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 see, 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 any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. |
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So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom. | Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. |
And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? | For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? |
Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling. | It is honorable to refrain from strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. |
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. | Six days shall work be done; but the seventh day is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no work: it is a sabbath to the Lord throughout your settlements. |
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 customs of the peoples are false: a tree from the forest is cut down, and worked with an ax by the hands of an artisan; people deck it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, nor is it in them to do good. |
A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ | And a 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 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? |
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. | Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch 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 mortals 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. | Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, you will find 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! | To make an apt answer is a joy to anyone, and a word in season, how good it is! |
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!’” | Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, “We will not walk in 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 person, but its end is the way 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. | For the message about 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 among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. |
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 tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades 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 do 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 and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. 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. | Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat 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. | Pray then in this way: 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 is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. |
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 acknowledge today and take to heart that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. |
The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand. | The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. |