For you, O God, have put us to the test; you have purified us as silver is refined. | For you, God, have tested us. You have refined us, as silver is refined. |
The tongue of the just man is like pure silver; the heart of the wicked is without worth. | The tongue of the righteous is like choice silver. The heart of the wicked is of little worth. |
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Do not make gods from silver or from gold instead of me. You will not make them for yourselves. | You shall most certainly not make gods of silver or gods of gold for yourselves to be alongside me. |
It is better to acquire wisdom rather than gold, and more desirable to acquire understanding rather than silver. | How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! Yes, to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. |
An honorable name is more to be desired than great riches, and high esteem is preferable to silver and gold. | A good name is more desirable than great riches, and loving favor is better than silver and gold. |
One who is covetous will never be satisfied with money, nor will the lover of wealth be content with gain. This too is vanity. | He who loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity. |
For you are aware that you were ransomed from your futile way of life inherited from your ancestors not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. | Knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things like silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish or spot, the blood of Christ. |
For the carved images of the nations are powerless; they are nothing more than wood cut from a forest, fashioned with a knife by craftsmen and embellished with silver and gold. Then they are fastened with hammers and nails to prevent them from toppling. Like scarecrows in a cucumber field they are unable to speak, and they must be carried from place to place since they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they can do no harm, nor do they have any power to do good. | For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the ax. They deck it with silver and with gold. They fasten it with nails and with hammers, so that it can’t move. They are like a palm tree, of turned work, and don’t speak. They must be carried, because they can’t move. Don’t be afraid of them; for they can’t do evil, neither is it in them to do good. |