So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The Lord is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other. | Know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. |
O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. | O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. |
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Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. | For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. |
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! | But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. |
“Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. | And rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. |
But ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation. ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together. | But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. |
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. | For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. |
No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. | No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. |
Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. | For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. |
Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. | But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. |
There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. | There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. |
Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. | Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. |
Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. | Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. |
Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing. | The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. |
So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. | Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” |
God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. | God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. |
Fear the Lord and judge with integrity, for the Lord our God does not tolerate perverted justice, partiality, or the taking of bribes. | Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the Lord our God, or partiality or taking bribes. |
Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. | Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. |
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. | There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. |
Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. | Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. |
Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years. | Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. |
Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.” | Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”. |
“Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’” And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.” | He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” |
Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. | Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. |
He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. | He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. |