| The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. | Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people. |
| I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God. | So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. |
| He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. | He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. |
| Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. | Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. |
| The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. | 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. |
| Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. | At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. |
| The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. | But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth. |
| The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own esteem. | The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. |
| He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. | If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it. |
| If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. | If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. |
| For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. | If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. |
| Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts. | People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart. |
| For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. | If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. |
| He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend. | Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. |
| As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor Which he may carry away in his hand. | We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. |
| Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by 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. |
| A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. | We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. |
| For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. | The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow. |
| “Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?” | Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. |
| Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.” | Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the instructions and commands so you can teach the people.” |
| Who “will render to each one according to his deeds” | He will judge everyone according to what they have done. |
| There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. | So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. |
| A good man deals graciously and lends; He will guide his affairs with discretion. | Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly. |
| For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. | If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. |
| And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. | And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers. |
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