| Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death. | Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life. |
| For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. | And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins. |
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| Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. | A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. |
| Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? | Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? |
| Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. | So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. |
| Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? | No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. |
| Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. | Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. |
| Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. | He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. |
| He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” | And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” |
| For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. | For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. |
| When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways. | When God raised up his servant, Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways. |
| For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. | For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. |
| Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. | For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. |
| If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. | But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. |
| Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? | Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. |
| Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand. | Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined by these trials. But the wicked will continue in their wickedness, and none of them will understand. Only those who are wise will know what it means. |
