| 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 them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. |
| Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life, but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die. | Keep the commandments and keep your life; despising them leads to death. |
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| 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 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. |
| The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. | Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people. |
| Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. | If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. |
| For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will 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 and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. | For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. |
| A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. | People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart. |
| The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale. | The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. |
| 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? | And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? |
| 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. | Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. |
| 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 must not exploit a widow or an orphan. If you exploit them in any way and they cry out to me, then I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will blaze against you, and I will kill you with the sword. Then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless. |
| Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. | But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers. |
| The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.” | 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.” |
| Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end. | Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back. |
| And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. | And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. |
| Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult. | A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted. |
| 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. |
| 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. | All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. |
| What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? | And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? |
| 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 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
