For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. | Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. |
I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. | Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. |
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Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish! | Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die. |
A fool’s wrath is known at once, But a prudent man covers shame. | A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted. |
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. | Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. |
Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you. | I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. |
He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” | John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” |
Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, 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. |
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. | Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received! |
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. | Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. |
But he who endures to the end shall be saved. | But the one who endures to the end will be saved. |
Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. | Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. |
One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. | 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. |
For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. | No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. |
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. | This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. |
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? | If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? |
He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. | All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine. |
I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ | I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ |
You, O Lord, remain forever; Your throne from generation to generation. | But Lord, you remain the same forever! Your throne continues from generation to generation. |
Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. | Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. |
If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him. | If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive. |
In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. | And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do. |
As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. | I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. |
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will 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. |
Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. | Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. |