| For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. | For I know full well the plans I have for you, plans for your welfare and not for your misfortune, plans that will offer you a future filled with hope. |
| Keep my steps steady according to your promise, and never let iniquity have dominion over me. | Guide my steps in accord with your word and never let evil triumph over me. |
| Banish anxiety from your mind, and put away pain from your body; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity. | Banish grief from your heart and ignore the sufferings of your body, for youth and the prime of life are fleeting. |
| Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. | Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth fastened around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness clothing you, and with your feet shod in zeal to proclaim the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold in your hand the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. |
| Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. | Let no foul word ever pass your lips. Say only what is useful for edification, so that your words may benefit your listeners. |
| The clever see danger and hide; but the simple go on, and suffer for it. | The prudent man perceives danger and seeks shelter, while the simple continue forward and pay the penalty. |
| For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; that each one of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor, not with lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God. | It is the will of God that you should lead a life of sanctity. You must refrain from sexual immorality. Each of you must learn to acquire a wife from pure and honorable motives, not to gratify passion like the Gentiles who do not know God. |
| Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come, and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”. | Remember your Creator in the days of your youth before the bad times come and the years draw near when you will say, “I take no pleasure in them”. |
| For the customs of the peoples are false: a tree from the forest is cut down, and worked with an ax by the hands of an artisan; people deck it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, nor is it in them to do good. | For the carved images of the nations are powerless; they are nothing more than wood cut from a forest, fashioned with a knife by craftsmen and embellished with silver and gold. Then they are fastened with hammers and nails to prevent them from toppling. Like scarecrows in a cucumber field they are unable to speak, and they must be carried from place to place since they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they can do no harm, nor do they have any power to do good. |
| Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful. | Love is patient; love is charitable. Love is not envious; it does not have an inflated opinion of itself; it is not filled with its own importance. Love is never rude; it does not seek its own advantage. It is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over setbacks. |
| Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. | If it seems wrong to you to serve the Lord, then today you must choose whom you will serve, whether it be the gods that your fathers served on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites who dwell in the land. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. |
| So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today. | So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own. |
| Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. | Therefore, rid yourselves of everything sordid and of every wicked excess, and welcome in all humility the word that is implanted in you and is able to save your souls. |
| The wicked earn no real gain, but those who sow righteousness get a true reward. | The labors of the wicked man produce little profit, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward. |
| For the righteous will never be moved; they will be remembered forever. | He will never be swayed; the righteous man will be remembered forever. |
| Many shall be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked shall continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. | Many shall be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked will persist in their evil ways. |
| For whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. | For everyone born of God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. |
| The way of the Lord is a stronghold for the upright, but destruction for evildoers. | The way of the Lord is a stronghold for the upright, but destruction for evildoers. |
| Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature. | By these he has given us his precious promises, great beyond all price, so that through them you may escape from the corruption with which evil desires have infected the world and thereby may come to share in the divine nature. |
| Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. | Nevertheless, do not rejoice in the knowledge that the spirits are subject to you. Rejoice rather that your names are inscribed in heaven. |
| It does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. | Love does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. |
| Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. | Rather, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and allow no opportunity for the flesh to gratify its sinful desires. |
| Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. | Examine me, O God, and know my heart; test me and understand my thoughts. See if I follow an evil way, and guide me on the way to eternity. |
| Shun youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. | Turn away from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord with a pure heart. |
| Better is a little that the righteous person has than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. | Preferable is the little that the righteous possess than the great wealth of the wicked. For the power of the wicked will be overcome, but the Lord protects the righteous. |
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