For the carved images of the nations are powerless; they are nothing more than wood cut from a forest, fashioned with a knife by craftsmen and embellished with silver and gold. Then they are fastened with hammers and nails to prevent them from toppling. Like scarecrows in a cucumber field they are unable to speak, and they must be carried from place to place since they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they can do no harm, nor do they have any power to do good. | For the customs of the peoples are false: a tree from the forest is cut down, and worked with an ax by the hands of an artisan; people deck it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, nor is it in them to do good. |
Yet even if you should suffer for doing what is right, you are thereby blessed. Have no fear of others, and refuse to be intimidated by them. | But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated. |
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Amen, amen, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. | Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. |
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified of them, for the Lord, your God, is going forth with you. He will never leave you or abandon you. | Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. |
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will ever snatch them from my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one. | I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one. |
How great you are, Lord God! There is no one like you, and there is no God except you alone, as everything that we have heard confirms. | Therefore you are great, O Lord God; for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. |
My son, do not ignore the Lord’s discipline or refuse to accept his rebuke. For the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, just as a father chastises a beloved son. | My child, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves the one he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. |
Above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth, or use any oaths at all. Let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No.” Otherwise you may be condemned. | Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. |
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. | When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be charged with any related duty. He shall be free at home one year, to be happy with the wife whom he has married. |
It was not their own swords that won them the land, nor did their own arms make them victorious; rather, it was your right hand and your arm and the light of your face, because you loved them. | For not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm give them victory; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your countenance, for you delighted in them. |
I refrained from eating any choice food, abstaining from consuming meat or wine, and I did not anoint myself until those three weeks had passed. | I had eaten no rich food, no meat or wine had entered my mouth, and I had not anointed myself at all, for the full three weeks. |
Do not succumb to the love of money, but be content with what you have, for God has said, “I will never forsake you or abandon you.” | Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” |
I will establish my covenant with you: never again will all living creatures be cut off by the waters of a flood, nor will the earth be laid waste by a flood again. | I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. |
Dear children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. | Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. |
Do not make gods from silver or from gold instead of me. You will not make them for yourselves. | You shall not make gods of silver alongside me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. |
Acquire wisdom and gain understanding; never forget or turn aside from my words. | Get wisdom; get insight: do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. |
There is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing secret that will not become known. | Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. |
Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. | Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. |
There is no holy one like the Lord, there is none beside you, nor is there a rock like our God. | There is no Holy One like the Lord, no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. |
If you are angry, do not sin. Do not let the sun set on your anger, and do not give the devil an opening. | Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. |
While experiencing temptation, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. | No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. |
There is no salvation in anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to men by which we can be saved. | There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved. |
Do not love the world or what is in the world. If anyone does love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. | Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world. |
I have not strayed from the commandments of his lips; I have treasured in my heart the words of his mouth. | I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured in my bosom the words of his mouth. |
Every good act of giving and every perfect gift are from above, coming down from the Father of all light. With him there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. | Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. |