Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. | Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. |
Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. | For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. |
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Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority. | Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. |
Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. | Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. |
For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” | For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” |
Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. | Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. |
Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. | But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. |
Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. | As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. |
Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. | Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. |
Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval. | Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. |
In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. | One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. |
If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. | For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. |
For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’” | For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” |
So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. | Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. |
We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. | Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. |
Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. | For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. |
May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. | May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus. |
Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. | Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. |
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. | May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. |
Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other. | So that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. |
And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. | I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. |
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. | The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. |
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. | Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. |
For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. | For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. |
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. | For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. |