Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. | Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified of them, for the Lord, your God, is going forth with you. He will never leave you or abandon you. |
And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. | If it seems wrong to you to serve the Lord, then today you must choose whom you will serve, whether it be the gods that your fathers served on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites who dwell in the land. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. |
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And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed. | Do not be afraid or dismayed, the Lord will go before you; he will not fail or forsake you. |
When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with any business; he shall be free at home one year, and bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken. | If a man has recently been married, he is not to go off to battle nor have any other duty laid on him. He will be free to stay at home for one year so that he can bring happiness to the wife whom he has married. |
Now therefore, let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes. | 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. |
As you do not know what is the way of the wind, Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything. | Just as you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in a woman’s womb, so you do not know the work of God, the Creator of all. |
Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? | 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. |
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. | There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free man, there is no longer male or female. For all of you are one in Christ Jesus. |
Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful. | Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the company of scoffers. |
Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. | Let no one deceive you in any way. That Day cannot come before the final rebellion occurs and the lawless one is revealed, the son of destruction. He is the adversary who sets himself in opposition to, and exalts himself above, every so-called god or object of worship, and who even seats himself in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. |
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. | Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have received from God, and that you are not your own? You have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body. |
Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. | So if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out there. If they say, ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For just as lightning comes from the east and is visible even in the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. |
But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. | All you need to do is to say ‘Yes’ if you mean ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ if you mean ‘No.’ Anything beyond this comes from the evil one. |
Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. | You shall observe the Sabbath by keeping it holy, as the Lord, your God, has commanded you. You are to labor on six days, doing all of your work then. The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, your God. You shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your ox, nor your ass, nor your cattle, nor even the foreigner living in your town. Thus your manservant and maidservant can rest as well. |
But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. | When they arrest you and bring you to trial, do not be concerned beforehand about what you are to say. Simply say whatever is given to you when that time comes, for it will not be you who speak but the Holy Spirit. |
But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. | 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. |
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. | Are you not aware that wrongdoers will never inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, extortioners, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. |
And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. | You might say to yourself, “How can we know that the Lord did not speak the message?” If what the prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord is not true and it does not happen, then the message was not proclaimed by the Lord. The prophet has spoken presumptuously, you should not fear him. |
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold. | An honorable name is more to be desired than great riches, and high esteem is preferable to silver and gold. |
For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night. | For to you a thousand years are like a yesterday that has passed or one of the watches of the night. |
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? | 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? |
And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. | If he refuses to listen to them, report it to the Church. And if he refuses to listen to the Church, treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. |
Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. | Acquire wisdom and gain understanding; never forget or turn aside from my words. |
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? | Do not associate with unbelievers. For what basis can there be for a partnership between righteousness and lawlessness? What do light and darkness have in common? |
Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful. | Yet even so, because of your great compassion, you did not completely destroy them, nor did you forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. |