| Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life. | Because in my eyes you are precious, because you are honored and I love you, I will give people in exchange for you and nations in return for your life. |
| Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops. | Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops. |
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| His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. | His divine power has bestowed on us everything that is necessary for life and for devotion through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and virtue. |
| Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him. | This saying can be trusted: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him. |
| Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. | Blessed is the man who perseveres when he is tempted, for when he has been proven, he will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. |
| But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. | But God is rich in his mercy, and because he had such great love for us, he brought us to life with Christ when we were already dead through sin—it is by grace that you have been saved. |
| Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. | Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your noble confession of faith in the presence of many witnesses. |
| But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. | But whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never be thirsty. The water that I will give him will become a spring of water within him welling up to eternal life. |
| Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. | With all humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another in a spirit of love. |
| Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. | Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may show yourselves blameless and beyond reproach, children of God without spot in the midst of an evil and depraved generation, among which you shine like lights in the world as you hold fast tenaciously to the word of life. |
| 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. |
| But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. | But if you seek the Lord, your God, and you strive with all your heart and your soul, you will find him there. |
| For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. | For everything that is in the world— the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life— comes not from the Father but from the world. |
| However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. | As for me, I do not regard my life as of any value, only that I finish the race and complete the mission that I received from the Lord Jesus—to bear witness to the gospel of God’s grace. |
| Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield. | Truly, you bless the righteous, O Lord; you surround them with your goodwill as with a shield. |
| For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. | For we are God’s coworkers; you are God’s field, God’s building. |
| Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice. | It is better to have little and be righteous than to acquire great riches with injustice. |
| For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. | For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
| And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. | The Lord God said, “Behold, man has become like one of us, for he has knowledge of that which is good and that which is evil. Now, we must prevent him from reaching out and taking the fruit of the tree of life lest he eat it and live forever.” The Lord God cast him out of the Garden of Eden; henceforth he was to labor tilling the soil from which he had come. |
| I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. | I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world. |
| Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. | Nor should you present any part of your body as an instrument for wickedness leading to sin. Rather, present yourselves to God as having been raised from death to life and the parts of your body to God as instruments for righteousness. |
| For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. | When the command is given, at the sound of the archangel’s voice and the call of God’s trumpet, the Lord himself will descend from heaven, and those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise. Then those of us who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them on clouds in the air to meet the Lord. And so, we will be with the Lord forever. |
| One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. | There is only one thing I ask of the Lord, just one thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, so that I may enjoy the beauty of the Lord and gaze on his temple. |
| So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. | Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and give you help, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. |
| Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. | Who among you is wise and understanding? Prove by your good life that your works are done with the humility that comes from wisdom. |
