| Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. | If anyone thinks that he is religious but does not restrain his tongue, he is deceiving himself, and his religion is worthless. |
| Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. | Let the wicked abandon their ways and those who are evil their thoughts. Let them return to the Lord so that he may have mercy upon them; and to our God, for he is rich in forgiveness. |
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| 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. |
| 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. |
| Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. | Every word of God has proved to be true; he is a shield to those who trust in him. |
| 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. |
| Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life, but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die. | Whoever observes the commandments will live, but the one who scorns them will die. |
| 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. |
| For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. | For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the sake of the gospel will save it. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. | I will make them and the region surrounding my hill a blessing, and I will send them rain in due season that will be showers of blessing. |
| 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? |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. | He has made everything suitable for its time, and he has given men a sense of past and future, but they never have the slightest comprehension of what God has wrought from beginning to end. |
| 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. |
| And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. | And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and the scrolls were opened. Then another scroll was opened, the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their deeds, as were recorded in the scrolls. The sea gave up all the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them. The dead were judged according to their deeds. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. | The upright are guarded by their integrity; the treacherous are destroyed by their own duplicity. |
| 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. |
| See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness. | The proud man’s heart is not upright, but the righteous man will live because of his faith. |
| 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. |
