| Indeed, fornication and impurity of any kind, as well as greed, should not even be mentioned among you. Such talk is not fitting for saints. | 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. |
| Therefore, let us cease passing judgment on one another, but rather judge never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. | Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. |
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| No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a pot or places it under a bed. Rather he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. | No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. |
| Do not love the world or what is in the world. If anyone does love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. | Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. |
| For you are aware that you were ransomed from your futile way of life inherited from your ancestors not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. | For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. |
| Does God give you the Spirit and work mighty deeds among you because you have kept the Law or because you believed what you have heard? | So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? |
| Consider the ravens. They do not sow or reap, they have no storehouse or barn, and yet God feeds them. You are of far greater importance than birds. | Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! |
| I refrained from eating any choice food, abstaining from consuming meat or wine, and I did not anoint myself until those three weeks had passed. | I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over. |
| Go, and assemble all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same thing. After that, I will go to the king—against the law. And if I perish, I perish! | Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish. |
| Now let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful in your judgments, for the Lord, our God, will not tolerate the perversion of justice, or partiality, or the taking of bribes. | Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery. |
| May the Lord, our God, be with us, just as he was with our fathers; may he not leave us or abandon us. | May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us. |
| What right do you have to pass judgment on someone else’s servant? The master will determine whether that servant will stand or fall. But the servant will be upheld, for the Lord has the power to enable him to stand. | Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. |
| Do not repay evil with evil or abuse with abuse. On the contrary, repay with a blessing. This is what you were called to do, so that you might inherit a blessing. | Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. |
| Before the mountains were brought forth or the earth and the world came into existence, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. | Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. |
| God is not human, that he should lie, or the son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act, does he promise and then not fulfill it? | God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? |
| No one can serve two masters. For you will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. | No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. |
| But what I tell you is this: Do not swear at all, either by heaven, since it is God’s throne, or by earth, since that is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great King. | But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. |
| Gaze upon the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or store in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of far greater value than they? | Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? |
| Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. | Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. |
| Woe to anyone who rises up against his Maker, or to the pot that is displeased with the potter. Does the clay say to the one who molds it, “What are you doing? Your work makes no sense.” | Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’? |
| Acquire wisdom and gain understanding; never forget or turn aside from my words. | Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. |
| For to you a thousand years are like a yesterday that has passed or one of the watches of the night. | A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. |
| Love is patient; love is charitable. Love is not envious; it does not have an inflated opinion of itself; it is not filled with its own importance. Love is never rude; it does not seek its own advantage. It is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over setbacks. | Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. |
| But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or how tall he stands, for the Lord has rejected him. He does not see the way that men see, for men look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” | But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” |
| To him who in all things is able through the power that is at work within us to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus through all generations, forever and ever. Amen. | Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. |
