| Therefore, take care to live as intelligent people, and do not be like those who are senseless. Make the most of the present time, for this is a wicked age. | See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. |
| For the carved images of the nations are powerless; they are nothing more than wood cut from a forest, fashioned with a knife by craftsmen and embellished with silver and gold. Then they are fastened with hammers and nails to prevent them from toppling. Like scarecrows in a cucumber field they are unable to speak, and they must be carried from place to place since they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they can do no harm, nor do they have any power to do good. | For the customs of the peoples are futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple. They are upright, like a palm tree, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, For they cannot do evil, Nor can they do any good. |
| For you, O God, have put us to the test; you have purified us as silver is refined. | For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined. |
| All I want is to come to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and to share in his sufferings by becoming conformed to his death. | That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. |
| Finally, all of you should be united in spirit, sympathetic, filled with love for one another, compassionate, and humble. | Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous. |
| I rejoice in the Lord with all my heart; my soul exults in my God. For he has clothed me in garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of saving justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a garland or a bride bedecked with her jewels. | I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. |
| Thus you could understand that the Lord, your God, was disciplining you, just like a father disciplines his son. | You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you. |
| Just as water reflects one’s face, so does one human heart reflect another. | As in water face reflects face, So a man’s heart reveals the man. |
| And the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I wish to make another creature who will be like him.” | And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” |
| Anyone who is victorious will be dressed like these in white robes, and I shall not blot his name from the book of life. Rather, I shall acknowledge it in the presence of my Father and his angels. | He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. |
| I also ask that the women should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable clothing. They should be adorned not with braided hair or with gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good works, as is fitting for women who profess their reverence for God. | In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. |
| Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may show yourselves blameless and beyond reproach, children of God without spot in the midst of an evil and depraved generation, among which you shine like lights in the world as you hold fast tenaciously to the word of life. | Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life. |
| But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them. For it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” | But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” |
| So we must not fall asleep as the others do, but we must stay alert and sober. | Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. |
| This water prefigured Baptism, which now saves you. It does so not by the washing away of dirt from the body but by the pledge of a good conscience given to God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. | There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. |
| While he was departing as they gazed upward toward the sky, suddenly two men dressed in white robes stood beside them, and they said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking up into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” | And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” |
| O God, you are my God, for whom I have been searching earnestly. My soul yearns for you and my body thirsts for you, like the earth when it is parched, arid and without water. | O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. |
| Can anyone withhold the water of baptism from these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? | Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? |
| He was despised and shunned by others, a man of sorrows who was no stranger to suffering. We loathed him and regarded him as of no account, as one from whom men avert their gaze. | He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. |
| May the God of perseverance and encouragement grant that you may live in harmony with one another, following in the example of Jesus Christ. | Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus. |
| He who called you is holy. Therefore, be holy yourselves in all your conduct. For Scripture says, “Be holy, for I am holy.” | But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” |
| And now, brethren, farewell. Mend your ways. Encourage one another. Be of one mind and live in peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. | Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. |
| If he refuses to listen to them, report it to the Church. And if he refuses to listen to the Church, treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. | And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. |
| The birth of Jesus Christ occurred in this way. When his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came to live together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. | Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. |
| You are the light of the world. A city built upon a mountain cannot be hidden. | You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. |
Related topics
Life
The LORD will protect...
Suffering
After you have suffered...
Jesus
Jesus looked at them...
Clothing
Do not seek to...
Heaven
When the command is...
Purification
Since we have these...
Bible verse of the day
O Lord, all my longing is known to you,and my sighs are not hidden from you.