| Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. | God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. |
| 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. |
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| Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control. | A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls. |
| Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? | Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet? |
| Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. | Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life. |
| In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. | In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. |
| And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. | And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. |
| If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. | If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. |
| Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. | Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. |
| Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. | Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets. |
| All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. | When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it. |
| Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. | Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! |
| The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it. | The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. |
| All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing. | Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give! |
| Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. | Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. |
| For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. | For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. |
| Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. | Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success. |
| For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. | For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. |
| But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. | But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. |
| Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. | Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. |
| For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. | This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. |
| How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! | Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. |
| He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. | He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is! |
| Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. | Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. |
| Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments. | Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the Lord wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets. |
