| Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. | When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways. |
| Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. | Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. |
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| A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards. | Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end. |
| Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. | Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. |
| And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house. | You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. |
| We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments. | We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. |
| The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth. | The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously. |
| Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. | I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. |
| Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. | Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. |
| See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. | Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. |
| Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord. | Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. |
| But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. | Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” |
| He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not. | All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing. |
| And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the Lord their God, and will hear them. | I will strengthen Judah and save the tribes of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them. |
| Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. | Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord.’ |
| For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye. | For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live! |
| Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. | Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. |
| Who will render to every man according to his deeds. | God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” |
| And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. | The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. |
| If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. | If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them. |
| Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me. | But I have been the Lord your God ever since you came out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me. |
| Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. | Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. |
| For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. | The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” |
| Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. | If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. |
| Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. | See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. |
