| Rather, be kind to one another and compassionate, and forgive one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. | Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. |
| By his own choice he gave us birth through the way of truth so that we may be a kind of firstfruits of all his creation. | He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. |
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| Anxiety in the human heart weighs it down, but a kind word makes it glad. | Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. |
| O Lord, you are kind and forgiving, filled with kindness for all who cry to you. | You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. |
| Love is patient; love is charitable. Love is not envious; it does not have an inflated opinion of itself; it is not filled with its own importance. Love is never rude; it does not seek its own advantage. It is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over setbacks. | Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. |
| Indeed, fornication and impurity of any kind, as well as greed, should not even be mentioned among you. Such talk is not fitting for saints. | But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. |
| The Lord is righteous in all his ways and merciful in everything he does. | The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. |
| Test everything, and hold fast to what is good. Avoid every form of evil. | But test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. |
| For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disharmony and every type of wickedness. | For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. |
| All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in uprightness, so that the man of God may be proficient and equipped for good work of every kind. | All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. |
| Pleasing words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and affording health to the body. | Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. |
| As for you, teach what is consistent with sound doctrine. | You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. |
| This rather is the type of fast that I wish: to loosen the fetters of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to set free those who are oppressed and to break every yoke. | Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? |
| One who despairs should have the support of his friends even if he has forsaken the fear of the Almighty. | Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. |
| After this, he said to the crowd, “Take care to be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Life does not depend upon an abundance of one’s possessions.” | Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” |
| Such godly sorrow results in repentance that leads to salvation and causes no regret, whereas worldly sorrow produces death. | Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. |
| Therefore, I tell you that every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. | And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. |
| He gave himself for us in order to deliver us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people as his own who are eager to do good. | Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. |
| See what love the Father has bestowed on us, enabling us to be called the children of God, and that is what we are. If the world does not recognize us, that is because it did not know him. | See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. |
| 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. | There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord. |
| In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. | But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. |
| Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is as strong as death, and ardor is as relentless as the netherworld. Its flames are flashes of fire, an unending blaze. | Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. |
| Therefore, brethren, I implore you by the mercies of God to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and acceptable to God—a spiritual act of worship. | Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. |
| He said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not realize that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not into the heart but into the stomach and is discharged into the sewer?” Thus, he pronounced all foods clean. | “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) |
