| You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. | You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. |
| Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ | Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’ |
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| Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. | Don’t be like your ancestors who would not listen or pay attention when the earlier prophets said to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Turn from your evil ways, and stop all your evil practices.’ |
| While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” | As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” |
| So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” | 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. |
| Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. | We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. |
| For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! | For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. |
| And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” | I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” |
| Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. | Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. |
| Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. | Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. |
| Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. | Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. |
| Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”. | 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.” |
| Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. | Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. |
| “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” | “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!” |
| This is what the Lord says to Israel: “Seek me and live.” | Now this is what the Lord says to the family of Israel: “Come back to me and live!” |
| Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. | So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. |
| I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. | Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. |
| For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. | For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. |
| So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. | So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. |
| May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. | May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ. |
| Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have. | Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did? |
| This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. | And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. |
| A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. | So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. |
| Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. | So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! |
| After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. | After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. |
