| For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. | As servants of God, behave as free people, but do not use your freedom as a means to cover up wrongdoing. |
| My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying. | My son, do not forget my teaching, but cherish my commandments in your heart, for they will bring you length of days, more years of life, and an abundance of prosperity. |
| Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. | Just as you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in a woman’s womb, so you do not know the work of God, the Creator of all. |
| Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as enduring as the grave. Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame. | Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is as strong as death, and ardor is as relentless as the netherworld. Its flames are flashes of fire, an unending blaze. |
| As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person. | Just as water reflects one’s face, so does one human heart reflect another. |
| If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. | If he refuses to listen to them, report it to the Church. And if he refuses to listen to the Church, treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. |
| As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. | As a deer longs for running streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. |
| The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. | The wealth of a rich man is his stronghold; he regards it as a high wall that cannot be scaled. |
| Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. | And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a sacrificial offering whose fragrance is pleasing to God. |
| “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” | He answered, “Because you have such little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith as tiny as a mustard seed, you will be able to say to this mountain: ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” |
| The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.” | The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.” |
| The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. | The Lord God is my strength; he makes my feet as swift as those of a deer and enables me to tread on the heights. |
| But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. | But do not ignore this one fact, beloved: with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. |
| Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. | Bear with one another, and forgive one another if anyone has reason to be offended with another. You must forgive just as the Lord has forgiven you. |
| You must not exploit a widow or an orphan. If you exploit them in any way and they cry out to me, then I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will blaze against you, and I will kill you with the sword. Then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless. | You shall not oppress the widow or the orphan. If you mistreat them and they cry out to me for help, I will surely hear their cry, and my fury will burn and I will put you to death by the sword. Your wives will be widows and your children will be orphans. |
| Hear my prayer, O Lord! Listen to my cries for help! Don’t ignore my tears. For I am your guest— a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me. | Hear my prayer, O Lord; do not be deaf to my cry or ignore my weeping. For I am a wayfarer before you, a nomad like all my ancestors. |
| This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. | This is what love is: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. |
| And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. | This water prefigured Baptism, which now saves you. It does so not by the washing away of dirt from the body but by the pledge of a good conscience given to God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. |
| Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. | Rather, revere Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be prepared to offer an explanation to anyone who asks you to justify the hope that is in you. However, do so with gentleness and respect. |
| Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. | Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. |
| And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. | And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. |
| Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” | I then heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me!” |
| I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels. | I rejoice in the Lord with all my heart; my soul exults in my God. For he has clothed me in garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of saving justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a garland or a bride bedecked with her jewels. |
| In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. | And when he had been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. |
| For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. | For Christ is the fulfillment of the Law for the justification of all who believe. |
Related topics
Jesus
Jesus looked at them...
Life
The LORD keeps you...
Heart
Guard your heart above...
God
For the LORD your...
Love
Love is patient and...
Savior
This is real love—not...