| For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? | And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? |
| Nevertheless, as for you individually, each husband is to love his own wife the same as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband. | So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. |
| Like a city that is broken into and without walls So is a person who has no self-control over his spirit. | A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls. |
| Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? | Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. |
| For one will hardly die for a righteous person; though perhaps for the good person someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. | Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. |
| And He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed. | He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. |
| But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves. | But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. |
| For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a person and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor follow other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. | But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice; only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols. Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever. |
| So you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have singled you out from the peoples to be Mine. | You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own. |
| Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not become bitter against them. | Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly. |
| May He grant you your heart’s desire And fulfill your whole plan! | May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed. |
| The mind of a person plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. | We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. |
| And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? | And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. And you must always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good. |
| For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast. | God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. |
| Consequently, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. | So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. |
| Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. | Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. |
| The Lord will accomplish what concerns me; Your faithfulness, Lord, is everlasting; Do not abandon the works of Your hands. | The Lord will work out his plans for my life— for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me. |
| Do not abandon your friend or your father’s friend, And do not go to your brother’s house on the day of your disaster; Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away. | Never abandon a friend— either yours or your father’s. When disaster strikes, you won’t have to ask your brother for assistance. It’s better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away. |
| So the Lord commanded us to follow all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our own good always and for our survival, as it is today. | And the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as he has done to this day. |
| But He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.” | Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” |
| And let’s consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds, not abandoning our own meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. | Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. |
| One who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But one who is careless of conduct will die. | Keep the commandments and keep your life; despising them leads to death. |
| The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the treacherous will destroy them. | Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people. |
| One who guards his mouth protects his life; One who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. | Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything. |
| So you are to know in your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. | Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good. |
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