| The wealth of a rich man is his stronghold; he regards it as a high wall that cannot be scaled. | The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. |
| Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage. | What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance. |
| Then Peter asked, “Ananias, why has Satan so gained control of your heart that you lied to the Holy Spirit and retained part of the sale price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not belong to you? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds yours? What caused you to contrive this scheme? You have lied not to men but to God.” | Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” |
| You shall be holy, for I, the Lord, am holy. I have chosen you from among all people that you shall 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. |
| For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith. This has not come from you but from the gift of God. It does not come from works, so that no one can 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. |
| Be doers of the word and not just hearers who only deceive themselves. | But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. |
| What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his very life? Or what can he give in exchange for his life? | And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? |
| Exhort slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give them satisfaction in every respect. They are not to talk back to them, nor are they to steal from them. Rather, they should show themselves to be completely trustworthy so that in every way they may add luster to the doctrine of God our Savior. | Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back or steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way. |
| Like a city that has been breached and made defenseless is the man devoid of self-control. | A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls. |
| He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live in righteousness. By his wounds you have been 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. |
| Indeed, it is seldom that anyone will die for a just person, although perhaps for a good person someone might be willing to die. Thus, God proved his love for 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. |
| How great you are, Lord God! There is no one like you, and there is no God except you alone, as everything that we have heard confirms. | How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! |
| The Lord will fulfill his plan for me. Your kindness, O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the work 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. |
| However, each one of you should love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife should respect her husband. | So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. |
| If anyone thinks that he is religious but does not restrain his tongue, he is deceiving himself, and his religion is worthless. | If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. |
| Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not treat them harshly. | Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly. |
| My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad. | My child, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice! |
| They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and offered worship and service to the creature rather than to the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural practices. Likewise, men gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameful acts with men and received in their own persons the fitting penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since these people did not see fit to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their depraved way of thinking and to all types of vile behavior. | They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. |
| May he give you your heart’s desire and grant you success in all your plans. | May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed. |
| Not because of any righteous deeds on our part but because of his mercy, he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. | He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. |
| Do not forsake your friend or the friend of your father, and do not run to your brother’s house when troubles befall you; far better is a friend nearby than a brother who is 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. |
| After this, he said to the crowd, “Take care to be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Life does not depend upon an abundance of one’s possessions.” | Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” |
| Whoever observes the commandments will live, but the one who scorns them will die. | Keep the commandments and keep your life; despising them leads to death. |
| Thus you could understand that the Lord, your God, was disciplining you, just like a father disciplines his son. | Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good. |
| You shall obey his statutes and the commandments that I give you today, so that all may go well with you and your children after you, and that you may live long in the land that the Lord, your God, has given you for all time. | If you obey all the decrees and commands I am giving you today, all will be well with you and your children. I am giving you these instructions so you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you for all time. |
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Bible verse of the day
A fool spurns his father’s correction,but whoever heeds admonition is prudent.