| But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently. | But if we hope for what we do not yet see, then we wait for it with patience. |
| If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. | If someone among you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without finding fault, and it will be given to him. |
| So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom. | Fear not, little flock, for your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom. |
| And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? | What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his very life? |
| Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling. | It is honorable to avoid strife, but every fool is quarrelsome. |
| You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of complete rest, an official day for holy assembly. It is the Lord’s Sabbath day, and it must be observed wherever you live. | For six days work can be done, but the seventh is a Sabbath of rest, a holy assembly. You will do no work on it; it is a Sabbath of the Lord in all of your dwellings. |
| Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol. They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over. Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good. | For the carved images of the nations are powerless; they are nothing more than wood cut from a forest, fashioned with a knife by craftsmen and embellished with silver and gold. Then they are fastened with hammers and nails to prevent them from toppling. Like scarecrows in a cucumber field they are unable to speak, and they must be carried from place to place since they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they can do no harm, nor do they have any power to do good. |
| A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ | The second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ |
| 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? | God is not human, that he should lie, or the son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act, does he promise and then not fulfill it? |
| Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. | If the Lord does not build the house, those who construct it labor in vain. If the Lord does not guard the city, those who keep watch over it do so in vain. |
| Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” | Jesus looked at them and said, “For men it is impossible, but not for God. For God all things are possible.” |
| In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short. | In much the same manner will wisdom be sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a future, and your hope will not be cut off. |
| Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time! | A man is joyful when he utters apt answers, and even more satisfying is a word in season. |
| This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’” | These are the words of the Lord of hosts: Stand at the crossroads and look around; ask for the ancient paths. When you are shown where the good way lies, walk along it and your souls will find rest. However, they said, “We will not take it.” |
| There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. | There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it leads to death. |
| 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. |
| And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. | I am confident of this: that the one who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. |
| Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. | And I say to you: You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against it. |
| God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. | The one who calls you is faithful, and he will accomplish this. |
| 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. | You want something that you cannot have, so you commit murder. And you covet something but cannot obtain it, so you engage in quarrels and fights. You do not have because you do not ask. |
| The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences. | The tongue has the power over life and death; those who cherish it will enjoy its fruits. |
| 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. | 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.’ |
| 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. | Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and those who find it are few in number. |
| 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. |
| The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand. | The explanation of your words gives light and imparts understanding to the simple. |
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