| But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. | But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. |
| What then should we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” | What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” |
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| Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? | Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? |
| I am coming soon; hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. | I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. |
| But test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. | But test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. |
| But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” | However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him. |
| But as for you, teach what is consistent with sound doctrine. | You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. |
| Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. | Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. |
| Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners. | But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. |
| See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. | See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. |
| To you, O God of my ancestors, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and power, and have now revealed to me what we asked of you, for you have revealed to us what the king ordered. | I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king. |
| Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father. | As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. |
| When goods increase, those who eat them increase; and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes? | As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them? |
| But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated. | But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” |
| So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. | Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. |
| For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God's except the Spirit of God. | For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. |
| What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? | What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? |
| You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. | You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. |
| What is desirable in a person is loyalty, and it is better to be poor than a liar. | What a person desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar. |
| And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. | And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. |
| For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. | For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. |
| Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops. | What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. |
| Only fear the Lord, and serve him faithfully with all your heart; for consider what great things he has done for you. | But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. |
| But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. | But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. |
| Woe to you who strive with your Maker, earthen vessels with the potter! Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, “What are you making”? or “Your work has no handles”? | Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’? |
