| The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife. | The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. |
| John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” | John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” |
|
| Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. | I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. |
| After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.” | In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” |
| And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. | In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. |
| In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered. | Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. |
| In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents. | In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. |
| In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! | I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. |
| A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ | And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ |
| They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. | They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. |
| Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die. | Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish. |
| So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. | Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. |
| And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. | Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. |
| Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. | Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. |
| And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do. | I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. |
| Let my teaching fall on you like rain; let my speech settle like dew. Let my words fall like rain on tender grass, like gentle showers on young plants. | Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants. |
| No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. | There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. |
| How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! | How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. |
| Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as enduring as the grave. Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame. | 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. |
| You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver. | For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. |
| But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. | But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. |
| So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. | Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. |
| A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls. | Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control. |
| I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free. | I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. |
| Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. | Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. |
