| ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty. | Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. |
| 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? | Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? |
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| For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. | For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. |
| I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ | I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ |
| Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. | Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors! |
| Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. | Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. |
| Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. | Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. |
| You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. | For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you. |
| Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. | Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. |
| Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. | Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. |
| I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands. | I hurry and do not delay to keep your commandments. |
| And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? | So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being. |
| Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. | See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone's work. |
| Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? | Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? |
| You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. | I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house. |
| For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. | For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. |
| If this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. | Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment. |
| So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. | So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. |
| There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. | There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death. |
| But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children— with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. | But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. |
| The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. | The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. |
| But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles. | To this day I have had help from God, and so I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place: that the Messiah must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles. |
| For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. | For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens; your faithfulness extends to the clouds. |
| For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. | If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. |
| For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. | For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have. |
