| If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. | If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. |
| 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. | But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit. |
| Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked. | The godly are showered with blessings; the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions. |
| My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. | My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. |
| Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. | Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt. |
| For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. | This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. |
| “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.” | “They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child.” |
| With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape. | With their words, the godless destroy their friends, but knowledge will rescue the righteous. |
| Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. | But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. |
| For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. | Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. |
| As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. | Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. |
| The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. | The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness. |
| Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. | Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. |
| Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. | Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good. |
| Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger. | Seek the Lord, all who are humble, and follow his commands. Seek to do what is right and to live humbly. Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you— protect you from his anger on that day of destruction. |
| Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. | For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. |
| And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. | So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. |
| Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them. | Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall. |
| For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you. | The Lord your God will bless you as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations but will never need to borrow. You will rule many nations, but they will not rule over you. |
| May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us. | May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us. |
| Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” | Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” |
| The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. | The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm. |
| The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. | Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender. |
| Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. | We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. |
| The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. | He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth. |
Bible verse of the day
Take delight in the Lord,and he will give you the desires of your heart.