Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” | Go and learn what this text means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I have come to call not the righteous but sinners. |
For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. | For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. |
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Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety. | The fear of others will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is secure. |
All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is 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.” |
Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! | What then? Should we sin because we are not under the Law but under grace? Of course not! |
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! | Consequently, anyone united to Christ is a new creation. The old order has passed away. Behold, all has become new. |
For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must 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. |
Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer 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. |
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. | 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. |
Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? | 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 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. | 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. |
All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). | 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. |
For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. | 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, 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 will persist in their evil ways. |
The Lord is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet. | The Lord is slow to anger but great in power, and he will never allow the guilty to escape punishment. He makes his way in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust beneath his feet. |
By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. | 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. |
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. | 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. |
I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. | Rather, I discipline my body and bring it under control, for fear that after preaching to others I myself may be disqualified. |
I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. | 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. |
Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. | Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. |
Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must 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 his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all. | May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. |
Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life. | Treasures obtained by wicked means profit nothing, but a righteous life brings delivery from death. |
For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. | As servants of God, behave as free people, but do not use your freedom as a means to cover up wrongdoing. |
That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that 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. |