| But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. | Go and learn what this text means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I have come to call not the righteous but sinners. |
| What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! | What then? Should we sin because we are not under the Law but under grace? Of course not! |
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| All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). | All this took place in order to fulfill what the Lord had announced through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” a name that means “God is with us.” |
| What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? | What then shall we say? Should we persist in sin in order that grace may abound? Of course not! We have died to sin. How can we live in it any longer? |
| For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. | Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single letter, not even a tiny portion of a letter, will disappear from the Law until all things have been accomplished. |
| 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. | Adulterers! Do you not know that love of the world results in enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God. |
| No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. | Rather, I discipline my body and bring it under control, for fear that after preaching to others I myself may be disqualified. |
| For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. | For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. |
| Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. | The fear of others will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is secure. |
| Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. | Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. |
| What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” | What then should we say? That the Law is sinful? Absolutely not! Yet if it had not been for the Law, I would not have known what sin was. I would not have known what covet is if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.” |
| Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. | May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. |
| Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death. | Treasures obtained by wicked means profit nothing, but a righteous life brings delivery from death. |
| Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. | As servants of God, behave as free people, but do not use your freedom as a means to cover up wrongdoing. |
| For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. | For this reason, he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who have been called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since his death has served to redeem the sins that were committed under the first covenant. |
| Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! | Consequently, anyone united to Christ is a new creation. The old order has passed away. Behold, all has become new. |
| To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. | This, in fact, is what you have been called to do, because Christ himself suffered for you and left an example for you to follow in his footsteps. |
| And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. | And I say to you: You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against it. |
| Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. | Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and undefiled is this: to come to the aid of orphans and widows in their hardships and to keep oneself untarnished by the world. |
| 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. | Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her in order to sanctify her by cleansing her with water and the word. |
| Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. | Therefore, you will be given this sign by the Lord himself: The virgin will be with child, and she will give birth to a son, and she will name him Immanuel. |
| Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. | Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the Church, the body of which he is the Savior. |
| 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. | Many shall be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked will persist in their evil ways. |
| His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. | His divine power has bestowed on us everything that is necessary for life and for devotion through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and virtue. |
| 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. | After you have suffered for a brief period, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and support you. |
