Acquire wisdom and gain understanding; never forget or turn aside from my words. | Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them. |
For the Lord, your God, is gracious and compassionate, and he will not turn his face away from you if you return to him. | For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful. If you return to him, he will not continue to turn his face from you. |
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Do not swerve either to the right or to the left; keep your foot far from evil. | Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil. |
Repent and renounce all your transgressions. Otherwise your iniquity will prove to be your downfall. | Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! |
Do not judge, so that you in turn may not be judged. | Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. |
I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord God. Repent and live! | I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live! |
Do I derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? asks the Lord God. Would I not rather rejoice to see them turn away from their wickedness and live? | Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. |
Repent, therefore, and be converted so that your sins may be wiped away. | Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. |
And if then my people who bear my name humble themselves and pray to me and seek my presence as they turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear them from heaven and forgive their sins and restore their land. | Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. |
Let us examine and test our ways and return to the Lord. | Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord. |
For I know that through your prayers and with the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will result in deliverance for me. | For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance. |
Dispose my heart to follow your statutes and to flee selfish gain. | Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! |
For: “If anyone wishes to love life and to experience good days, he must restrain his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn away from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.” | For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.” |
You, O Lord, are light for my lamp; O my God, you make my darkness turn to light. | You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness. |
If you would seriously consider my reproof, I would pour out my thoughts to you and make my precepts known to you. | Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise. |
Shun evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. | Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. |
Do not pride yourself on your own wisdom; fear the Lord and turn your back on evil. This will provide healing for your flesh and restore strength to your body. | Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones. |
Turn away from the mouth that deceives and keep your distance from lips that mislead. | Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. |
Entrust everything that you do to the Lord, and your plans will turn out to be successful. | Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. |
Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. | That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.” |
Rend your hearts and not your garments, and turn back to the Lord, your God. For he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and always prepared to relent from punishing. | “Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. |
Restore us, O Lord of hosts; let your face shine upon us, and we will be saved. | Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved. |
This is how we know what love is: he laid down his life for us, and we in turn must be prepared to lay down our lives for our brethren. | We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. |
Turn away from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord with a pure heart. | 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. |
Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. | Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. |