| By insolence the heedless make strife, but wisdom is with those who take advice. | Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. |
| For we are God's servants, working together; you are God's field, God's building. | For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. |
|
| No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. | No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. |
| For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night. | A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. |
| There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. | There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. |
| While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent. | In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. |
| On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. | My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. |
| You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. | You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. |
| For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. | “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. |
| Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. | Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. |
| For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. | For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. |
| Your decrees are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. | Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. |
| Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers. | Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. |
| If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. | For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. |
| The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. | The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry. |
| Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. | Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. |
| “All things are lawful,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. | “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. |
| Am I now seeking human approval, or God's approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ. | Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. |
| Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I put my trust. Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. | Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. |
| Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. | But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. |
| Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. | Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned. |
| Honor widows who are really widows. | Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. |
| 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’? |
| Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight. | The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy. |
| This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.’ | Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ |
