| ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ | For ‘In him we live and move and have our being.’ As even your own poets have said, ‘We are all his offspring.’ |
| 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! | 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. |
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| Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. | Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outer self is continuing to decay, our inner self is being renewed day by day. |
| 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. | 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. |
| Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. | Persevere in prayer, with alert minds and thankful hearts. |
| Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. | Bless the Lord, O my soul; my entire being, bless his holy name. |
| 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. | 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. |
| Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have. | Can anyone withhold the water of baptism from these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? |
| I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. | I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have life. |
| 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. | 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. |
| Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? | Or can a man walk on red-hot coals without scorching his feet? |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. | I wait for the Lord in anxious expectation; I place my hope in his word. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. | Ever since the creation of the world the invisible attributes of God’s eternal power and divine nature have been clearly understood and perceived through the things he has made. Therefore, the conduct of these people is inexcusable. |
| When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. | While experiencing temptation, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. |
| 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. | 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. |
| Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” | Jesus replied, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” |
| God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? | God is not human, that he should lie, or the son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act, does he promise and then not fulfill it? |
| You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. | You intended to do evil to me, but God decided to make it serve a good, to fulfill that which today has come true: to keep alive a numerous people. |
