| When you become aware of your guilt in any of these ways, you must confess your sin. | Therefore, when someone is guilty of any one of these things, he shall confess the sin he has committed. |
| For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy. | If you obey the command that I give you today, to love the Lord, your God, and to walk in his ways, and to observe his commandments, statutes, and decrees, then you will live and multiply, and the Lord, your God, will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. |
| Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. | Let the wicked abandon their ways and those who are evil their thoughts. Let them return to the Lord so that he may have mercy upon them; and to our God, for he is rich in forgiveness. |
| 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. |
| If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. | Who among you is wise and understanding? Prove by your good life that your works are done with the humility that comes from wisdom. |
| The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve. | The heart is more deceitful than any other thing, and it is also perverse. Who can uncover its secrets? I, the Lord, search the heart and probe the mind to reward all according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve. |
| Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. | Rather, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and allow no opportunity for the flesh to gratify its sinful desires. |
| Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. | Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in accord with the law of the Lord. |
| Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. | For all of us fall short in many ways. Anyone who never makes a mistake in speech has reached perfection and is able to control every part of his body. |
| But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside. | And yet he is aware of everywhere I go; if he were to test me, I would emerge like pure gold. My footsteps have not strayed from the path he established; I have followed his way and never turned aside. |
| And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. And you must always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good. | And so now, O Israel, what does the Lord, your God, require of you but to fear the Lord, your God, to walk in all of his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul, and to observe the commandments and the statutes that I am giving you today for your own good. |
| But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice; only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols. Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever. | However, if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you are upright in your dealings with your neighbor; if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow; if you do not shed innocent blood in this place; and if you do not follow other gods and thereby cause your own destruction, then I will allow you to live in this place, in the land that I gave as a permanent gift to your fathers long ago. |
| Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all. | May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. |
| This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’” | These are the words of the Lord of hosts: Stand at the crossroads and look around; ask for the ancient paths. When you are shown where the good way lies, walk along it and your souls will find rest. However, they said, “We will not take it.” |
| Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives in the land you are about to enter and occupy. | Continue in all of the ways that the Lord, your God, has commanded you. Continue in them so that you may live and prosper and that you may long dwell on the land of your inheritance. |
| And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there. | A highway will be there that will be called the Way of Holiness. No one who is unclean may pass over it; it will serve as a path for pilgrims and no fool will be able to use it. |
| God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. | It is the will of God that you should lead a life of sanctity. You must refrain from sexual immorality. Each of you must learn to acquire a wife from pure and honorable motives, not to gratify passion like the Gentiles who do not know God. |
| Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. | And let us consider how to spur one another to love and good works. Do not neglect to attend your assemblies, as some do, but rather encourage one another, especially since you can see the Day approaching. |
| The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. | Good and upright is the Lord; therefore, he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them the path to follow. |
| 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! | 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. |
| There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. | There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it leads to death. |
| Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined by these trials. But the wicked will continue in their wickedness, and none of them will understand. Only those who are wise will know what it means. | Many shall be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked will persist in their evil ways. |
| All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech. | The fear of the Lord implies hatred of evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil ways and perverse speech. |
| 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. |
| Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol. They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over. Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good. | For the carved images of the nations are powerless; they are nothing more than wood cut from a forest, fashioned with a knife by craftsmen and embellished with silver and gold. Then they are fastened with hammers and nails to prevent them from toppling. Like scarecrows in a cucumber field they are unable to speak, and they must be carried from place to place since they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they can do no harm, nor do they have any power to do good. |
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