| And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. | He then called the people and his disciples to him and said to them, “Anyone who wishes to follow me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” |
| For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. | Does it now appear to you that I am trying to gain the approval of human beings rather than the approval of God? Am I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. |
| Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. | Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and utter all kinds of calumnies against you for my sake. |
| Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. | Blessed are you when people hate you and ostracize you, when they insult you and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. |
| Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles. | 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. |
| And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. | And I heard a loud voice proclaim from the throne: “Behold, God’s dwelling is with mankind; he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and he will be their God, God-with-them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will no longer be death. Neither will there be any mourning or crying or pain, for the old order has passed away.” |
| Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine. | Now, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession from among all the peoples, for the entire earth is mine. |
| And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. | And you will say on that day: Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. |
| And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. | He said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” |
| But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. | I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to render an account for every careless word they utter. |
| But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. | However, those who want riches fall into temptations and are trapped into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. |
| Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. | Therefore, I tell you that every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. |
| And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. | Take no part in the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather seek to expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of what deeds people do in secret. |
| See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. | Therefore, take care to live as intelligent people, and do not be like those who are senseless. Make the most of the present time, for this is a wicked age. |
| The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward. | The labors of the wicked man produce little profit, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward. |
| I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. | In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance. |
| Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom. | An ignorant man causes strife by his insolence, but wisdom is found with those who take advice. |
| The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. | The vine has withered; the fig tree droops. The pomegranate, the palm, and the apple tree— all the trees of the field have dried up. And the joy of the people has also withered away. |
| And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. | On one Sabbath as Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, a woman was present, possessed by a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and completely unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” Then he laid his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue was indignant because Jesus had effected a cure on the Sabbath, and he said to the assembled people, “There are six days when work is permitted. Come on those days and be cured, and not on the Sabbath.” The Lord said to him in reply, “You hypocrites! Is there a single one of you who does not untie his ox or his donkey and lead it from its stall to give it water on the Sabbath? Should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has held bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath?” At these words, all his adversaries were put to shame, and the people rejoiced at all the wonderful things he was doing. |
| Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. | How can a young man lead a spotless life? By living according to your word. |
| Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. | Seek peace with everyone, as well as the holiness without which no one will ever see the Lord. |
| The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. | The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. |
| By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. | This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples: if you love one another. |
| For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. | For the carved images of the nations are powerless; they are nothing more than wood cut from a forest, fashioned with a knife by craftsmen and embellished with silver and gold. Then they are fastened with hammers and nails to prevent them from toppling. Like scarecrows in a cucumber field they are unable to speak, and they must be carried from place to place since they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they can do no harm, nor do they have any power to do good. |
| In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. | In God, whose word I praise, in God I place my trust and know no fear; what can people do to me? |
Bible verse of the day
In my distress I called upon the Lord,and cried unto my God:
he heard my voice out of his temple,
and my cry came before him, even into his ears.