| All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. | Diligent labor always yields profit, but idle conversation only leads to poverty. |
| The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? | With the Lord to protect me I am not afraid. What can mortals do to me? |
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| I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass. | I, I alone, am the one who comforts you. Why then do you fear mortal men who must die, human beings who must perish like grass? |
| In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? | In God, whose word I praise, in God I place my trust and know no fear; what can people do to me? |
| So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” | Therefore, we can say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” |
| Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. | Be doers of the word and not just hearers who only deceive themselves. |
| They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. | For they said to you, “In the final age there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly passions.” It is these people who create divisions, who follow their natural instincts and do not possess the Spirit. |
| What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? | What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? |
| For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. | For you are aware that you were ransomed from your futile way of life inherited from your ancestors not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. |
| Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. | Dear children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. |
| By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. | The heavens were made by the word of the Lord, and all their host by the breath of his mouth. |
| And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. | When you pray do not go on babbling endlessly as the pagans do, for they believe that they are more likely to be heard because of their many words. |
| Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. | Do not seek to adorn yourself externally—by the braiding of your hair and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothing. Rather, let your adornment be of your inner self, the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. |
