| Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. | Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. |
| Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. | Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. |
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| But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. | But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. |
| Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. | If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. |
| In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. | You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. |
| Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. | Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery. |
| Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. | 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. |
| Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. | Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. |
| And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. | Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. |
| “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” | “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.” |
| May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. | May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. |
| All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes 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 one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. | Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. |
| Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. | So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. |
| My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. | Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. |
| Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord; may your love and faithfulness always protect me. | Lord, don’t hold back your tender mercies from me. Let your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me. |
| No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. | Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. |
| But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. | But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. |
| Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. | Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. |
| John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” | John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” |
| Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. | You who love the Lord, hate evil! He protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked. |
| Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. | So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord! |
| But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate. | But ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation. ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together. |
| Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. | Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! |
| Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. | No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. |
