| But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. | But to those of you who are listening to me, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. |
| Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. | Jesus replied, “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.” |
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| Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God. | Therefore say to them, “Thus says the Lord God: The fulfillment of my words will not be delayed any longer. What I have said will be done now. This is the word of the Lord God.” |
| What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. | What then should we say? That the Law is sinful? Absolutely not! Yet if it had not been for the Law, I would not have known what sin was. I would not have known what covet is if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.” |
| But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine. | As for you, teach what is consistent with sound doctrine. |
| Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? | Woe to anyone who rises up against his Maker, or to the pot that is displeased with the potter. Does the clay say to the one who molds it, “What are you doing? Your work makes no sense.” |
| Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. | Jesus replied, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” |
| For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. | 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. |
| But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. | All you need to do is to say ‘Yes’ if you mean ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ if you mean ‘No.’ Anything beyond this comes from the evil one. |
| Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. | Amen, amen, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. |
| Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. | Jesus said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” |
| The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. | The Lord is my portion, I say to myself; therefore, I will place my hope in him. |
| But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. | But what I tell you is this: Do not swear at all, either by heaven, since it is God’s throne, or by earth, since that is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great King. |
| Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. | Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. |
| Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. | Seek good and not evil, so that you may live. Then the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you as you claim he is. |
| For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. | For I, the Lord, am your God and I grasp your right hand. It is I who say to you, Do not fear; I will help you. |
| Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. | You have heard that it was said of old: ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that anyone who looks with lust at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart. |
| And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. | You might say to yourself, “How can we know that the Lord did not speak the message?” If what the prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord is not true and it does not happen, then the message was not proclaimed by the Lord. The prophet has spoken presumptuously, you should not fear him. |
| And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. | And I say to you: You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against it. |
| Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. | So if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out there. If they say, ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For just as lightning comes from the east and is visible even in the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. |
| For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. | Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single letter, not even a tiny portion of a letter, will disappear from the Law until all things have been accomplished. |
| Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. | Amen, amen, I say to you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do, and indeed will do even greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. |
| Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. | Place your hope in the Lord: be strong and courageous in your heart, and place your hope in the Lord. |
| All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. | “All things are lawful,” you may say—but not all things are beneficial. All things may be lawful—but not all things are constructive. |
| Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. | In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents. |
