| Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may show yourselves blameless and beyond reproach, children of God without spot in the midst of an evil and depraved generation, among which you shine like lights in the world as you hold fast tenaciously to the word of life. | Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life. |
| Let my teaching fall down like rain, and my words descend like the dew. Like rain upon the sprouts, and like showers upon the grass. | 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. |
| Oh, that they would have fear of me in their hearts and they would observe all of my commandments always. Then things would go well with them and their children forever. | Oh, that they would always have hearts like this, that they might fear me and obey all my commands! If they did, they and their descendants would prosper forever. |
| For the Lord loves the just, and he will not forsake his faithful ones. Those who follow evil paths will be destroyed, and the children of the wicked will be cut off. | For the Lord loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly. He will keep them safe forever, but the children of the wicked will die. |
| Even though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, even though the olive crop will fail and the orchards will yield no food, even though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, I will continue to rejoice in the Lord, and exult in the God of my salvation. | Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! |
| Come now and let us discuss this, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow. Though they are as red as crimson, they shall become as white as wool. | “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.” |
| The second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ | A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ |
| You shall keep these things that I command you today in your heart. Teach them to your children. You shall talk of them when you are sitting in your home, and when you are walking along the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up. | And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. |
| Like a city that has been breached and made defenseless is the man devoid of self-control. | A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls. |
| I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like a mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. | I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free. |
| 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. | 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 obey his statutes and the commandments that I give you today, so that all may go well with you and your children after you, and that you may live long in the land that the Lord, your God, has given you for all time. | If you obey all the decrees and commands I am giving you today, all will be well with you and your children. I am giving you these instructions so you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you for all time. |
| For to you a thousand years are like a yesterday that has passed or one of the watches of the night. | For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours. |
| I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah | I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain. |
| Train a child in the way he should go, and he will not deviate from it, even in old age. | Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. |
| How great you are, Lord God! There is no one like you, and there is no God except you alone, as everything that we have heard confirms. | How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! |
| But he is to ask with faith, without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind. | But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. |
| 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. | The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. |
| Pleasing words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and affording health to the body. | Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. |
| Remain sober and alert, for your enemy the devil is on the prowl like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. | Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. |
| When you fix your gaze upon it, it is gone before you realize it. For it suddenly sprouts wings and flies up to the sky like an eagle. | In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle. |
| 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. | 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. |
| You shall not hate your brother in your heart, nor shall you rebuke your brother in any way, lest you bear sin because of him. You shall not seek vengeance nor bear a grudge against the children of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. | Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. |
| Commit your way to the Lord; place your trust in him, and he will act. He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, and the justice of your cause, like the noonday. | Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. |
| But for you who fear my name the sun of justice will arise with its healing rays. You will emerge leaping like calves released from the stall. | But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. |
Related topics
Life
The LORD will protect...
Law
You shall keep these...
Children
But Jesus said, “Let...
Righteousness
Whoever pursues righteousness and...
Blessing
The LORD bless you...
Worship
O LORD, you are my...