| So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. | You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” |
| Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. | If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. |
| Then it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us. | For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us. |
| The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender. | Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender. |
| For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. | Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. |
| As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor Which he may carry away in his hand. | We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. |
| He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. | He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth. |
| But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which 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.” |
| But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. | Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one. |
| The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever. | The very essence of your words is truth; all your just regulations will stand forever. |
| One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. | The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. |
| For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God 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. |
| For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. | For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God. |
| Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. | Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. |
| For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. | Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. |
| Knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. | For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders. The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God. |
| But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” | As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.” |
| As for the Almighty, we cannot find Him; He is excellent in power, In judgment and abundant justice; He does not oppress. | We cannot imagine the power of the Almighty; but even though he is just and righteous, he does not destroy us. |
| And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” | Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” |
| For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. | I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. |
| Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me. | First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. |
| And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. | So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. |
| For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. | For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. |
| You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. | Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you. |
| For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. | So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. |
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