| And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” | Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.” |
| Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. | He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. |
| I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. | I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth. |
| For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.” | The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this: “I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.” |
| I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass. | I, yes I, am the one who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear? |
| For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. | No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. |
| A fool's lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating. | Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels; they are asking for a beating. |
| What is desired in a man is steadfast love, and a poor man is better than a liar. | Loyalty makes a person attractive. It is better to be poor than dishonest. |
| A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. | A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. |
| For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. | I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. |
| Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. | Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people. |
| If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him. | If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive. |
| The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot. | We have happy memories of the godly, but the name of a wicked person rots away. |
| When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. | The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. |
| There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. | There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. |
| And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. | Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. |
| For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” | So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” |
| If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. | God detests the prayers of a person who ignores the law. |
| For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. | For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. |
| Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. | Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. |
| A rich man's wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his imagination. | The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. |
| For the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good. | Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol. They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over. Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good. |
| Before destruction a man's heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor. | Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor. |
| Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. | So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. |
| Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. | Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as enduring as the grave. Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame. |
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