| 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. | No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a bowl or hides it under a bed. A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house. |
| 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. | All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed. |
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| 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! | Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! |
| 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? | I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. |
| 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. | For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. |
| 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. | Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval. |
| Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. | Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. |
| 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. | Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die. |
| 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. | Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. |
| Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? | Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? |
| Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. | Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God. |
| Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. | So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you. |
| Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? | Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet? |
| Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. | Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. |
| 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. | 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. |
| Do not judge, or you too will be judged. | Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. |
| All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. | Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one. |
| 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. | But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. |
| 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? | Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? |
| Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. | Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them. |
| This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ | This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other. |
| 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. | Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come. |
| A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. | Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold. |
| 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? | God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? |
| A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. | For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours. |
