| Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. | Therefore, brethren, I implore you by the mercies of God to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and acceptable to God—a spiritual act of worship. |
| Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. | Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds, so that you will be able to discern the will of God and to know what is good and acceptable and perfect. |
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| 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. | 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 just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. | For just as in one body we have many parts, and the parts do not all have the same function, so we, though many, make up one body in Christ, and individually we are all parts of one another. |
| Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. | Let your love be sincere. Loathe what is evil and hold fast to what is good. |
| Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. | Love one another with genuine affection. Esteem others more highly than yourself. |
| Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. | Do not be lacking in zeal, but serve the Lord with spiritual fervor. |
| Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. | Be joyful in your hope. Be patient in times of affliction. Persevere in prayer. |
| Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. | Bless those who persecute you; bless them and do not curse them. |
| Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. | Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. |
| Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. | Live in harmony with one another. Do not consider yourself to be better than others, but associate with the lowly, and never be conceited. |
| If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. | As much as possible, and to the extent of your ability, live in peace with everyone. |
| Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. | Dearly beloved, never seek revenge. Leave that to the time of retribution. For it is written, “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. I will repay.” |
| Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. | Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good. |
| Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. | Let everyone submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which derives from God, and whatever authorities exist have been instituted by God. |
| This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. | That is why you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, and they devote themselves to this service. |
| Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. | Pay to each person what is rightfully his—taxes to the one to whom taxes are due, tolls to the one to whom tolls are due, respect to the one to whom respect is due, honor to the one to whom honor is due. |
| Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. | Owe nothing to anyone except the debt of love you owe one another. The one who loves others has fulfilled the Law. |
| The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” | “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and every other commandment are all summed up in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” |
| Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. | Love cannot result in any harm to the neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the Law. |
| Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. | Rather, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and allow no opportunity for the flesh to gratify its sinful desires. |
| Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. | Welcome anyone whose faith is weak, but do not get into arguments about doubts. |
| The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. | The one who eats everything must not look contemptuously on the one who does not, and the one who abstains must not pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed both. |
| Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. | What right do you have to pass judgment on someone else’s servant? The master will determine whether that servant will stand or fall. But the servant will be upheld, for the Lord has the power to enable him to stand. |
| One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. | One person may consider one day to be more sacred than another, while another may judge all days to be alike. Let everyone be convinced in his own beliefs. |
