| I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set your judgments before me. | I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on your laws. |
| I will praise you in sincerity of heart as I ponder your righteous judgments. | I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. |
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| Every word you utter is true, and all your righteous judgments are everlasting. | All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal. |
| Observe the ordinances of the Lord, your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and what he witnessed in writing in the law of Moses. In this way you will prosper in whatever you do and wherever you go. | Observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go. |
| We have sinned and done what is wrong, we have acted wickedly and rebelled, we have rejected your commandments and your laws. | We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. |
| I will put my Spirit in you and make you follow my statutes and my ordinances. | And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. |
| I, the Lord, am your God. You must obey my laws and be careful to observe my ordinances. Keep holy my Sabbaths as a sign between me and you so that you will know that I am the Lord, your God. | I am the Lord your God; follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God. |
| If you obey the command that I give you today, to love the Lord, your God, and to walk in his ways, and to observe his commandments, statutes, and decrees, then you will live and multiply, and the Lord, your God, will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. | For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. |
| Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; if he closes his lips, he is regarded as intelligent. | Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues. |
| The wealth of a rich man is his stronghold; he regards it as a high wall that cannot be scaled. | The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale. |
| For no one can be regarded as justified in the sight of God by keeping the Law. The Law brings only the consciousness of sin. | Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. |
| Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vanity, but humbly regard others as better than yourselves. | Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. |
| And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask him, we may be sure that all we ask of him will be ours. | And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. |
| He was despised and shunned by others, a man of sorrows who was no stranger to suffering. We loathed him and regarded him as of no account, as one from whom men avert their gaze. | He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. |
| Such godly sorrow results in repentance that leads to salvation and causes no regret, whereas worldly sorrow produces death. | Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. |
| Joseph therefore went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David. He went to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was expecting a child. | So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. |
| I will make them and the region surrounding my hill a blessing, and I will send them rain in due season that will be showers of blessing. | I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. |
| God chose those in the world who were lowly and despised, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who were regarded as worthy, so that no one could boast in the presence of God. | God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. |
| Let no one regard you with contempt because of your youth, but serve as an example to the believers in your speech and conduct, in your love, your faith, and your purity. | Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. |
| Those who place their hope in the Lord will regain their strength. They will soar as with eagles’ wings, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not become faint. | But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. |
| As for me, I do not regard my life as of any value, only that I finish the race and complete the mission that I received from the Lord Jesus—to bear witness to the gospel of God’s grace. | However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. |
| Through the grace that God has bestowed upon me, I advise every one of you not to think of yourself too highly, but to regard yourself objectively, based on the measure of faith that God has granted. | For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. |
| Every day, united in spirit, they would assemble together in the temple. They would break bread in their homes and share their food with joyful and generous hearts as they praised God, and they were regarded with favor by all the people. And day by day the Lord added to those who were being saved. | Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. |
| Therefore, do not allow anyone to pass judgment on you in regard to what you eat or drink, or about the observance of Festivals, New Moons, or Sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come. The reality is Christ. | Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. |
| Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. | Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! |
