| Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. | Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. |
| The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. | Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people. |
| He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. | He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. |
| Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. | 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. |
| The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. | 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. |
| And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. | At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. |
| The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. | But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth. |
| For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. | For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. |
| The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit. | The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. |
| He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. | If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it. |
| And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. | I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing. |
| Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. | What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. |
| If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. | If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. |
| For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. | If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. |
| Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts. | People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart. |
| For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. | If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. |
| He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. | Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. |
| As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. | We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. |
| Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. | Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God. |
| A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps. | We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. |
| For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. | The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow. |
| Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? | Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. |
| And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. | Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the instructions and commands so you can teach the people.” |
| Who will render to every man according to his deeds. | He will judge everyone according to what they have done. |
| There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. | So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. |
Bible verse of the day
A fool despiseth his father's instruction:but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.