| Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. | Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. |
| But be very careful to obey all the commands and the instructions that Moses gave to you. Love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, obey his commands, hold firmly to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul. | But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. |
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| To acquire wisdom is to love yourself; people who cherish understanding will prosper. | The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper. |
| Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God! | Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. |
| And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. And you must always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good. | And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? |
| Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. | Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. |
| Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our heart’s desire is to glorify your name. | Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. |
| In the night I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek you. For only when you come to judge the earth will people learn what is right. | My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. |
| Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God. | See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness. |
| Rescue me, O Lord, from liars and from all deceitful people. | Save me, Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues. |
| All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. | All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. |
| The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. | A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. |
| I said to the Lord, “You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you.” | I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” |
| Keep the commandments and keep your life; despising them leads to death. | Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life, but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die. |
| But the Lord will redeem those who serve him. No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned. | The Lord will rescue his servants; no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned. |
| I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels. | I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. |
| But God is my helper. The Lord keeps me alive! | Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. |
| You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. | For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. |
| Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. | Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. |
| The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. | The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. |
| And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law. | To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. |
| In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles. | This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. |
| Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything. | Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin. |
| Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed! | Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. |
| Suppose you sin by violating one of the Lord’s commands. Even if you are unaware of what you have done, you are guilty and will be punished for your sin. | If anyone sins and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, even though they do not know it, they are guilty and will be held responsible. |
