| Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. | Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. |
| For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. | For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. |
| Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus. | May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. |
| Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. | So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. |
| I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. | In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! |
| One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination. | God detests the prayers of a person who ignores the law. |
| We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other. | Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. |
| For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things 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. |
| Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. | Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! |
| Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. | Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. |
| No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. | No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a bowl or hides it under a bed. A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house. |
| To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities. | When God raised up his servant, Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways. |
| Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way. | So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. |
| And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” | Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. |
| He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. | Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city. |
| One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. | The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. |
| But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. | But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. |
| For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have. | Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. |
| If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. | So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. |
| Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. | So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. |
| When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with any business; he shall be free at home one year, and bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken. | A newly married man must not be drafted into the army or be given any other official responsibilities. He must be free to spend one year at home, bringing happiness to the wife he has married. |
| These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. | They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus. |
| Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” | Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” |
| But he who endures to the end shall be saved. | But the one who endures to the end will be saved. |
| The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it. | The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. |
Related topics
Love
Love suffers long and...
Community
And let us consider...
Sin
Do you not know...
Peace
The LORD bless you...
Patience
He who is slow...
Conversion
If My people who...