| People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart. | A man’s ways may seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart. |
| In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. | After you have suffered for a brief period, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and support you. |
| Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. | Do not seek to adorn yourself externally—by the braiding of your hair and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothing. Rather, let your adornment be of your inner self, the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. |
| Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt. | Rejoice with all your heart, O daughter Zion. Shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem. See, your king is coming to you, triumphant and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. |
| We have happy memories of the godly, but the name of a wicked person rots away. | The righteous is remembered with blessings, but the name of the wicked fades away. |
| Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. | Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. |
| But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. | But Jesus has now received a ministry that is far superior, for he is the mediator of a far better covenant that has been established on better promises. |
| Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. | Just as you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in a woman’s womb, so you do not know the work of God, the Creator of all. |
| For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. | The love of money is the root of all evils, and in their desire for it some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many serious wounds. |
| Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. | Above all, maintain the fervor of your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. |
| A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence. | One who gossips reveals secrets, but a trustworthy man keeps things hidden. |
| Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth. | I will establish my covenant with you: never again will all living creatures be cut off by the waters of a flood, nor will the earth be laid waste by a flood again. |
| I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth. | I will place my rainbow in the clouds and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. |
| Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. | Turn away from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord with a pure heart. |
| Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” | Then he said to all who were with him, “Anyone who wishes to follow me must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.” |
| I, yes I, am the one who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear? | I, I alone, am the one who comforts you. Why then do you fear mortal men who must die, human beings who must perish like grass? |
| And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. | This water prefigured Baptism, which now saves you. It does so not by the washing away of dirt from the body but by the pledge of a good conscience given to God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. |
| And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” | Then he went on, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For from within, from the human heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from within, and they defile a person.” |
| Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind. | Then I came to realize that all toil and skill in work derive from one person’s envy of another. This also is vanity and a chase after the wind. |
| Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut. | Where many words are spoken, sin is not absent, but whoever restrains his tongue is prudent. |
| When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” | When Jesus heard this, he said, “It is not the healthy who need a physician, but rather those who are sick.” |
| For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. | For you are aware that you were ransomed from your futile way of life inherited from your ancestors not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. |
| So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. | Therefore, let us cease passing judgment on one another, but rather judge never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. |
| For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. | For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but rather a spirit of power and of love and of wisdom. |
| That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant. | For this reason, he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who have been called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since his death has served to redeem the sins that were committed under the first covenant. |
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My future is in your hands.Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly.