earth below. There is no other. |
Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. | Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. |
God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor? | There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save or to destroy. Who then are you to pass judgment on a neighbor? |
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken. | He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress, so that I stand ever unshaken. |
There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. | There is no salvation in anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to men by which we can be saved. |
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. | In the same way, faith by itself is dead if it does not have works. |
Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold. | An honorable name is more to be desired than great riches, and high esteem is preferable to silver and gold. |
A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls. | Like a city that has been breached and made defenseless is the man devoid of self-control. |
The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. | Indeed, the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. |
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. | Do not withhold kindness from anyone to whom it is due when it is in your power to grant it. |
The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. | There is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing secret that will not become known. |
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. | This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, about whose coming you have been told, and that it is already in the world. |
But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. | Therefore, strive to be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. |
Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. | For where your treasure is, there will your heart also be. |
Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. | Godliness produces great gain, but only to those who are content. |