| I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. | I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. |
| Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out. | Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. |
| Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. | Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. |
| I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you. | I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. |
| O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him. | Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! |
| For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. | For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. |
| I am coming soon; hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. | I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. |
| You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. | You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. |
| God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. | God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. |
| You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. | You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. |
| And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. | In that wonderful day you will sing: “Thank the Lord! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is!” |
| You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. | Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. |
| I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. | You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. |
| By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world. | This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. |
| Let all that you do be done in love. | And do everything with love. |
| For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. | I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. |
| See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. | See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. |
| Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. | But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven. |
| I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. | I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. |
| God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. | All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. |
| And every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. | And every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. |
| By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. | And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. |
| By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. | Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. |
| I the Lord am your God; follow my statutes, and be careful to observe my ordinances, and hallow my sabbaths that they may be a sign between me and you, so that you may know that I the Lord am your God. | ‘I am the Lord your God,’ I told them. ‘Follow my decrees, pay attention to my regulations, and keep my Sabbath days holy, for they are a sign to remind you that I am the Lord your God.’ |
| If only they had such a mind as this, to fear me and to keep all my commandments always, so that it might go well with them and with their children forever! | Oh, that they would always have hearts like this, that they might fear me and obey all my commands! If they did, they and their descendants would prosper forever. |
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