They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and offered worship and service to the creature rather than to the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural practices. Likewise, men gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameful acts with men and received in their own persons the fitting penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since these people did not see fit to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their depraved way of thinking and to all types of vile behavior. | Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. |
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for I bring you good news of great joy for all the people.” | And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” |
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The proud man’s heart is not upright, but the righteous man will live because of his faith. | Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. |
Take care, brethren, that none of you will ever have an evil and unbelieving heart that will cause you to forsake the living God. | Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. |
Consequently, anyone united to Christ is a new creation. The old order has passed away. Behold, all has become new. | Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. |
Behold, we are now going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised to life. | See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day. |
For our eyes are fixed not on what is seen but rather on that which cannot be seen. What is visible is transitory; what is invisible is eternal. | As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. |
Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father. | Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. |
Speak out and pronounce righteous judgments; defend the rights of the wretched and the poor. | Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. |
If someone says, “I love God,” but at the same time hates his brother, he is a liar. For whoever does not love the brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. | If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. |
Gaze upon the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or store in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of far greater value than they? | Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? |
There is only one thing I ask of the Lord, just one thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, so that I may enjoy the beauty of the Lord and gaze on his temple. | One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. |
For as it is written, “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has the human heart imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” | But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” |
Rather, let justice flow like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. | But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. |
In the same way, faith by itself is dead if it does not have works. | So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. |
Let your kindness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. | Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. |
Arise and shine forth, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you. | Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. |
However, whoever lives by the truth comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been done in God. | But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. |
After he said this, he was lifted up as they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight. | And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. |
Jesus said to him, “Go on your way! Your faith has made you well.” Immediately, he received his sight and followed him along the road. | And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. |
For since death came into the world through a man, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a man. | For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. |
Then Peter addressed them: “I now understand how true it is that God has no favorites, but that in every nation all those who fear God and do what is right are acceptable to him.” | So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” |
The Lord God said, “Behold, man has become like one of us, for he has knowledge of that which is good and that which is evil. Now, we must prevent him from reaching out and taking the fruit of the tree of life lest he eat it and live forever.” The Lord God cast him out of the Garden of Eden; henceforth he was to labor tilling the soil from which he had come. | Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. |
Therefore, the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials and to hold the wicked for punishment until the Day of Judgment. | Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment. |
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and whose hope is the Lord. They will be like a tree planted by the water that spreads out its roots to the stream. When the heat comes, it does not fear; its leaves stay green. It is not concerned in a year of drought, and it never fails to bear fruit. | Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit. |