| You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law. | We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet we know that a man is justified not by the works of the Law but through faith in Jesus Christ. So we too came to believe in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by faith in him and not by the works of the Law, for no one will be justified by the works of the Law. |
| That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. | Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outer self is continuing to decay, our inner self is being renewed day by day. |
| So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” | Therefore, we can say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” |
| For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. | For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so too do we believe that God will bring forth with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. |
| No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. | No, throughout all these things we are conquerors because of him who loved us. |
| Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our heart’s desire is to glorify your name. | As we proceed in the path of your judgments, we wait for you, O Lord; your name and your renown are all that our heart desires. |
| We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. | And not only that, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we realize that suffering develops perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. |
| Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. | Therefore, while we have the opportunity, let us labor for the good of all, but especially for those members of the household of the faith. |
| Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God. | Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord, our God. |
| Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. | As sorrowful, and yet we are always rejoicing; as poor, and yet we make many rich; as having nothing, and yet we possess everything. |
| We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him. | And we are witnesses to these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him. |
| This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. | This is the message that we have heard from him and that we declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness at all in him. |
| So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. | For our eyes are fixed not on what is seen but rather on that which cannot be seen. What is visible is transitory; what is invisible is eternal. |
| 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. | No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is made complete in us. |
| We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. | We have come to know and to believe in the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him. |
| See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. | See what love the Father has bestowed on us, enabling us to be called the children of God, and that is what we are. If the world does not recognize us, that is because it did not know him. |
| 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. |
| He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. | He was despised and shunned by others, a man of sorrows who was no stranger to suffering. We loathed him and regarded him as of no account, as one from whom men avert their gaze. |
| This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. | This is what love is: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. |
| There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. | There is no salvation in anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to men by which we can be saved. |
| He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. | By his own choice he gave us birth through the way of truth so that we may be a kind of firstfruits of all his creation. |
| But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. | However, if we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all wrongdoing. |
| For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. | He made him who did not know sin to be sin for our sake, so that through him we might become the righteousness of God. |
| But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. | But he was pierced for our offenses and crushed for our iniquity; the punishment that made us whole fell upon him, and by his bruises we have been healed. |
| Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did? | Can anyone withhold the water of baptism from these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? |
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