A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret. | One who gossips reveals secrets, but a trustworthy man keeps things hidden. |
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. | And thus we can have confidence in him that if we ask anything that is in accordance with his will, he hears us. |
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So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” | Therefore, we can say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” |
We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. | For we will become partners with Christ only if we maintain firmly until the end the confidence we originally had. |
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. | It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to place your trust in mortals. |
Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. | Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we can approach God with confidence and receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do whatever is pleasing to him. |
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. | Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace when we are in need of help. |
And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. | And now, dear children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him at his coming. |
Do not envy the violent or choose any of their ways. For the Lord detests the perverse but takes the upright into his confidence. | Do not envy a violent man or choose to emulate any of his ways. For the perverse man is an abomination to the Lord whose friendship is bestowed only upon the upright. |
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. | Faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the conviction about things that cannot be seen. |
But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. | Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and whose hope is the Lord. They will be like a tree planted by the water that spreads out its roots to the stream. When the heat comes, it does not fear; its leaves stay green. It is not concerned in a year of drought, and it never fails to bear fruit. |
My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ. | I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love so that they may grow rich in their complete understanding as they come to the knowledge of the mystery of God, that is, Christ. |
When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future. | When things are going well, be grateful for your blessings, and in times of adversity consider this: God has made both of them, so that we cannot predict with confidence what the future holds. |