| By insolence the heedless make strife, but wisdom is with those who take advice. | Pride leads to conflict; those who take advice are wise. |
| For we are God's servants, working together; you are God's field, God's building. | For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are 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 then covers it with a bowl or hides it under a bed. A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house. |
| For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night. | For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours. |
| 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 no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, 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. | God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. |
| On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. | My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. |
| 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 must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor. |
| For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. | “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” |
| 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, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, 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. | Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. |
| Your decrees are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. | Your laws are my treasure; they are my heart’s delight. |
| 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. | Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with 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 this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy. |
| The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. | The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help. |
| 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 condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval. |
| “All things are lawful,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. | You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. |
| 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. | Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. |
| 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 me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. |
| 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 destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are! |
| 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. | But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned. |
| Honor widows who are really widows. | Take care of any widow who has no one else to care for her. |
| 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”? | 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?’ |
| 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 those who tell the truth. |
| This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.’ | For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ |
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