| For ‘In him we live and move and have our being.’ As even your own poets have said, ‘We are all his offspring.’ | ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ |
| Bless the Lord, O my soul; my entire being, bless his holy name. | Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. |
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| Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outer self is continuing to decay, our inner self is being renewed day by day. | Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. |
| Indeed, the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. | For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. |
| 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. | Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! |
| The brother who is in modest circumstances should take pride in being raised up. Likewise, the one who is rich should glory in being brought low, for he will disappear like a flower of the field. | Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. |
| I know how to live with little, and I know how to live with plenty. In any and all circumstances, I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. | I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. |
| The whispers of a gossiper are tasty morsels that corrode one’s inner being. | The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts. |
| And just as no human being comprehends any person’s innermost being except the person’s own spirit within him, so also no one comprehends what pertains to God except the Spirit of God. | For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. |
| Jesus replied, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” | Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” |
| I ask that from the riches of his glory he may grant through his Spirit that you be strengthened with power in your inner being and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. | I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love. |
| And as we gaze upon the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, all of us are being transformed into that same image from glory to glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. | And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. |
| Do not lie to one another, since you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self that is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. | Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. |
| You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am wonderfully made; awesome are your works, as I know very well. | For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. |
| I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have life. | I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. |
| He is the reflection of God’s glory and the perfect expression of his very being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. Achieving purification from sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high. | The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. |
| Every day, united in spirit, they would assemble together in the temple. They would break bread in their homes and share their food with joyful and generous hearts as they praised God, and they were regarded with favor by all the people. And day by day the Lord added to those who were being saved. | Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. |
| Persevere in prayer, with alert minds and thankful hearts. | Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. |
| Can anyone withhold the water of baptism from these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? | Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have. |
| And now, brethren, I want to remind you of the gospel I proclaimed to you, which you received and in which you stand firm. Through it you are also being saved, provided that you are holding fast to what I proclaimed to you. If not, then you have believed in vain. | Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. |
| I am confident of this: that the one who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. | Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. |
| While experiencing temptation, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. | When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. |
| You must understand, brethren, that it is through him that forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you. All those who believe are justified from all the things from which they could not be justified by the Law of Moses. | Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. |
| Exalted at God’s right hand, he received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. | Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. |
| But I have had help from God to this very day, and I stand here and testify to both the lowly and the great. I assert nothing more than what the Prophets and Moses said would occur: that the Christ must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light to the people and to the Gentiles. | But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles. |
