| Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. | Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. |
| You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. | In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. |
| From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help. Hear my cry, O Lord. Pay attention to my prayer. | Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. |
| This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. | The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. |
| Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery. | Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. |
| On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!” | On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” |
| And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. | And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. |
| Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. | Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. |
| So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. | Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. |
| No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. | Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? |
| May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. | May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. |
| Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. | Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. |
| Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one. | All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. |
| As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them. | But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. |
| Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. | The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. |
| So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. | Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. |
| Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. | My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. |
| Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. | Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. |
| Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. | Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. |
| Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. | No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. |
| Fear the Lord and judge with integrity, for the Lord our God does not tolerate perverted justice, partiality, or the taking of bribes. | Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery. |
| Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. | Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. |
| But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. | But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. |
| So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. | Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. |
| John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” | John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” |
Bible verse of the day
God places the lonely in families;he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.