Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond-servants of God. | For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. |
Sober up morally and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. | Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all. |
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The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever. | And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. |
So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. | When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. |
For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. | But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. |
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. | Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. |
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. | For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. |
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” | Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.” |
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. | May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. |
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. | I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. |
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. | The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. |
So that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and relax in your company. | Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other. |
Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! | Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! |
Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? | Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? |
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. | For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. |
For you are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. | For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. |
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise. | The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. |
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. | Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. |
Consequently, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. | So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. |
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. | For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. |
The heavens tell of the glory of God; And their expanse declares the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. | The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. |
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: “But the righteous one will live by faith.” | This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” |
Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. | Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. |
Namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. | For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. |
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God 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. |