Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. | But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. |
Submit therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. | So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. |
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Know that wisdom is the same for your soul; If you find it, then there will be a future, And your hope will not be cut off. | In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short. |
You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. | Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. |
You will make known to me the way of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. | You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. |
And almost all things are cleansed with blood, according to the Law, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. | In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. |
If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. | Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me. |
In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. | There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? |
But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. | But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him. |
Yet I have been the Lord your God Since the land of Egypt; And you were not to know any god except Me, For there is no savior besides Me. | I have been the Lord your God ever since I brought you out of Egypt. You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no other savior. |
Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. | Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. |
Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. | I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. |
Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. | So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. |
And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding as well? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the person from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thereby He declared all foods clean.) | “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.) |
There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. | Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. |
For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up! | If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. |
Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law. | Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. |
And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to celebrate the Sabbath day. | Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, but the Lord your God brought you out with his strong hand and powerful arm. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to rest on the Sabbath day. |
Even if the fig tree does not blossom, And there is no fruit on the vines, If the yield of the olive fails, And the fields produce no food, Even if the flock disappears from the fold, And there are no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will triumph in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. | Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! |
Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us, for the glory of God. | Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. |
God, You are my God; I shall be watching for You; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and exhausted land where there is no water. | O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. |
Every person is to be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. | Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. |
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. | Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. |
Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him. | So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help. |
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. | But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! |