| He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. | In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures. |
| In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. | Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. |
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| He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. | He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. |
| Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? | Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? |
| Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” | Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!” |
| This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. | In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. |
| These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. | These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. |
| For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. | For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure. |
| I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. | I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. |
| Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. | Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. |
| It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. | For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. |
| This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. | We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. |
| This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. | God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. |
| You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. | He will again have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. |
| Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? | Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? |
| Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. | Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. |
| And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. | So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. |
| Till the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest. | Until a spirit from on high is poured out on us, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. |
| Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. | Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. |
| The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. | And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. |
| For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. | For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. |
| Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. | Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. |
| For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” | For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ |
| You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. | You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us. |
| But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. | But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. |
