| 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? |
| This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. | This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. |
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| Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light. | Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. |
| The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? | The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? |
| For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. | For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. |
| They did not conquer the land with their swords; it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory. It was your right hand and strong arm and the blinding light from your face that helped them, for you loved them. | It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them. |
| If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. | If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. |
| I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. | I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. |
| For the Lord gave us this command when he said, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’ | For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” |
| Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? | Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? |
| For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. | For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. |
| You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. | You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. |
| 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? |
| Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. | For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. |
| The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. | The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. |
| As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. | May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. |
| And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. | Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. |
| Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear! | What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. |
| But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. | But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. |
| And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. | When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment. |
| I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. | My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. |
| 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. |
| For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! | For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. |
| And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. | The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. |
| He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. | He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. |
