| Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! | Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. |
| When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. | While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. |
| For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. | For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. |
| I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food. | I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured in my bosom the words of his mouth. |
| Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. | I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. |
| If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. | If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. |
| I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. | I delight in the way of your decrees as much as in all riches. |
| All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed. | I had eaten no rich food, no meat or wine had entered my mouth, and I had not anointed myself at all, for the full three weeks. |
| For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. | I can do all things through him who strengthens me. |
| “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” | For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. |
| Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. | And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. |
| I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. | I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. |
| The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. | One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. |
| Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. | Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. |
| Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. | Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. |
| But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. | But I will sing of your might; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been a fortress for me and a refuge in the day of my distress. |
| You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own. | You shall be holy to me; for I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from the other peoples to be mine. |
| You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. | You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. |
| Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you. | Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. |
| Who has done such mighty deeds, summoning each new generation from the beginning of time? It is I, the Lord, the First and the Last. I alone am he. | Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am first, and will be with the last. |
| Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” | Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners. |
| In those days when you pray, I will listen. | Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. |
| I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. | I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. |
| “Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord. | Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord. |
| The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? | With the Lord on my side I do not fear. What can mortals do to me? |
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