With my soul I have desired You in the night, Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early; For when Your judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. | My soul longs for you throughout the night, and my spirit within me seeks your presence. For when your judgments are revealed to the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn to practice justice. |
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory. | Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He was made visible in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed to the Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory. |
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Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me. | Guide my steps in accord with your word and never let evil triumph over me. |
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word. | Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her in order to sanctify her by cleansing her with water and the word. |
By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. | By these he has given us his precious promises, great beyond all price, so that through them you may escape from the corruption with which evil desires have infected the world and thereby may come to share in the divine nature. |
Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. | Therefore, accept one another for the glory of God, just as Christ has accepted you. |
For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. | Such godly sorrow results in repentance that leads to salvation and causes no regret, whereas worldly sorrow produces death. |
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. | Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy he has given us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. |
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. | Let no one delude himself. If anyone among you considers himself to be wise by worldly standards, he must become a fool in order to be truly wise. |
Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. | The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but worldly cares and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. |
Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast 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. |
Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, As raindrops on the tender herb, And as showers on the grass. | Let my teaching fall down like rain, and my words descend like the dew. Like rain upon the sprouts, and like showers upon the grass. |
By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. | This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, about whose coming you have been told, and that it is already in the world. |
Sing to the Lord, For He has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth. | Sing praise to the Lord for his mighty deeds; let this be known throughout the entire world. |
He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. | He gives strength to the weary and new vigor to those who are powerless. |
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. | Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a resolute spirit within me. |
Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. | He gave himself for us in order to deliver us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people as his own who are eager to do good. |
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. | Not because of any righteous deeds on our part but because of his mercy, he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. |
And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them. | I have made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them. |
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. | Although we are human beings, we do not engage in battle according to human standards. |
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” | And I heard a loud voice proclaim from the throne: “Behold, God’s dwelling is with mankind; he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and he will be their God, God-with-them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will no longer be death. Neither will there be any mourning or crying or pain, for the old order has passed away.” |
Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. | And now, brethren, farewell. Mend your ways. Encourage one another. Be of one mind and live in peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. |
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. | I further pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know the hope to which he has called you, how rich and glorious is his inheritance in the saints. |
But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? | If anyone is rich in worldly possessions and sees a brother in need but refuses to open his heart, how can the love of God abide in him? |
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. | But you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people claimed by God as his own possession,” so that you may proclaim the praise of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. |