| To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. | The Lord is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer him sacrifices. |
| And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. | Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. |
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| But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. | 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.” |
| But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of 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. |
| I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. | And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. |
| The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. | The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. |
| And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. | He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. |
| Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. | This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. |
| As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. | So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. |
| So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. | 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. |
| Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. | There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. |
| For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. | If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. |
| And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. | And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law. |
| For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. | I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. |
| Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. | He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. |
| For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. | For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. |
| And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! | They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” |
| My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. | Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. |
| He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? | Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? |
| How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? | Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. |
| Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase. | Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. |
| For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. | When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. |
| Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. | Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. |
| Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. | For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. |
| Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. | After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.” |
