| Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. | Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. |
| Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. | Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. |
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| This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. | 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. |
| If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. | For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. |
| Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received! | Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. |
| Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. | How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! |
| If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. | For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. |
| For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. | For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. |
| But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? | Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? |
| For I assisted the poor in their need and the orphans who required help. I helped those without hope, and they blessed me. And I caused the widows’ hearts to sing for joy. | Because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist them. The one who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing. |
| If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. | For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. |
| And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment. | Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them. |
| He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is! | He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. |
| For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the Lord. | For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord. |
| For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. | For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
| And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. | Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. |
| True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor, and long life. | Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life. |
| That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. | Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. |
| “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.) | “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) |
| There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. | Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. |
| My child, listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life. | Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. |
| Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. | The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. |
| Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life. | Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. |
| Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor. | Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. |
| Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. | For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. |
