Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! | How wonderful and delightful it is for brothers to live together in unity. |
“And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.” | I intend to prove the holiness of my great name which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. Thus, the nations will know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when through you I will display my holiness in their sight. |
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Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. | Whenever you fast, do not assume a gloomy expression like the hypocrites who contort their faces so that others may realize that they are fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. |
When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” | After John had baptized all the people, and while Jesus was engaged in prayer after also having been baptized, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.” |
When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with any business; he shall be free at home one year, and bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken. | If a man has recently been married, he is not to go off to battle nor have any other duty laid on him. He will be free to stay at home for one year so that he can bring happiness to the wife whom he has married. |
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. | Beloved, we are God’s children now. What we shall be has not yet been revealed. However, we do know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he really is. Everyone who has this hope in him keeps himself pure, just as he is pure. |
Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. | Therefore, whenever you give alms, do not trumpet your generosity, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets in order to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have already received their reward. |
By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. | By faith Abraham also received the power of procreation, even though he was well past the age—and Sarah herself was barren—because he believed that the one who had made the promise would be faithful in fulfilling it. |
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. | The Lord makes a man’s steps secure when he approves of his conduct. |
And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last. | He cried out, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” And with these words he breathed his last. |
You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. | You are from your father, the devil, and you choose to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he does not abide by the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks in accord with his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. |
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. | Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, where he was tempted by the devil. During that time he ate nothing, and at the end of it he was famished. |
Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. | So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. |
Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. | He is the reflection of God’s glory and the perfect expression of his very being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. Achieving purification from sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high. |
No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. | No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a pot or places it under a bed. Rather he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. |
For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. | You need to be steadfast if you want to do the will of God and receive what he has promised. |
Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. | When God saw by their actions that they had turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not inflict upon them the punishment that he had threatened. |
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit. | Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and whose hope is the Lord. They will be like a tree planted by the water that spreads out its roots to the stream. When the heat comes, it does not fear; its leaves stay green. It is not concerned in a year of drought, and it never fails to bear fruit. |
Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. | When you call out to me and come forth and pray to me, I will listen to you. |
Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. | Then, after completing their fasting and prayer, they laid their hands on them and sent them off. |
“They shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him.” | They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my own special possession on the day when I act, and I will have compassion on them as a father has compassion on the son who serves him. |
Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven. | When you fix your gaze upon it, it is gone before you realize it. For it suddenly sprouts wings and flies up to the sky like an eagle. |
Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. | Therefore, you must also be prepared, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. |
But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. | Rather, I discipline my body and bring it under control, for fear that after preaching to others I myself may be disqualified. |
In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise. | Where many words are spoken, sin is not absent, but whoever restrains his tongue is prudent. |