| Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage. | Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. |
| Righteousness is a sign of a nation’s greatness, but sin degrades any people. | Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people. |
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| I was eager to respond to those who did not consult me. I was anxious to be approached by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am! Here I am!” to a nation that did not summon me. | I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’ |
| Then Peter addressed them: “I now understand how true it is that God has no favorites, but that in every nation all those who fear God and do what is right are acceptable to him.” | Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” |
| But you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people claimed by God as his own possession,” so that you may proclaim the praise of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. | But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. |
| Be still and acknowledge that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth. | He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” |
| The Lord, your God, will bless you as he promised you. You will lend to many nations, but borrow from none. You shall rule over many nations, but none shall rule over you. | For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you. |
| I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O Lord; I will sing your praises among the nations. | I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. |
| I intend to prove the holiness of my great name which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. Thus, the nations will know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when through you I will display my holiness in their sight. | I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes. |
| And the good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the entire world as a testimony offered to all the nations. And then the end will come. | And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. |
| I will, thereby, display my greatness and my holiness and make myself known to many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord. | And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord. |
| If you heed the voice of the Lord, your God, and you carefully observe all of the commandments that I have given you today, then the Lord, your God, will lift you up above all the other nations upon the earth. | If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. |
| Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the world. | Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. |
| And you will say on that day: Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. | In that day you will say: “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.” |
| Because in my eyes you are precious, because you are honored and I love you, I will give people in exchange for you and nations in return for your life. | Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life. |
| I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of the heavens and I will give them all these lands. All the nations on the earth will be blessed through your descendants, for Abraham listened to my voice and observed that which I ordered: my commandments, my ordinances and my laws. | I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions. |
| Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He was made visible in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed to the Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory. | Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. |
| Who has performed these deeds and accomplished this? Who has summoned the nations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first, and I will be there with the last. | Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord—with the first of them and with the last—I am he. |
| Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may show yourselves blameless and beyond reproach, children of God without spot in the midst of an evil and depraved generation, among which you shine like lights in the world as you hold fast tenaciously to the word of life. | Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. |
| Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name; proclaim his deeds among the peoples. | Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. |
| Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord, our God. | Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. |
| You shall be holy, for I, the Lord, am holy. I have chosen you from among all people that you shall be mine. | You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own. |
| Now, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession from among all the peoples, for the entire earth is mine. | Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine. |
| Behold, he is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. All the peoples of the earth will mourn him. So shall it be. Amen. | “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen. |
| For the carved images of the nations are powerless; they are nothing more than wood cut from a forest, fashioned with a knife by craftsmen and embellished with silver and gold. Then they are fastened with hammers and nails to prevent them from toppling. Like scarecrows in a cucumber field they are unable to speak, and they must be carried from place to place since they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they can do no harm, nor do they have any power to do 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. |
