| Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters, since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ. | Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly, as if you were doing it for the Lord and not for others, since you know that you will receive from the Lord an inheritance as your reward for you are serving the Lord Christ. |
| Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? | Do you suppose that I cannot appeal to my Father for help and he will not immediately send me more than twelve legions of angels? |
| And hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that 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. |
| So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. | We have come to know and to believe in the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him. |
| Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. | O Lord, let your kindness rest upon us, for we have placed our hope in you. |
| When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. | When God saw by their actions that they had turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not inflict upon them the punishment that he had threatened. |
| The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him!” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. | The Lord then said, “Very well. All that he has is in your power. However, you may not lay a hand upon him.” So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. |
| Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. | Therefore, prepare your minds for action. Be calm and fix your hopes completely on the grace that you will be granted at the revelation of Jesus Christ. |
| Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. | In the same way, even the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs that cannot be put into words. |
| Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. | In my distress I called out to the Lord; he answered by setting me free. |
| As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. | Instruct those who are rich in this world’s goods that they should not be proud, nor should they trust in the uncertainty of riches but rather in God who richly provides us with everything we need for our enjoyment. |
| Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. | Yet even so, because of your great compassion, you did not completely destroy them, nor did you forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. |
| Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing. | 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. |
| You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry; my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children orphans. | 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. |
| Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. | Do the things that you have learned, received, and heard from me and that you saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. |
| Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. | Therefore, rid yourselves of everything sordid and of every wicked excess, and welcome in all humility the word that is implanted in you and is able to save your souls. |
| He said to them, “Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) | He said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not realize that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not into the heart but into the stomach and is discharged into the sewer?” Thus, he pronounced all foods clean. |
| Then the Lord God said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. | The Lord God said, “Behold, man has become like one of us, for he has knowledge of that which is good and that which is evil. Now, we must prevent him from reaching out and taking the fruit of the tree of life lest he eat it and live forever.” The Lord God cast him out of the Garden of Eden; henceforth he was to labor tilling the soil from which he had come. |
| No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. | No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a pot or places it under a bed. Rather he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. |
| But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I shall come out like gold. My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned 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. |
| Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. | Examine me, O God, and know my heart; test me and understand my thoughts. See if I follow an evil way, and guide me on the way to eternity. |
| Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are truth, and his ways are justice; and he is able to bring low those who walk in pride. | Therefore, now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven. For all of his works are right, and all of his ways are just. Also, he is able to humble all those who follow the path of pride. |
| I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep an eye on those who cause dissensions and offenses, in opposition to the teaching that you have learned; avoid 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. |
| Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. | Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is as strong as death, and ardor is as relentless as the netherworld. Its flames are flashes of fire, an unending blaze. |
| If you will only obey the Lord your God, by diligently observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. | If you heed the voice of the Lord, your God, and you carefully observe all of the commandments that I have given you today, then the Lord, your God, will lift you up above all the other nations upon the earth. |
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