| But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear. | 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. |
| Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. | Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. |
| Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. | And forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. |
| Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children. | Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. |
| Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” | Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” |
| My doctrine will drop as the rain. My speech will condense as the dew, as the misty rain on the tender grass, as the showers on the herb. | Let my teaching fall on you like rain; let my speech settle like dew. Let my words fall like rain on tender grass, like gentle showers on young plants. |
| And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. | Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. |
| But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. | But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. |
| For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members don’t have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. | Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. |
| Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. | So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. |
| 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. |
| Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. | But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. |
| For as many as have sinned without the law will also perish without the law. As many as have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. | When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it. |
| As for God, his way is perfect. Yahweh’s word is tried. He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him. | God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. |
| Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position; and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away. | Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. |
| As for God, his way is perfect. Yahweh’s word is tested. He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him. | God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. |
| Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path. | Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. |
| When he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. | After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. |
| But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit. | So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. |
| This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. | This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. |
| He will cover you with his feathers. Under his wings you will take refuge. His faithfulness is your shield and rampart. | He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. |
| For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. | Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. |
| For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God. | For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. |
| Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. | You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” |
| Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. | And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. |
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