| If an army encamps against me, My heart will not fear; If war arises against me, In spite of this I am confident. | Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident. |
| Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. | Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins. |
| For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. | No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. |
| For one will hardly die for a righteous person; though perhaps for the good person someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. | Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. |
| You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. | You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. |
| For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. | When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. |
| We are Jews by nature and not sinners from the Gentiles; nevertheless, knowing that a person is not justified by works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law; since by works of the Law no flesh will be justified. | You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law. |
| What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? Far from it! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.” | Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” |
| If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. | If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? |
| But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes. | I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. |
| For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. | The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. |
| But whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother or sister in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God remain in him? | If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? |
| For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. | Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. |
| But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will come forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His times of coming forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity. | But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf. |
| Why are you in despair, my soul? And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him For the help of His presence, my God. | Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God! |
| I certainly believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. | Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. |
| Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. | But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. |
| Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost sinner Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. | But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. |
| Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” | Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” |
| And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. | You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. |
| But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be in dread. | But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. |
| Nevertheless, in Your great compassion You did not make an end of them or abandon them, For You are a gracious and compassionate God. | But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are! |
| For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. | For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! |
| There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. | Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. |
| For what does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? | And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? |
Related topics
Love
Love is patient, love...
Jesus
Looking at them, Jesus...
Fear
Do not fear, for...
Righteousness
One who pursues righteousness...
Sin
Or do you not...
Salvation
And there is salvation...
Bible verse of the day
Vindicate the weak and fatherless;Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.