| The heart is more deceitful than any other thing, and it is also perverse. Who can uncover its secrets? I, the Lord, search the heart and probe the mind to reward all according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve. | The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve. |
| No one should seek his own advantage in preference to that of his neighbor. | Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. |
| And if one should fall, his companion will help him up. How pathetic is the man who is alone and falls and has no one to assist him to his feet. | If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. |
| This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you. | This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. |
| Brethren, we must always give thanks to God for you, and it is only right that we do so. For your faith grows ever more, and the love that all of you have for one another continues to increase. | Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. |
| For I am longing to see you so that I may bestow on you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— or, rather, so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. | For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. |
| Whom do I have in heaven except you? And besides you there is nothing else I desire on earth. | Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. |
| Owe nothing to anyone except the debt of love you owe one another. The one who loves others has fulfilled the Law. | Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. |
| Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. | Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. |
| Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by mutual consent for a specified time so as to devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan may not tempt you by taking advantage of your lack of self-control. | Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. |
| Above all, maintain the fervor of your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. | Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. |
| Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vanity, but humbly regard others as better than yourselves. | Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. |
| Recognizing that laws are not designed for the upright. They are for the lawless and insubordinate, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and irreligious; they are for those who slay their fathers and mothers, for murderers, for those who are fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which has been entrusted to me. | For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders. The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God. |
| On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. | As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. |
| About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. | Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. |
| But I have had help from God to this very day, and I stand here and testify to both the lowly and the great. I assert nothing more than what the Prophets and Moses said would occur: that the Christ must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light to the people and to the Gentiles. | But God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen— that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike. |
| Love one another with genuine affection. Esteem others more highly than yourself. | Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. |
| May the God of perseverance and encouragement grant that you may live in harmony with one another, following in the example of Jesus Christ. | May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. |
| Therefore, we love because he first loved us. | We love each other because he loved us first. |
| If you forgive others for the wrongs they have done, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. | If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. |
| I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you should also 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. |
| Do not lie to one another, since you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self that is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. | Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. |
| May the Lord cause your love to increase and overflow for one another and for everyone else, just as our love does for you. | And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. |
| Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render fair judgments, and show kindness and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor. Do not plot evil in your heart against one another. | 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. |
| Finally, all of you should be united in spirit, sympathetic, filled with love for one another, compassionate, and humble. | Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. |
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