For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. | For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. |
Pay to all what is due them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. | Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority. |
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You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. | Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. |
Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” | “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” |
For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost. | For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. |
I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance. | I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent. |
For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. | For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. |
Just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. | For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. |
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free. | The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free. |
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in mortals. | It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people. |
If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. | And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! |
If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. | If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. |
Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. | Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. |
Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. | Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. |
How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. | How much better to get wisdom than gold, and good judgment than silver! |
Take good care to observe the commandment and instruction that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, and to hold fast to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. | But be very careful to obey all the commands and the instructions that Moses gave to you. Love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, obey his commands, hold firmly to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul. |
There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor? | God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor? |
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners. | The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. |
For he will repay according to each one's deeds. | He will judge everyone according to what they have done. |
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. | The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth. |
But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God. | But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. |
And steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work. | Unfailing love, O Lord, is yours. Surely you repay all people according to what they have done. |
Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. | Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. |
See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised. | “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” |
To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. | The Lord is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer him sacrifices. |