| 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. |
| An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered. | With their words, the godless destroy their friends, but knowledge will rescue the righteous. |
|
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. | Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God. |
| The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. | Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people. |
| 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. |
| For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. | For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them. |
| 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.” |
| 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. |
| 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. |
