| 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. | Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand. |
| And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them. | The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. |
| Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. | Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. |
| Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one. | All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. |
| Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name. | Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. |
| For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. | For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. |
| Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. | Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. |
| Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. | Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. |
| Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands— O prosper the work of our hands! | May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands. |
| You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. | You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. |
| You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. | You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. |
| Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone. | Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. |
| The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps. | In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. |
| Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I put my trust. Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. | Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. |
| But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the Lord! | But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’ |
| As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything. | Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. |
| The human mind may devise many plans, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established. | Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. |
| And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. | When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. |
| Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. | You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. |
| The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. | The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. |
| A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. | A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. |
| For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. | You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. |
| Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another. | Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. |
| For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. | I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. |
| Tell slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect; they are not to talk back, not to pilfer, but to show complete and perfect fidelity, so that in everything they may be an ornament to the doctrine of God our Savior. | Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. |
