Little children, keep yourselves from idols. | Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. |
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you. | Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. |
|
Wash yourselves. Make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil. | Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. |
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. | So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. |
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 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. |
You shall most certainly not make gods of silver or gods of gold for yourselves to be alongside me. | Remember, you must not make any idols of silver or gold to rival me. |
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. | 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. |
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. | 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. |
Watch yourselves, that we don’t lose the things which we have accomplished, but that we receive a full reward. | Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. |
Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.” | Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. |
Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. | So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. |
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. | 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. |
Return, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so iniquity will not be your ruin. | Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! |
But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. | But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. |
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. | 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. |
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. | 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. |
And above all things be earnest in your love among yourselves, for love covers a multitude of sins. | Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. |
“For I have no pleasure in the death of him who dies,” says the Lord Yahweh. “Therefore turn yourselves, and live!” | I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live! |
Doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself. | Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. |
But just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior, because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” | But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” |
Continue steadfastly in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving. | Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. |
He said to them, “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses.” | Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” |
Being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. | Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. |
You are alienated from Christ, you who desire to be justified by the law. You have fallen away 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. |
Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection. | Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. |