| Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. | Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. |
| 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. | And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. |
| 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. | Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. |
| You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. | Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. |
| 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! | Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. |
| 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. | Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. |
| 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. | And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. |
| 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. | Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. |
| Fear the Lord and judge with integrity, for the Lord our God does not tolerate perverted justice, partiality, or the taking of bribes. | Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the Lord our God, or partiality or taking bribes. |
| Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing. | Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! |
| 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. | Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. |
| This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. | This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. |
| Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. | But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. |
| Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. | Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. |
| Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! | Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. |
| Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. | Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. |
| Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one. | Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil. |
| Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. | For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. |
| Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. | Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. |
| May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. | Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. |
| We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. | Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. |
| As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them. | “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. |
| So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. | Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. |
| 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 lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. |
| “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 reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. |
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