| Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe 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. |
| In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, 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. |
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| Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame. | Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all. |
| I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” | I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” |
| 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. |
| Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery. | Fear the Lord and judge with integrity, for the Lord our God does not tolerate perverted justice, partiality, or the taking of bribes. |
| You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched 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. |
| Love does no harm 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. |
| Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. | So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. |
| There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect 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. |
| There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. | So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. |
| Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. | Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. |
| I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth. | Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth. |
| Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. | So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. |
| The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. | The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. |
| But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. | Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. |
| But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and 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! |
| I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. | In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! |
| Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. | So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. |
| Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! | This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! |
| How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. | And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath. |
| Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been 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. |
| Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments. | Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the Lord wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets. |
| And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. | And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there. |
| Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. | Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. |
