| 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 have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ himself. |
| Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life, but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die. | Those who keep the commandment will live; those who are heedless of their ways will die. |
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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 by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account. |
| The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. | The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. |
| Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. | If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their 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. | For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, 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 heart is devious above all else; it is perverse— who can understand it? I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings. |
| 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 against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them 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. | That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. |
| A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. | All deeds are right in the sight of the doer, 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 the rich is their strong city; in their imagination it is like a high wall. |
| 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? | For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their 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. | Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. |
| 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 abuse any widow or orphan. If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry; my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children 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, and especially for family members, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. |
| 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.” | The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” |
| Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end. | A fool gives full vent to anger, but the wise quietly holds 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. |
| Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult. | Fools show their anger at once, but the prudent ignore an insult. |
| Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. | It is well with those who deal generously and lend, who conduct their affairs with justice. |
| 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. | Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. |
| What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? | For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? |
| 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 around my hill a blessing; and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. |
| And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. | The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also. |
| Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues. | Even fools who keep silent are considered wise; when they close their lips, they are deemed intelligent. |
