And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do. | Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. |
They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus. | All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. |
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Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. | Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. |
Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.” | But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.” |
But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. | But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. |
They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. | Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. |
Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. | I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah |
Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. | For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. |
Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die. | Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish. |
Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. | Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. |
Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. | Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. |
I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. | In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. |
A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. | Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. |
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people. | It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. |
Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. | Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. |
Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. | Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. |
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. | So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. |
Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. | Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. |
And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. | By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. |
The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness. | The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. |
Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God. | Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. |
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! | You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. |
All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. | Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. |
Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us. | Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. |
Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. | Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. |