| Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength. | Riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might; and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all. |
| One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?” Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions.” Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” | One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.” |
| Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. | There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. |
| Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is made right in God’s sight—something the law of Moses could never do. | Let it be known to you therefore, my brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you; by this Jesus everyone who believes is set free from all those sins from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. |
| So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. | For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. |
| John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. | Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. |
| I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! | I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. |
| The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. | Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when he delights in our way. |
| You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy. | Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. |
| No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. | No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. |
| But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. | But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. |
| Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined by these trials. But the wicked will continue in their wickedness, and none of them will understand. Only those who are wise will know what it means. | Many shall be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked shall continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. |
| Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. | Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. |
| Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. | Then the Lord God said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. |
| But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. | Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. |
| Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval. | Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. |
| But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. | But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. |
| Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things. Make known his praise around the world. | Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. |
| A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls. | Like a city breached, without walls, is one who lacks self-control. |
| For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. | For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. |
| The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher, and he gives the farmer great wisdom. | This also comes from the Lord of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in wisdom. |
| Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. | Because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. |
| The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. | He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. |
| The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. | God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and makes me tread upon 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 whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him. |
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