| For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. | Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. |
| I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. | I have tried hard to find you— don’t let me wander from your commands. |
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| Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. | Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly. |
| You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. | If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. |
| I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. | I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. |
| To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless. | To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity. |
| Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. | So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. |
| I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. | I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. |
| Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me.” | But Jesus told them, “I will be with you only a little longer. Then I will return to the one who sent me.” |
| After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. | After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness. |
| May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. | I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. |
| And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ | I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ |
| Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will 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. |
| Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. | Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. |
| I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. | As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should! |
| Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. | Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. |
| Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. | Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. |
| For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. | In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. |
| Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. | Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. |
| With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape. | With their words, the godless destroy their friends, but knowledge will rescue the righteous. |
| The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. | The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. |
| Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. | Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. |
| You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. | For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. |
| And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever. | And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. |
| If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. | So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. |
