For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for 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 are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you. | You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way. |
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You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah | For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. |
Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful 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 in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on 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. |
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. | There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. |
I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass. | I, yes I, am the one who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear? |
The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. | A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. |
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. | But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. |
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” | I said to the Lord, “You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you.” |
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. | Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. |
Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. | You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. |
Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? | Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? |
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. | Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. |
You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word. | You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope. |
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! | Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing. |
For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. | No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. |
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. | You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. |
For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. | For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building. |
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. | Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. |
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. | Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up. |
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. | What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. |
And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) | “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.) |
Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways, for the devious person is an abomination to the Lord, but the upright are in his confidence. | Don’t envy violent people or copy their ways. Such wicked people are detestable to the Lord, but he offers his friendship to the godly. |
He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. | The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord. |