| For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. | For this reason, he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who have been called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since his death has served to redeem the sins that were committed under the first covenant. |
| “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) | He said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not realize that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not into the heart but into the stomach and is discharged into the sewer?” Thus, he pronounced all foods clean. |
| Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. | So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. |
| Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. | Likewise, you who are husbands must show consideration for your wives in your life together. Treat your wife with respect, for even though she is the weaker partner, she is also an equal heir of God’s gift of life. Thus, your prayers will not be hindered in any way. |
| He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? | He did not spare his own Son but gave him up for all of us. How then can he fail also to give us everything else along with him? |
| And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. | And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask him, we may be sure that all we ask of him will be ours. |
| What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! | What then? Should we sin because we are not under the Law but under grace? Of course not! |
| Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. | For no one can be regarded as justified in the sight of God by keeping the Law. The Law brings only the consciousness of sin. |
| For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. | You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. |
| But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. | But what I tell you is this: Do not swear at all, either by heaven, since it is God’s throne, or by earth, since that is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great King. |
| But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” | He who called you is holy. Therefore, be holy yourselves in all your conduct. For Scripture says, “Be holy, for I am holy.” |
| Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. | As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. |
| For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. | For all have sinned and thereby are deprived of the glory of God, and all are justified by the gift of his grace that is given freely through the redemption in Christ Jesus. |
| For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! | For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more certain it is that, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. |
| The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. | Everyone who sins comes from the devil, for the devil has been a sinner from the very beginning. The Son of God appeared for this very purpose: to destroy the work of the devil. |
| What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? | What then shall we say? Should we persist in sin in order that grace may abound? Of course not! We have died to sin. How can we live in it any longer? |
| They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. | They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and offered worship and service to the creature rather than to the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural practices. Likewise, men gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameful acts with men and received in their own persons the fitting penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since these people did not see fit to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their depraved way of thinking and to all types of vile behavior. |
| For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. | For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall also be united with him in his resurrection. We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be destroyed and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. |
| But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate. | But from the very beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two become one flesh.’ And so they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate. |
| For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. | Since in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor lack of circumcision is worth anything. All that matters is faith expressing itself through love. |
| For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. | For the love of Christ urges us forward, once we conclude that one has died for all, and therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sakes died and was raised to life. |
| For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. | For I am not ashamed of the gospel, since it is the power of God that offers salvation to everyone who has faith—to Jews first, and then to Gentiles as well. |
| There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. | Therefore, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God, since those who enter into God’s rest also cease from their own labors as God did from his. |
| “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” | He replied, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ and said: ‘That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two become one flesh’? And so they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.” |
| You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. | Therefore, you have no excuse, whoever you may be, when you pass judgment on others. For in judging others you condemn yourself, since you are doing the same things. |
Bible verse of the day
Teach me to do your will,for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.