May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace! | The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace. |
And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” | Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” |
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. | Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people. |
Am I now seeking human approval, or God's approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ. | Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. |
Deliverance belongs to the Lord; may your blessing be on your people! Selah | Victory comes from you, O Lord. May you bless your people. |
For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory. | For the Lord delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. |
How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word. | How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word. |
Happy 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. |
As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. | For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. |
She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. | And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. |
While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent. | God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. |
Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? | Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did? |
O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. | Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. |
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” | But the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.” |
Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. | What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. |
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. | God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. |
Come to a sober and right mind, and sin no more; for some people have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. | Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all. |
Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. | So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. |
Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. | You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. |
Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. | So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. |
Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. | Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you. |
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to you among the nations. | I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. |
Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” | Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.” |
So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God's rest also cease from their labors 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. |
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly. | Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. |