| Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? | Then what if you were to 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. | You may say to yourself, “How can we recognize a word that the Lord has not spoken?” If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord but the thing does not take place or prove true, it is a word that the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; do not be frightened by it. |
| 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. | Likewise all to whom God gives wealth and possessions and whom he enables to enjoy them, and to accept their lot and find enjoyment in their toil—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. | Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. |
| 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. | “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” For it is not those who commend themselves that are approved, but those whom the Lord commends. |
| What are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? | What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? |
| 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. | This is what I have seen to be good: it is fitting to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of the life God gives us; for this is our lot. |
| The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. | The wealth of the rich is their strong city; in their imagination it is like a high wall. |
| 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. | Because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. |
| Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! | The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity. |
| Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. | Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling 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 come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance. |
| For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. | For he satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things. |
| 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! | Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. |
| 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. | Come to a sober and right mind, and sin no more; for some people 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. | Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you 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. | Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done. |
| 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, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very 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. | Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. |
| 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. | When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases 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. | Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that they should turn from their 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 will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. |
| No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. | No, in all these things we are more than conquerors 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 assurance of things hoped for, the conviction 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 the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. |
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