| Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved. | Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved. |
| Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. | Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. |
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| Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. | So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall. |
| Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. | Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. |
| Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” | Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” |
| Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. | 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. |
| Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. | Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. |
| Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. | Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. |
| 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. | You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. |
| The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. | The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. |
| For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. | For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. |
| It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows. | Don’t trap yourself by making a rash promise to God and only later counting the cost. |
| Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. | See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. |
| Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. | Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. |
| Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word. | For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. |
| And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. | And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. |
| I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions. | I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions. |
| “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.” | “They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child.” |
| Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. | So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. |
| For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. | In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. |
| And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. | In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. |
| 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.’ | But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone. |
| To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” | Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” |
| A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word! | Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time! |
| But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. | But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are! |
