| Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? | What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? |
| But you may wonder, ‘How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord?’ If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared. | And if you say in your heart, ‘How will we recognize the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ When the prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, and the thing does not happen or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you are not to be afraid of him. |
| And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. | Furthermore, as for every person to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also given him the opportunity to enjoy them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. |
| In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. | One person values one day over another, another values every day the same. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. |
| As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them. | But the one who boasts is to boast in the Lord. For it is not the one who commends himself that is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. |
| What are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? | What is man that You think of him, And a son of man that You are concerned about him? |
| Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life. | Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink, and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he labors under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. |
| The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. | A rich person’s wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own imagination. |
| So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. | While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. |
| Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! | One who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor one who loves abundance with its income. This too is futility. |
| Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. | Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not to have quarrels over opinions. |
| I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent. | I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners. |
| For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. | For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And He has filled the hungry soul with what is good. |
| Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! | Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. |
| 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. | Sober up morally and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. |
| Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. | Take care that no one deceives himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. |
| They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. | For they exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged natural relations for that which is contrary to nature, and likewise the men, too, abandoned natural relations with women and burned in their desire toward one another, males with males committing shameful acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper. |
| You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. | Therefore you have no excuse, you foolish person, everyone of you who passes judgment; for in that matter in which you judge someone else, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. |
| Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. | But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. |
| When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. | And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. |
| Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. | “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “rather than that he would turn from his ways and live?” |
| Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come. | Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know. |
| No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. | But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. |
| Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. | Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen. |
| A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. | The good person out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil person out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. |
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