| For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. | For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. |
| This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. | This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. |
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| That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. | That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. |
| For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. | 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. |
| So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. | Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. |
| So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. | Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. |
| And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him. | You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed. |
| Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. | Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. |
| So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.” | Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.” |
| Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. | You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. |
| Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. | Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. |
| From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” | From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” |
| This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. | This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. |
| And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. | Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. |
| How I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house. | You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. |
| Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. | Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. |
| Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. | Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. |
| The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. | 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. |
| Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? | So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? |
| As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. | The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. |
| All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God 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”). |
| To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles. | But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles. |
