| The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. | The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all. |
| 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 considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. |
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| They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun. For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes. | ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ |
| Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time. | Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow. |
| For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing. | I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint. |
| Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. | Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. |
| Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. | Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. |
| No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. | No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. |
| People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart. | A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. |
| But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me. I, the Lord, have spoken! | “No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord. |
| This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. | This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. |
| The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. | Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. |
| Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. | Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. |
| And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: “Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.” | Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” |
| Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” | Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” |
| The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. | There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. |
| No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. | Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? |
| Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him— even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen! | “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen. |
| Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. | Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. |
| Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” | After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” |
| You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way. | You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you. |
| That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.” | “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” |
| Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. | My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. |
| Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. | This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. |
| Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. | He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. |
