| Now I say this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows generously will also reap generously. | Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. |
| As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. | Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. |
| Now go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. | Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” |
| Nevertheless, in Your great compassion You did not make an end of them or abandon them, For You are a gracious and compassionate God. | But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are! |
| Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from a trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment. | So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. |
| That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. | If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. |
| Each one must do just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. | You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” |
| But I will sacrifice to You With a voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the Lord. | But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone. |
| Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. | This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. |
| But I strictly discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. | I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. |
| Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.’ | Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. |
| The Lord is good and upright; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way. | The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. |
| Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. So they do it to obtain a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. | All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. |
| For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over every ruler and authority. | For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. |
| And God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that, always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed. | And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. |
| For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may 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. |
| Not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you would inherit a blessing. | Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. |
| Consequently, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, 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. |
| But just as it is written: “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the human heart, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” | That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” |
| Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. | For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. |
| I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be eliminated by the waters of a flood, nor shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth. | Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth. |
| So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. | So also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. |
| The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. | The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. |
| At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments, The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. | In the night I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek you. For only when you come to judge the earth will people learn what is right. |
| So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb also entered then, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead. | Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. |
Related topics
Salvation
And there is salvation...
Giving
Each one must do...
Righteousness
One who pursues righteousness...
Generosity
A generous person will...
Learning
I will instruct you...
Sacrifice
Greater love has no...