| For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. | Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. |
| Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. | Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. |
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| The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, But the lips of a fool shall swallow him up. | Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips. |
| Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him. | Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval. |
| And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands. | May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands. |
| Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. | Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. |
| But “he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends. | But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. |
| Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. | Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. |
