| Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. | Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. |
| A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word! | To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is! |
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| Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. | And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. |
| Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. | As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. |
| Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. | Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. |
| Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. | Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. |
| All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. | All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. |
| We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. | We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. |
| For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. | For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. |
| When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. | Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. |
| Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? | Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? |
| Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. | Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. |
| Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice. | Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. |
| He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. | He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? |
| Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger. | Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord. |
| See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness. | Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. |
| But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. | But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. |
| What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” | What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” |
| Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’? | Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’? |
| And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. | Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. |
| And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness. | And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us. |
| But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. | And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. |
| Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. | Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. |
| Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. | Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. |
| Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. | From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. |
