| A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps. | We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. |
| Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy. | Deceit fills hearts that are plotting evil; joy fills hearts that are planning peace! |
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| For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. | “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” |
| Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established. | Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success. |
| Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. | Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. |
| There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. | You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail. |
| Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. | Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets. |
| Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel. | May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed. |
| Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. | But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. |
| O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. | O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them. |
| The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands. | The Lord will work out his plans for my life— for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me. |
| And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. | Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.” |
| This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working. | The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher, and he gives the farmer great wisdom. |
| And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? | And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? |
| Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. | I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables. But you must never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it. |
| Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. | So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. |
| That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ. | I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. |
| But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. | Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. |
| My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass. | Let my teaching fall on you like rain; let my speech settle like dew. Let my words fall like rain on tender grass, like gentle showers on young plants. |
| Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world 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. |
| For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. | Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. |
| A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends. | A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends. |
| Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. | This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other. |
| For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. | For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. |
| And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. | And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. |
