| Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. | You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. |
| The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. | The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm. |
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| A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. | And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. |
| Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. | 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. |
| Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all. | Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all. |
| Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. | Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. |
| Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. | You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. |
| But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. | But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. |
| And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. | And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. |
| Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. | May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love. |
| In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. | 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? |
| And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? | Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? |
| Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. | So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. |
| Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. | Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. |
| Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. | Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. |
| He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? | I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. |
| But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. | But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit. |
| Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth 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? |
| This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. | This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. |
| And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you. | I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. |
| For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. | “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” |
| And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. | And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! |
| Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. | Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you. |
| For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. | If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. |
| Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. | I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. |
