| And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. | Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. |
| And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. | Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. |
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| And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. | He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments—which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets. |
| Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. | Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. |
| Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. | Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses. |
| This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. | For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ |
| Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. | There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. |
| That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. | Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. |
| Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. | But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval. |
| Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. | So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. |
| And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. | I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. |
| As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. | One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” |
| My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed. | I will shout for joy and sing your praises, for you have ransomed me. |
| Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. | Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. |
| Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. | After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.” |
| While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. | 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. |
| Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. | All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” |
| For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. | For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. |
| So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. | It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. |
| I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. | I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh. |
| And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. | And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.” |
| And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. | He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” |
| I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. | I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. |
| Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. | You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. |
| Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! | How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world. |
