| But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. | But from you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, among the tiniest of the clans of Judah, from you will come forth for me one who is to be a ruler in Israel, one whose origins are from the distant past, from ancient times. |
| The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all. | The misfortunes of the righteous man are many, but the Lord delivers him, from all of them. |
| Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. | Wait quietly for the Lord and be patient until he comes. Do not fret over the man who prospers because of his evil schemes. |
| Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. | Be on your guard that you do not lose what we have worked to accomplish so that you will receive your reward in full. |
| I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. | I urge you, brethren, to watch out for those who incite dissensions and obstacles in opposition to the teaching that you have learned. Take care to avoid them. |
| Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” | Then he took a cup, and after offering thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from this, all of you. For this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.” |
| But I have been the Lord your God ever since you came out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me. | I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. You know no God but me, nor any savior other than me. |
| Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. | The Lord God then formed a woman out of the rib that he had taken from the man. He brought her before the man. The man said, “This one is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken from man.” This is why a man leaves his father and his mother and joins with a wife, and the two become one flesh. |
| I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. | I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like a mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. |
| Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. | Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vanity, but humbly regard others as better than yourselves. |
| And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. | Such hope will not be doomed to disappointment, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. |
| The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. | The Lord will protect you against all evil; he will watch over your life. The Lord will watch over your coming and your going both now and forevermore. |
| Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. | Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, ‘Streams of living water shall flow from within him.’ |
| If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. | If your brother wrongs you, go and take up the matter with him when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. |
| Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. | Guard your heart with all possible vigilance, for from it flow the wellsprings of life. |
| Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. | Even if an army encamps against me, my heart will not succumb to fear; even if war breaks out against me, I will not have my trust shaken. |
| In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. | In my anguish I cried out to the Lord and called to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. |
| When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong. | Because the sentence for committing an evil act is not carried out quickly, people’s hearts are prone to act wickedly. |
| But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth. | The face of the Lord is turned against those who do evil, to erase all memory of them from the earth. |
| Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless. | You shall not oppress the widow or the orphan. If you mistreat them and they cry out to me for help, I will surely hear their cry, and my fury will burn and I will put you to death by the sword. Your wives will be widows and your children will be orphans. |
| “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” | Bring the tithes in full into the treasury so that there may be food in my house. Put me thus to the test, says the Lord of hosts, and see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down blessings upon you without measure. |
| He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. | He has made everything suitable for its time, and he has given men a sense of past and future, but they never have the slightest comprehension of what God has wrought from beginning to end. |
| If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married. | 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. |
| But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. | Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and whose hope is the Lord. They will be like a tree planted by the water that spreads out its roots to the stream. When the heat comes, it does not fear; its leaves stay green. It is not concerned in a year of drought, and it never fails to bear fruit. |
| But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. | And yet he is aware of everywhere I go; if he were to test me, I would emerge like pure gold. My footsteps have not strayed from the path he established; I have followed his way and never turned aside. |
Bible verse of the day
All my longings lie open before you, Lord;my sighing is not hidden from you.