Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. | Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you. |
Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. | Wash yourselves. Make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil. |
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Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. | Little children, keep yourselves from idols. |
So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. | Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. |
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. | Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. |
But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love. | But you, beloved, keep building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. |
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. |
Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. | Being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. |
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. | Doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself. |
Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. | Continue steadfastly in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving. |
So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. | Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind; for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. |
Remember, you must not make any idols of silver or gold to rival me. | You shall most certainly not make gods of silver or gods of gold for yourselves to be alongside me. |
Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. | Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal. |
Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. | Also, do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. |
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. | Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection. |
Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. | Don’t deprive one another, unless it is by consent for a season, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer, and may be together again, that Satan doesn’t tempt you because of your lack of self-control. |
Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. | Watch yourselves, that we don’t lose the things which we have accomplished, but that we receive a full reward. |
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 are alienated from Christ, you who desire to be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace. |
Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. | Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool that he may become wise. |
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. | Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance. |
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. | For I say through the grace that was given me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith. |
When you see the tassels, you will remember and obey all the commands of the Lord instead of following your own desires and defiling yourselves, as you are prone to do. | It shall be to you for a fringe, that you may see it, and remember all Yahweh’s commandments, and do them; and that you don’t follow your own heart and your own eyes, after which you used to play the prostitute. |
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. | For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast. |
Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! | Return, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so iniquity will not be your ruin. |
Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. | And above all things be earnest in your love among yourselves, for love covers a multitude of sins. |