| “If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.” | If you refuse to listen to me and do not sincerely resolve to give glory to my name, says the Lord of hosts, I will send a curse on you, and I will turn your blessings into a curse. Indeed, I have already done so because you have not heeded my warning. |
| But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.” | Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.” |
| Hear my prayer, Lord, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were. | Hear my prayer, O Lord; do not be deaf to my cry or ignore my weeping. For I am a wayfarer before you, a nomad like all my ancestors. |
| 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. |
| In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. | In the same way, even the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs that cannot be put into words. |
| Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. | Do not be lacking in zeal, but serve the Lord with spiritual fervor. |
| Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval. | Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal. |
| This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ | Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render fair judgments, and show kindness and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor. Do not plot evil in your heart against one another. |
| Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” | When Jesus heard this, he said, “Do not be afraid. Just have faith, and she will be saved.” |
| If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. | If in speaking I use human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am nothing more than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. |
| Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. | Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where they will be destroyed by moth and rust and where thieves break in and steal. Rather, store up treasure for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves cannot break in and steal. |
| Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. | Do not repay evil with evil or abuse with abuse. On the contrary, repay with a blessing. This is what you were called to do, so that you might inherit a blessing. |
| When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. | Whenever you fast, do not assume a gloomy expression like the hypocrites who contort their faces so that others may realize that they are fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. |
| Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” | Jesus then said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brethren and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” |
| If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. | If I give away everything to feed the poor and hand over my body to be burned, but do not have love, I achieve nothing. |
| Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. | When they arrest you and bring you to trial, do not be concerned beforehand about what you are to say. Simply say whatever is given to you when that time comes, for it will not be you who speak but the Holy Spirit. |
| Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? | Therefore, heed my words. Do not be concerned about your life and what you will have to eat or drink, or about your body and what you will wear. Surely life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. |
| The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” | But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised, as he promised he would be. Come and see the place where he lay.” |
| Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. | Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds, so that you will be able to discern the will of God and to know what is good and acceptable and perfect. |
| 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. |
| The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. | The Lord then said, “Very well. All that he has is in your power. However, you may not lay a hand upon him.” So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. |
| Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? | Why do you take note of the splinter in your brother’s eye but do not notice the wooden plank in your own eye? |
| So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. | Therefore, whenever you give alms, do not trumpet your generosity, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets in order to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have already received their reward. |
| So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. | Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and give you help, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. |
| Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. | Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with a joy that is indescribable and glorious. For you are achieving the goal of your faith, that is, the salvation of your souls. |
Bible verse of the day
The Lord watches over the foreignerand sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.