All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in uprightness, so that the man of God may be proficient and equipped for good work of every kind. | All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. |
And if one should fall, his companion will help him up. How pathetic is the man who is alone and falls and has no one to assist him to his feet. | If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. |
|
The proud man’s heart is not upright, but the righteous man will live because of his faith. | Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God. |
Behold, I am coming soon, and I will bring with me my reward to repay everyone as his deeds deserve. | Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. |
I ask that from the riches of his glory he may grant through his Spirit that you be strengthened with power in your inner being and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. | I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. |
What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his very life? Or what can he give in exchange for his life? | And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? |
Or can a man walk on red-hot coals without scorching his feet? | Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet? |
The heart is more deceitful than any other thing, and it is also perverse. Who can uncover its secrets? I, the Lord, search the heart and probe the mind to reward all according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve. | The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve. |
A fool gives free rein to his anger, but a wise man bides his time and calms it. | Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back. |
A man may plan his own course, but the Lord makes his steps secure. | We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. |
It is honorable to avoid strife, but every fool is quarrelsome. | Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling. |
If someone says, “I love God,” but at the same time hates his brother, he is a liar. For whoever does not love the brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. | If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? |
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his very life? | And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? |
And where a single man can be overcome, two together will be able to resist. A cord with three strands is not easily broken. | A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. |
Truly, you bless the righteous, O Lord; you surround them with your goodwill as with a shield. | For you bless the godly, O Lord; you surround them with your shield of love. |
But he is to ask with faith, without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind. | But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. |
A man is haughty until disaster overtakes him, but humility comes before honors. | Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor. |
No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. | There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. |
In it the righteousness of God is revealed, beginning in faith and established in faith. As it is written: “The one who is righteous will live through faith.” | This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” |
The future bodes well for him who is generous in helping those in need and who conducts his affairs with justice. | Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly. |
Anyone who is victorious will be dressed like these in white robes, and I shall not blot his name from the book of life. Rather, I shall acknowledge it in the presence of my Father and his angels. | All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine. |
It is rash to pledge a sacred gift, or to make a vow and then have second thoughts. | Don’t trap yourself by making a rash promise to God and only later counting the cost. |
Blessed is the man whom God reproves. Therefore, do not reject the discipline of the Almighty. | But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin. |
The words of a wise man win favor, but a fool’s tongue is his undoing. | Wise words bring approval, but fools are destroyed by their own words. |
Alleluia. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his precepts. | Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands. |