| But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth. | But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth. |
| Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues. | Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent. |
| A person’s riches may ransom their life, but the poor cannot respond to threatening rebukes. | The rich can pay a ransom for their lives, but the poor won’t even get threatened. |
| Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips. | Wise words bring approval, but fools are destroyed by their own words. |
| And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. | And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers. |
| The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. | Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people. |
| Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. | Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly. |
| Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. | Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. |
| Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. | Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. |
| The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” | The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve. |
| Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. | People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy. |
| This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. | Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. |
| This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. | Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life. |
| But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” | But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. |
| “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.) | “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.) |
| And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. | When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. |
| She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. | And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. |
| Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” | Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” |
| Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have. | Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did? |
| We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. | Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. |
| Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. | Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! |
| Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. | So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall. |
| Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. | They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. |
| Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. | If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. |
| As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them? | The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers! |
