| “Listen to me and make up your minds to honor my name,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “or I will bring a terrible curse against you. I will curse even the blessings you receive. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you have not taken my warning to heart.” | “If you will not listen, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to my name,” says Yahweh of Armies, “then I will send the curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart.” |
| Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. | Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine. |
| Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. | Now accept one who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions. |
| But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. | But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. |
| You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. | You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden. |
| Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. | Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God. |
| For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. | For God is not unrighteous, so as to forget your work and the labor of love which you showed toward his name, in that you served the saints, and still do serve them. |
| But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. | Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. |
| Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? | Now who will harm you if you become imitators of that which is good? |
| You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. | You adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. |
| Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen.” | Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you told this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it would be done.” |
| Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear! | Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light. What you have spoken in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. |
| The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. | For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire. |
| Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment. | As newborn babies, long for the pure spiritual milk, that with it you may grow. |
| Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” | Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. |
| So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. | Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. |
| Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. | Therefore accept one another, even as Christ also accepted you, to the glory of God. |
| The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. | But the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer. |
| Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. | Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. |
| If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. | For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. |
| So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord! | Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in Yahweh. |
| So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. | But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. |
| For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. | There is one body and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling. |
| And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” | He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to the whole creation.” |
| Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. | For sin will not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. |
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