| In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. | In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. |
| In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. | In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and barren, and darkness covered the abyss while the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. |
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| As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. | Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father. |
| For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. | For from the beginning you have heard the message that we should love one another. |
| As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. | As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit descended upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. |
| The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. | The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools are those who despise wisdom and instruction. |
| The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. | The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. |
| And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. | He is the head of the body, that is, the Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in every way he should be supreme. |
| Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord—with the first of them and with the last—I am he. | Who has performed these deeds and accomplished this? Who has summoned the nations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first, and I will be there with the last. |
| The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. | The beginning of wisdom is: acquire wisdom, and no matter what the cost, acquire understanding. |
| The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. | The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; those who are guided by it will grow in understanding. His praise will last forever. |
| He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. | He has made everything suitable for its time, and he has given men a sense of past and future, but they never have the slightest comprehension of what God has wrought from beginning to end. |
| The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. | Everyone who sins comes from the devil, for the devil has been a sinner from the very beginning. The Son of God appeared for this very purpose: to destroy the work of the devil. |
| You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. | You are from your father, the devil, and you choose to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he does not abide by the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks in accord with his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. |
| But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate. | But from the very beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two become one flesh.’ And so they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate. |
| He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. | God saved us and called us to a life of holiness, not because of our works but according to his own purpose and the grace that has been bestowed upon us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. |
| “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” | He replied, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ and said: ‘That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two become one flesh’? And so they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.” |
| Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! | Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say: Rejoice! |
| Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. | Finally, find your strength in the Lord and in his mighty power. |
| Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. | Those who live according to the flesh can never be pleasing to God. |
| 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. |
| Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. | Put your trust in the Lord and do good, that you may dwell in the land and be secure. |
| The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. | The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has been unable to overcome it. |
| Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. | Keep alert; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. |
