| Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. | You who love the Lord, hate evil! He protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked. |
| This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. | So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. |
|
| He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. | The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. |
| Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. | The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. |
| And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. | Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” |
| He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. | He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth. |
| One thing have I desired 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 behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple. | The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. |
| For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. | For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. |
| Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. | Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. |
| Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. | But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin. |
| This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. | For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ |
| And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. | Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!” |
| The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. | The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. |
| The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. | Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. |
| The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. | “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” |
| The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished. | So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. |
| And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. | The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.” |
| As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. | Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. |
| Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. | We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. |
| I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. | I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. |
| And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. | Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the Lord wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets. |
| For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. | For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” |
| The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. | Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people. |
| Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. | What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance. |
| And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. | Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” |
