| Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you— better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away. | Do not forsake your friend or the friend of your father, and do not run to your brother’s house when troubles befall you; far better is a friend nearby than a brother who is far away. |
| When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. | When God saw by their actions that they had turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not inflict upon them the punishment that he had threatened. |
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| Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor. | A man is haughty until disaster overtakes him, but humility comes before honors. |
| For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. | 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. |
| Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. | Rend your hearts and not your garments, and turn back to the Lord, your God. For he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and always prepared to relent from punishing. |
