| And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. | And let us consider how to spur one another to love and good works. Do not neglect to attend your assemblies, as some do, but rather encourage one another, especially since you can see the Day approaching. |
| Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. | Faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the conviction about things that cannot be seen. |
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| Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. | Beloved, we are God’s children now. What we shall be has not yet been revealed. However, we do know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he really is. Everyone who has this hope in him keeps himself pure, just as he is pure. |
| Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. | Father, allow those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they may behold my glory, which you have bestowed on me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. |
| Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. | Nor would someone light a lamp and then put it under a basket; rather, it is placed upon a lampstand so that it may afford light to all in the house. In the same way, your light must shine so that it can be seen by others; this will enable them to observe your good works and give praise to your Father in heaven. |
| You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. | At the appointed time, while we were still helpless, Christ died for the ungodly. |
| But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” | But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or how tall he stands, for the Lord has rejected him. He does not see the way that men see, for men look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” |
| However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. | However, each one of you should love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife should respect her husband. |
| See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness. | The proud man’s heart is not upright, but the righteous man will live because of his faith. |
| Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? | Why do you take note of the splinter in your brother’s eye but do not notice the wooden plank in your own eye? |
| See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. | Take care, brethren, that none of you will ever have an evil and unbelieving heart that will cause you to forsake the living God. |
| Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. | Can a woman forget the infant at her breast; or feel no compassion for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you. Behold, I have inscribed your name on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before my eyes. |
| As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them? | When riches increase, so do those who are eager to accumulate them, and those who have accumulated them must remain content simply to feast their eyes on them. |
| “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) | He said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not realize that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not into the heart but into the stomach and is discharged into the sewer?” Thus, he pronounced all foods clean. |
| Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. | Rejoice with all your heart, O daughter Zion. Shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem. See, your king is coming to you, triumphant and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. |
| As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. | 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. |
| “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” | Bring the tithes in full into the treasury so that there may be food in my house. Put me thus to the test, says the Lord of hosts, and see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down blessings upon you without measure. |
| Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. | Therefore, take care to live as intelligent people, and do not be like those who are senseless. Make the most of the present time, for this is a wicked age. |
| 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.’” | 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.” |
| You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. | When you look at the tassels, you will remember the commandments of the Lord and keep them. Thus you will not prostitute yourselves by following after the lusts in your own heart or your own eyes. |
| 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.’ | 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 am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? | I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything impossible for me to accomplish? |
| How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! | How wonderful and delightful it is for brothers to live together in unity. |
| Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” | And God said, “Behold, I give you every plant that produces seeds upon the earth and every tree that has fruit with its seed inside of it: these shall be your food.” |
| Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. | Behold, I am coming soon, and I will bring with me my reward to repay everyone as his deeds deserve. |
