| 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. |
| So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. | Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father. |
| But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently. | But if we hope for what we do not yet see, then we wait for it with patience. |
| That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” | For as it is written, “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has the human heart imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” |
| Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? | Now who is going to harm you if you are eager to do what is right? |
| Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” | Go and learn what this text means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I have come to call not the righteous but sinners. |
| And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. | And the one who searches hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. |
| Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” | What then should we say? That the Law is sinful? Absolutely not! Yet if it had not been for the Law, I would not have known what sin was. I would not have known what covet is if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.” |
| But test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil. | Test everything, and hold fast to what is good. Avoid every form of evil. |
| But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. | But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Your almsgiving must be done in secret. And your Father who sees everything that is done in secret will reward you. |
| Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. | Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds, so that you will be able to discern the will of God and to know what is good and acceptable and perfect. |
| But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit. | When they arrest you and bring you to trial, do not be concerned beforehand about what you are to say. Simply say whatever is given to you when that time comes, for it will not be you who speak but the Holy Spirit. |
| 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? | What then shall we say? Should we persist in sin in order that grace may abound? Of course not! We have died to sin. How can we live in it any longer? |
| 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. |
| Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. | Be on your guard that you do not lose what we have worked to accomplish so that you will receive your reward in full. |
| 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. |
| What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’ | Woe to anyone who rises up against his Maker, or to the pot that is displeased with the potter. Does the clay say to the one who molds it, “What are you doing? Your work makes no sense.” |
| Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear! | Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops. |
| But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants. | However, whoever lives by the truth comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been done in God. |
| Loyalty makes a person attractive. It is better to be poor than dishonest. | A man’s attraction is his kindness; it is far better to be poor than to be a liar. |
| Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. | You need to be steadfast if you want to do the will of God and receive what he has promised. |
| You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. | You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. |
| As for you, Titus, promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching. | As for you, teach what is consistent with sound doctrine. |
| But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! | But who am I, and what are your people, that we should be able to do this? All things belong to you, and everything that we have given you is from your hand. |
| But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. | However, the one who looks intently at the perfect law of freedom and perseveres—not forgetting what he has heard but putting it into practice—will be blessed in everything he does. |
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I will be filled with joy because of you.I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.