| Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. | Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. |
| For the customs of the peoples are futile; For it is wood cut from the forest, The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. They decorate the idol with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not totter. They are like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, For they can do no harm, Nor can they do any good. | For the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good. |
| One person values one day over another, another values every day the same. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. | One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. |
| Take care that no one deceives himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. | Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. |
| And he would answer and say to them, “The one who has two tunics is to share with the one who has none; and the one who has food is to do likewise.” | John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” |
| You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. | It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. |
| So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place, as to whether the Christ was to suffer, and whether, as first from the resurrection of the dead, He would proclaim light both to the Jewish 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. |
| Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. | Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. |
| I, I Myself, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of mortal man, And of a son of man who is made like grass. | I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass. |
| Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. | Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. |
| Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. | Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. |
| But as for you, proclaim the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. | You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. |
| Brothers and sisters, even if a person is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you are not tempted as well. | Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. |
| So it shall be when he becomes guilty of one of these things, that he shall confess that in which he has sinned. | When anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must confess in what way they have sinned. |
| Your adornment must not be merely the external—braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or putting on apparel; but it should be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. | 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. |
| The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise the wife also to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise the husband also does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. | The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. |
| You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and His provisions and His statutes which He has commanded you. | Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. |
| You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony; Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself. | ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ |
| Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. | Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. |
| So then, let’s not sleep as others do, but let’s be alert and sober. | So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. |
| I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. | A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. |
| When a man takes a new wife, he is not to go out with the army, nor be assigned any duty; he shall be free at home for one year and shall make his wife whom he has taken happy. | If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married. |
| But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is, Christ. | Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. |
| For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” | The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” |
| Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I have given everything to you, as I gave the green plant. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. | Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. |
Bible verse of the day
Vindicate the weak and fatherless;Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.