| Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. | Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to Yahweh, and he will have mercy on him, to our God, for he will freely pardon. |
| 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! | Who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross. |
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| Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish. | Go, gather together all the Jews who are present in Susa, and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. I and my maidens will also fast the same way. Then I will go in to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish. |
| Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life, but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die. | He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is contemptuous in his ways shall die. |
| I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. | I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer. Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. |
| I will strengthen Judah and save the tribes of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them. | I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back, for I have mercy on them. They will be as though I had not cast them off, for I am Yahweh their God, and I will hear them. |
| For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. | For no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit. |
| I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes. | “I will sanctify my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am Yahweh,” says the Lord Yahweh, “when I am proven holy in you before their eyes.” |
| 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, when you do merciful deeds, don’t sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward. |
| “No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord. | “No weapon that is formed against you will prevail; and you will condemn every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of Yahweh’s servants, and their righteousness is of me,” says Yahweh. |
| Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. | Even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. |
| The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. | The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them. |
| Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. | If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he doesn’t bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is worthless. |
| For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. | For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; and whoever will lose his life for my sake and the sake of the Good News will save it. |
| Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. | Exhort servants to be in subjection to their own masters and to be well-pleasing in all things, not contradicting, not stealing, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God, our Savior, in all things. |
| If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them. | If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times returns, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him. |
| Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. | Charge those who are rich in this present age that they not be arrogant, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. |
| 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. | That their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love, and gaining all riches of the full assurance of understanding, that they may know the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ. |
| ‘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, move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’ |
| But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth. | Yahweh’s face is against those who do evil, to cut off their memory from the earth. |
| A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. | Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but Yahweh weighs the hearts. |
| The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale. | The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, like an unscalable wall in his own imagination. |
| Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” | Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” |
| So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. | If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; or ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ don’t believe it. For as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. |
| What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? | For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? |
