| These are the words of the Lord of hosts: Stand at the crossroads and look around; ask for the ancient paths. When you are shown where the good way lies, walk along it and your souls will find rest. However, they said, “We will not take it.” | This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” |
| Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render fair judgments, and show kindness and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor. Do not plot evil in your heart against one another. | This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ |
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| Be doers of the word and not just hearers who only deceive themselves. | Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. |
| I intend to prove the holiness of my great name which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. Thus, the nations will know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when through you I will display my holiness in their sight. | I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes. |
| No weapon used against you will prevail, and you will refute every accusation that is raised in court against you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, their vindication from me, says the Lord. | “No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord. |
| For I know full well the plans I have for you, plans for your welfare and not for your misfortune, plans that will offer you a future filled with hope. | For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. |
| Do I derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? asks the Lord God. Would I not rather rejoice to see them turn away from their wickedness and live? | Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? |
| He who called you is holy. Therefore, be holy yourselves in all your conduct. For Scripture says, “Be holy, for I am holy.” | But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” |
| How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who bears good news and proclaims glad tidings, announcing salvation and saying to Zion, “Your God is king.” | How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” |
| 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. | For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. |
| Be still and acknowledge that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth. | He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” |
| 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. | So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. |
| I will instruct you and guide you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and keep my eyes upon you. | I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. |
| This is ‘the stone rejected by you, the builders, that has become the cornerstone.’ | Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ |
| For all of us fall short in many ways. Anyone who never makes a mistake in speech has reached perfection and is able to control every part of his body. | We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. |
| God is faithful, and it is by him that you have been called into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. | God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. |
| However, the one who looks intently at the perfect law of freedom and perseveres—not forgetting what he has heard but putting it into practice—will be blessed in everything he does. | But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. |
| 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. | You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. |
| I was eager to respond to those who did not consult me. I was anxious to be approached by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am! Here I am!” to a nation that did not summon me. | I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’ |
| If your brother should sin, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. Even if he wrongs you seven times a day, and comes back to you seven times to say, ‘I am sorry,’ you must forgive him. | If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them. |
