| Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards. | For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. |
| Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident. | Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. |
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| You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. | You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. |
| Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. | The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. |
| The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. | The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. |
| When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be charged with any related duty. He shall be free at home one year, to be happy with the wife whom he has married. | If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married. |
| One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and one whose temper is controlled than one who captures a city. | Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city. |
| Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. | Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. |
| Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! | Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! |
| If you will not listen, if you will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse on you and I will curse your blessings; indeed I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. | “If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.” |
| Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. | Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. |
| For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. | For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. |
| Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. | Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. |
| The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life. | Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life. |
| The wicked earn no real gain, but those who sow righteousness get a true reward. | A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward. |
| If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. | If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. |
| See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone's work. | Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. |
| For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. | For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. |
| I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. | I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. |
| For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. | For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. |
| Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but may receive a full reward. | Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. |
| When your eyes light upon it, it is gone; for suddenly it takes wings to itself, flying like an eagle toward heaven. | Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. |
| Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. It is by your holding fast to the word of life. | Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. |
| And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. | And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. |
| Therefore let us go on toward perfection, leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ, and not laying again the foundation: repentance from dead works and faith toward God, instruction about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. | Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. |
