| To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. | This, in fact, is what you have been called to do, because Christ himself suffered for you and left an example for you to follow in his footsteps. |
| In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. | In my anguish I cried out to the Lord and called to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. |
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| When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong. | Because the sentence for committing an evil act is not carried out quickly, people’s hearts are prone to act wickedly. |
| But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth. | The face of the Lord is turned against those who do evil, to erase all memory of them from the earth. |
| Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless. | You shall not oppress the widow or the orphan. If you mistreat them and they cry out to me for help, I will surely hear their cry, and my fury will burn and I will put you to death by the sword. Your wives will be widows and your children will be orphans. |
| “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” | Bring the tithes in full into the treasury so that there may be food in my house. Put me thus to the test, says the Lord of hosts, and see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down blessings upon you without measure. |
| 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. |
| If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married. | If a man has recently been married, he is not to go off to battle nor have any other duty laid on him. He will be free to stay at home for one year so that he can bring happiness to the wife whom he has married. |
| But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. | Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and whose hope is the Lord. They will be like a tree planted by the water that spreads out its roots to the stream. When the heat comes, it does not fear; its leaves stay green. It is not concerned in a year of drought, and it never fails to bear fruit. |
| But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. | And yet he is aware of everywhere I go; if he were to test me, I would emerge like pure gold. My footsteps have not strayed from the path he established; I have followed his way and never turned aside. |
| If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. | If we claim that we have fellowship with him while we continue to live in darkness, we are lying and do not live in the truth. |
| Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine. | Now, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession from among all the peoples, for the entire earth is mine. |
| Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. | Be on guard against false prophets who come to you disguised in sheep’s clothing, but who inwardly are ravenous wolves. |
| For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. | For the Son of Man has come to seek out and to save what was lost. |
| Till the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest. | Until a spirit from on high is poured out upon us, and the wilderness becomes an orchard and the fruitful field becomes a forest. |
| No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. | No trial has confronted you except what a person can stand. God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tried beyond your strength. But together with the trial he will also provide a way out and the strength to bear it. |
| I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. | I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you. I will remove from your body a heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh in its place. |
| Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” | After this, he said to the crowd, “Take care to be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Life does not depend upon an abundance of one’s possessions.” |
| Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. | Let us examine and test our ways and return to the Lord. |
| My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart. | My son, concentrate attentively on my words; pay heed to the instructions I pass on to you. Do not let them slip from your mind; keep them forever in your heart. |
| Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. | Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he protects the souls of his faithful ones and rescues them from the hand of the wicked. |
| When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. | When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. |
| For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. | For the Lord himself is the one who bestows wisdom; from his mouth come forth knowledge and understanding. |
| Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” | Jesus answered, “As it is written: ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’ ” |
| Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. | Speak out and pronounce righteous judgments; defend the rights of the wretched and the poor. |
