As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. | For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. |
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. | But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life. |
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Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. | Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. |
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. | The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. |
I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. | I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. |
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. | So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. |
And whoever does not provide for relatives, and especially for family members, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. | But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers. |
Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death. | Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life. |
But as for you, teach what is consistent with sound doctrine. | As for you, Titus, promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching. |
I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous ordinances. | As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should! |
Of all that live in water you may eat these: whatever has fins and scales you may eat. And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you. | Of all the marine animals, you may eat whatever has both fins and scales. You may not, however, eat marine animals that do not have both fins and scales. They are ceremonially unclean for you. |
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. | Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living. |
Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. | Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death. |
God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. | All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. |
If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. | Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. |
You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore. | You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. |
If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true. | So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. |
The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes. | The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living. |
He was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. | Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the Lord wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets. |
Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. | If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. |
Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. | Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your oxen and donkeys and other livestock, and any foreigners living among you. All your male and female servants must rest as you do. |
But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. | But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. |
Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. | No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. |
Shun youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. | Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. |
The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. | For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. |