| Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners. | But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. |
| What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! | What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! |
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| All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” | 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”). |
| What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? | 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? |
| The Lord is slow to anger but great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. | The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet. |
| What then should we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” | 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.” |
| But I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified. | 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. |
| For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. | For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. |
| The fear of others lays a snare, but one who trusts in the Lord is secure. | Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. |
| For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. | 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. |
| Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. | Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. |
| Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you. | Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. |
| Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death. | Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death. |
| As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. | Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. |
| For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant. | 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. |
| This means understanding that the law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. | We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. |
| So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! | Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! |
| For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. | To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. |
| And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. | 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. |
| Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. | 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. |
| Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. | Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. |
| Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. | 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. |
| Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. | 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. |
| Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. | Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. |
| 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. | 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. |
