| For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! | For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. |
| But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. | But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. |
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| So also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. | So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. |
| A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted. | Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult. |
| Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? | Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? |
| Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” | When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” |
| Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! | You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. |
| Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. | Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. |
| Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, but the Lord your God brought you out with his strong hand and powerful arm. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to rest on the Sabbath day. | Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. |
| But when they saw him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost. They were all terrified when they saw him. But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage! I am here!” | But when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” |
| And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there. | And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. |
| In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. | And, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. |
| Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. | But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. |
| Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God! | Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. |
| You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. | You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. |
| Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. | For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. |
| Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. | No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. |
| The godly are showered with blessings; the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions. | Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked. |
| People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy. | Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. |
| “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.” | But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.” |
| But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval. | Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval. |
| All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). | Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. |
| As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.” | But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” |
| All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is 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”). |
| Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to 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. |
