| For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders. The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God. | Recognizing that laws are not designed for the upright. They are for the lawless and insubordinate, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and irreligious; they are for those who slay their fathers and mothers, for murderers, for those who are fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which has been entrusted to me. |
| The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. | The Lord God is my strength; he makes my feet as swift as those of a deer and enables me to tread on the heights. |
| And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. | And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask him, we may be sure that all we ask of him will be ours. |
| So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. | Hence, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. |
| Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. | Let us remain firm in the confession of our hope without wavering, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy. |
| When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. | When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, for God has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill the vow you have made. |
| For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. | For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for a life of good works that God had prepared for us to do. |
| You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” | Each person should give as much as he has decided in his heart, not with reluctance or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. |
| God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. | God’s love was revealed to us in this way: God sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might have life through him. |
| But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. | However, now that you have been freed from sin and bound to the service of God, the benefit you receive is sanctification, and the end is eternal life. |
| 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. | The brother who is in modest circumstances should take pride in being raised up. Likewise, the one who is rich should glory in being brought low, for he will disappear like a flower of the field. |
| Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. | Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I made no attempt to conceal my guilt. I said, “I will confess my offenses to the Lord,” and you removed the guilt of my sin. Selah |
| And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. | God gave the midwives numerous families because they had feared God. |
| Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory. | Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He was made visible in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed to the Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory. |
| I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. | Brethren, I exhort you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to be in full agreement with one another and not permit any divisions to arise among you. Be perfectly united in mind and purpose. |
| For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. | For we will become partners with Christ only if we maintain firmly until the end the confidence we originally had. |
| But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants. | However, whoever lives by the truth comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been done in God. |
| Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. | Beloved, we are God’s children now. What we shall be has not yet been revealed. However, we do know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he really is. Everyone who has this hope in him keeps himself pure, just as he is pure. |
| I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death. | 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. |
| Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” | Then Peter asked, “Ananias, why has Satan so gained control of your heart that you lied to the Holy Spirit and retained part of the sale price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not belong to you? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds yours? What caused you to contrive this scheme? You have lied not to men but to God.” |
| One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God! But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.” But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?” This shamed his enemies, but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did. | On one Sabbath as Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, a woman was present, possessed by a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and completely unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” Then he laid his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue was indignant because Jesus had effected a cure on the Sabbath, and he said to the assembled people, “There are six days when work is permitted. Come on those days and be cured, and not on the Sabbath.” The Lord said to him in reply, “You hypocrites! Is there a single one of you who does not untie his ox or his donkey and lead it from its stall to give it water on the Sabbath? Should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has held bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath?” At these words, all his adversaries were put to shame, and the people rejoiced at all the wonderful things he was doing. |
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