While physical training has some value, the benefits of godliness are unlimited, since it holds out promise not only for this life but also for the life to come. | Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. |
You are all-beautiful, my love, without the slightest blemish. | You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way. |
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Do not succumb to the love of money, but be content with what you have, for God has said, “I will never forsake you or abandon you.” | Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” |
Beloved, since God loved us so much, we should love one another. | Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. |
No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. | Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. |
Let no one regard you with contempt because of your youth, but serve as an example to the believers in your speech and conduct, in your love, your faith, and your purity. | Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. |
This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you. | This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. |
You shall not hate your brother in your heart, nor shall you rebuke your brother in any way, lest you bear sin because of him. You shall not seek vengeance nor bear a grudge against the children of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. | Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. |
A gift opens doors for the giver and wins him access to the powerful. | Giving a gift can open doors; it gives access to important people! |
Produce good fruit as proof of your repentance. | Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. |
You shall not oppress the widow or the orphan. If you mistreat them and they cry out to me for help, I will surely hear their cry, and my fury will burn and I will put you to death by the sword. Your wives will be widows and your children will be orphans. | You must not exploit a widow or an orphan. If you exploit them in any way and they cry out to me, then I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will blaze against you, and I will kill you with the sword. Then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless. |
Indeed, persecution will afflict all who want to lead a godly life in Christ Jesus. | Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. |
Therefore, brethren, be diligent in providing a firm foundation for your call and election. If you do this, you will never stumble, and you will receive a glorious welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. | So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. |
Anyone who is victorious will be dressed like these in white robes, and I shall not blot his name from the book of life. Rather, I shall acknowledge it in the presence of my Father and his angels. | All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine. |
Then, after completing their fasting and prayer, they laid their hands on them and sent them off. | So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way. |
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and offered worship and service to the creature rather than to the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural practices. Likewise, men gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameful acts with men and received in their own persons the fitting penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since these people did not see fit to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their depraved way of thinking and to all types of vile behavior. | They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. |
Then you will understand equity and justice as well as righteousness—every good path. | Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. |
If you refrain from traveling on the Sabbath and from engaging in your own interests on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a day of joy and regard the Lord’s holy day as honorable, if you honor it by not going your own way, serving your own interests, or attending to your own affairs; then you will find true happiness in the Lord, and I will enable you to ride upon the heights of the earth. I will nourish you with the heritage of your father Jacob, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. | Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. Then the Lord will be your delight. I will give you great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob. I, the Lord, have spoken! |
Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so whoever feeds upon me will live because of me. | I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. |
Out of the same mouth flow blessings and curses. This should not be so, my brethren. | And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! |
And eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent, Jesus Christ. | And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. |
In everything, deal with others as you would like them to deal with you. This is the Law and the Prophets. | Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. |
Therefore, when someone is guilty of any one of these things, he shall confess the sin he has committed. | When you become aware of your guilt in any of these ways, you must confess your sin. |
Can anyone withhold the water of baptism from these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? | Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did? |
Go, and assemble all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same thing. After that, I will go to the king—against the law. And if I perish, I perish! | Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die. |