I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. | All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed. |
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. | I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh. |
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So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. | When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. |
For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. | If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. |
And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. | I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing. |
O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. | O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. |
But when they had grazed, they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me. | But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me. |
A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. | A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls. |
And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. | And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. |
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. | Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God! |
And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. | And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. |
But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. | But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently. |
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. | The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. |
If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. | So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. |
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. | All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. |
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. | Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! |
I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. | I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. |
The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. | The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. |
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. | You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. |
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. | Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! |
For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. | After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. |
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. | We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. |
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? | Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? |
The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him. | This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. |
No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. | No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. |