| You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. | You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. |
| 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. | Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. |
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| A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted. | Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult. |
| For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. | You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. |
| Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. | And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. |
| So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. | So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. |
| The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord. | He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord. |
| As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person. | As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart. |
| 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 shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. |
| O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them. | Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. |
| O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed; if you save me, I will be truly saved. My praises are for you alone! | Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise. |
| What are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? | What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? |
| You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” | Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. |
| The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. | The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it. |
| And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. | Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. |
| We have happy memories of the godly, but the name of a wicked person rots away. | The name of the righteous is used in blessings, but the name of the wicked will rot. |
| If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. | If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. |
| There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? | My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? |
| And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil. | “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. |
| Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? | Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? |
| O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. | You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. |
| Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you. | Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life. |
| The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. | No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. |
| If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. | Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. |
| And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. | She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. |
