| 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. | Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. |
| Wise words bring approval, but fools are destroyed by their own words. | Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips. |
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| And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. | And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. |
| And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? | What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? |
| 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. | He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. |
| 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. | His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. |
| “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.” | “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.” |
| 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. | But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. |
| Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. | Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. |
| 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. | Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. |
| 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. | Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. |
| My child, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice! | My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed. |
| 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. | It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God. |
| You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own. | You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own. |
| 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! | But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. |
| Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. | Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine. |
| And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? | What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? |
| 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. | Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. |
| 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! | Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. |
| 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. | You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. |
| Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” | Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” |
| The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. | The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale. |
| And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. And you must always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good. | And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? |
| Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good. | Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. |
| What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance. | Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. |
