| I know how to live with little, and I know how to live with plenty. In any and all circumstances, I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. | I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. |
| If it seems wrong to you to serve the Lord, then today you must choose whom you will serve, whether it be the gods that your fathers served on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites who dwell in the land. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. | But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. |
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| What then shall we say? Should we persist in sin in order that grace may abound? Of course not! We have died to sin. How can we live in it any longer? | What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? |
| Treasures obtained by wicked means profit nothing, but a righteous life brings delivery from death. | Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death. |
| As for you, teach what is consistent with sound doctrine. | You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. |
| I will praise you in sincerity of heart as I ponder your righteous judgments. | I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. |
| You can eat any water creature that has fins and scales; those you can eat. Whatever does not have fins or scales, you are not to eat. It is unclean for you. | Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and scales. But anything that does not have fins and scales you may not eat; for you it is unclean. |
| Rather, let justice flow like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. | But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! |
| Riches will be of no avail on the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. | Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. |
| God abides in anyone who acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, and that person abides in God. | If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. |
| If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. | Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. |
| You will show me the path to life; you will fill me with joy in your presence and everlasting delights at your right hand. | You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. |
| If we claim that we have fellowship with him while we continue to live in darkness, we are lying and do not live in the truth. | If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. |
| The precepts of the Lord are right, causing the heart to rejoice. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving light to the eyes. | The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. |
| Who among you is wise and understanding? Prove by your good life that your works are done with the humility that comes from wisdom. | 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. |
| However, if we live in the light as he himself is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son purifies us from all sin. | But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. |
| At the time that discipline is received, it always seems painful rather than pleasant, but afterward it yields a harvest of peace and uprightness to those who have been trained by it. | No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. |
| Turn away from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord with a pure heart. | Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. |
| The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior and a savior. He will rejoice over you with gladness and renew you through his love. He will exult over you with shouts of joy. | The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. |
| His divine power has bestowed on us everything that is necessary for life and for devotion through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and virtue. | His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. |
| For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to the entire human race. It teaches us to reject godless ways and worldly desires, and in the present age to lead lives that are temperate, just, and godly. | For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. |
| Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you previously, that no one who does such things will inherit the kingdom of God. | The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. |
| Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath in honor of the Lord your God. You shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male slave, nor your female slave, nor your animals, nor the foreigner who dwells with you. The Lord made the heavens and the earth and the seas and that which is in them in six days, but he rested the seventh day. Thus, the Lord blessed the Sabbath and declared it to be sacred. | Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. |
