But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he 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. |
Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. | For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. |
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How they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. | They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them. |
Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.” | So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me.” |
“They shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him.” | “They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child.” |
The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own esteem. | The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. |
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. | Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. |
As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. | By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. |
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance. | What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance. |
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 not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. |
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? | And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? |
Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. | Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! |
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. | For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. |
But who am I, and who are my people, That we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, And of Your own we have given You. | But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! |
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God. | God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. |
But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” | Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” |
Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls. | A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls. |
You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. | For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. |
For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. | Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. |
The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, But the lips of a fool shall swallow him up. | Wise words bring approval, but fools are destroyed by their own words. |
For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? | And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? |
If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. | If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. |
Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. | So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. |
And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them. | And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. |
For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. | No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. |