| But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” | Yet even if you should suffer for doing what is right, you are thereby blessed. Have no fear of others, and refuse to be intimidated by them. |
| Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. | Exhort slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give them satisfaction in every respect. They are not to talk back to them, nor are they to steal from them. Rather, they should show themselves to be completely trustworthy so that in every way they may add luster to the doctrine of God our Savior. |
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| 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. | Instruct those who are rich in this world’s goods that they should not be proud, nor should they trust in the uncertainty of riches but rather in God who richly provides us with everything we need for our enjoyment. |
| My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ. | I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love so that they may grow rich in their complete understanding as they come to the knowledge of the mystery of God, that is, Christ. |
| 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 heart is more deceitful than any other thing, and it is also perverse. Who can uncover its secrets? I, the Lord, search the heart and probe the mind to reward all according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve. |
| But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth. | The face of the Lord is turned against those who do evil, to erase all memory of them from the earth. |
| A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. | A man’s ways may seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart. |
| The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale. | The wealth of a rich man is his stronghold; he regards it as a high wall that cannot be scaled. |
| What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? | What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his very life? Or what can he give in exchange for his life? |
| Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. | Wait quietly for the Lord and be patient until he comes. Do not fret over the man who prospers because of his evil schemes. |
| He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. | He was despised and shunned by others, a man of sorrows who was no stranger to suffering. We loathed him and regarded him as of no account, as one from whom men avert their gaze. |
| Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless. | You shall not oppress the widow or the orphan. If you mistreat them and they cry out to me for help, I will surely hear their cry, and my fury will burn and I will put you to death by the sword. Your wives will be widows and your children will be orphans. |
| Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. | And whoever does not provide for relatives, especially for those who are living with him, has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. |
| Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end. | A fool gives free rein to his anger, but a wise man bides his time and calms it. |
| And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. | God gave the midwives numerous families because they had feared God. |
| Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult. | A fool is quick to show his anger, but a prudent man ignores an insult. |
| Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. | The future bodes well for him who is generous in helping those in need and who conducts his affairs with justice. |
| That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. | In other words, God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, and not holding people’s transgressions against them, and he committed to us the message of reconciliation. |
| All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. | The entire community of believers was united in heart and soul. No one claimed any of his possessions as his own, for everything was held in common. |
| What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? | What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his very life? |
| And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. | This is the commandment we have received from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. |
| Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues. | Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; if he closes his lips, he is regarded as intelligent. |
| Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. | Moreover, the one to whom God grants wealth and possessions and the ability to enjoy them and to find contentment in his toil receives a gift from God. |
| Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? | Do I derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? asks the Lord God. Would I not rather rejoice to see them turn away from their wickedness and live? |
| The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others. | The one who leads a blameless life and does what is right, who speaks the truth from the heart and does not slander anyone, who does not harm a friend and does not scorn a neighbor. |
