| Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. | We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. |
| I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! | I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die. |
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| Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! | Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! |
| Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” | But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” |
| There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. | So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. |
| For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. | No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. |
| For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. | The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. |
| Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame. | Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all. |
| You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. | You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. |
| Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. | And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. |
| Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. | Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. |
| And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. | And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. |
| So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. | For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. |
| For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. | For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. |
| For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. | For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. |
| For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. | You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. |
| For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. | God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. |
| But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. | But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants. |
| If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? | If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? |
| After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. | After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness. |
| But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. | 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. |
| In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. | In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. |
| The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. | The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. |
| Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. | Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. |
| The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” | The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.” |
