Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. | Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. |
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. | So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. |
So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. | Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another. |
“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.” | Come now, let us argue it out, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. |
The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ | His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ |