Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. | Faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the conviction about things that cannot be seen. |
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. | God’s love was revealed to us in this way: God sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might have life through him. |
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And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. | We know that God makes all things work together for good for those who love him and who are called according to his purpose. |
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! | Although it was our afflictions that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, we thought of him as stricken, as struck down by God and afflicted. |
We cannot imagine the power of the Almighty; but even though he is just and righteous, he does not destroy us. | But the Almighty we cannot find; he is unequaled in power and judgment, and in his righteousness he will not violate justice. |
Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord. Say to him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you our praises.” | Prepare in advance what you want to say, and return to the Lord. Say to him, “Take away all guilt and give us what is good, so that we may present as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.” |
And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers. | This is the commandment we have received from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. |
How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! | How great you are, Lord God! There is no one like you, and there is no God except you alone, as everything that we have heard confirms. |
Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.” | Jesus answered him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him.” |
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. | Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercy and the God of all consolation. He consoles us in all our afflictions and thereby enables us to console others in their tribulations, offering them the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. |
Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us. | All those who keep his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And the proof that he abides in us is the Spirit that he has given us. |
So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. | And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. |
This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. | This is the day that the Lord has made; let us exult and rejoice in it. |
He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. | He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live in righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. |
All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. | Everyone who seeks a prize submits himself to rigorous self-discipline in every respect. They do so to win a perishable crown, while we seek an imperishable one. |
Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. | Rather, professing truth and love, we will in all things grow into him who is the head, Christ. |
For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. | For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so too, through Christ, do we receive our consolation. |
So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. | Now in regard to the eating of meat sacrificed to idols, we know that idols are nothing in the world and that there is only one God. |
He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. | In Christ and through his blood we have redemption and the forgiveness of our sins. In accord with the riches of his grace. |
Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. | Brethren, we must always give thanks to God for you, and it is only right that we do so. For your faith grows ever more, and the love that all of you have for one another continues to increase. |
And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. | And now, dear children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him at his coming. |
Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. | For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that by perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we may continue to have hope. |
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” | For you did not receive a spirit of slavery leading to fear; rather, you received the Spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry out, “Abba! Father!” |
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. | When the command is given, at the sound of the archangel’s voice and the call of God’s trumpet, the Lord himself will descend from heaven, and those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise. Then those of us who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them on clouds in the air to meet the Lord. And so, we will be with the Lord forever. |
I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded. | To you, O God of my fathers, I offer thanks and praise because you have given me wisdom and power. Now you have made known to me what we asked of you; you have revealed to us the king’s dream. |